Whole prey only?

[kim86]

What do you guys think about feeding a tegu whole prey and nothing but whole prey? I've been feeding my young guy more hoppers than turkey mix since he seems to like them a lot more but don't want to cause anything bad to happen.

 

[KABIKANO]

Your Tegu, your choice what to feed but I think variety is key. Mine seem to much on whatever is in front of them, from rodents to poultry, dubias to hornworms and turkey to rabbit. I guess I'm lucky. Good luck and keep us updated on what you do... You never know...

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

Wouldn't recommend it, they are opportunistic omnivorous scavengers they can eat a variety of foods not just whole prey.

 

[james.w]

As long as you keep the humidity up and make sure they are hydrated and active you won't have any problems.

 

[TheTeguGurl]

Your Tegu, your choice what to feed but I think variety is key. Mine seem to much on whatever is in front of them, from rodents to poultry, dubias to hornworms and turkey to rabbit. I guess I'm lucky. Good luck and keep us updated on what you do... You never know...

I agree variety is the key

 

[Kym123089]

Whole prey is the only thing mine will eat most of the time. He will take the occasional piece of fish but refuses bugs completely and rarely touches ground.

 

[Little Wise Owl]

I think a variety of whole prey is best with feeding pure ground meat kept to a minimum.

My little guy (I think he's your tegu's sibling) will only eat whole prey. Won't touch ground meats at all.

 

[jondancer]

I raised a tegu on only frozen whole prey pinkys/fuzzies/mice and he grew faster than any other animal I have ever owned

 

[Neeko]

My guys Love ground Turkey mix and dubia the most! I don't feed while prey unless I find some cheap at an expo but that's 2 times a year. I think though as long as he is healthy on whole prey just give some variety so get doesn't get bored of a food he likes. Find a farm and ask for babies Lol!

 

[Kym123089]

I agree that I believe the growth is faster. I cannot believe how fast Donatello has grown on whole prey items...

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I got quail from hare-today and my rats, mice and chicks from micedirect

 

[tommylee22]

Biggin eats a variety of animal buy it's all meat or insects, hate fruit and veggies. He's grown from 12" to 3ft in 4 months.

 

[Deac77]

Kirby is mainly a whole prey diet as well mice, quail, rat and ground whole rabbit although he does love his chicken gizzards in the one month I've bad him he's grown from 14 inches to 25 so I'm guessing whole prey makes big tegus lol

 

[james.w]

Whole prey is a much more nutritious and complete meal. Vegetables and fruits should be added to the diet as well, but ground meats are not needed. Basking temp and humidity is a very important part of the diet as well.

 

[Deac77]

I agree Kirby has 3 different basking temps ranging from 105-130 and he uses them all as well he seems to regulate humidity too moving from one spot to the other I honestly doubt I get anymore ground meats for him since he doesn't eat it anyway and I can provide a varied diet of whole prey easily

 

[ReptileGuy]

lol somebody posted your picture of tybolt on tumblr...sorry it is off topic a bit but I was looking at the tegu hash-tag and found that pick. Was it you?

 

[Bntegus]

whole pray all the way i tried that mix stuff like dana and others did and it just doesnt fill them up. i got some wc adults this year and there wont even touch ground meat or fish they only like rats.

 

[chitodadon]

Godzilla will only eat a lil ground meat bit while prey and chicken hearts he goes to town on them always

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

Keep in mind with whole prey unless you raise them yourself you don't know what that animal was fed or raised on. From a high grain diet with few if any fresh fruits and vegetables or what ever else. Therefore changing the nutritional value from one to the next including a higher fat content for some.

Growing fast isn't always a good thing especially when not fed properly. Ever wonder why we see so many reds with shedding and skin issues, or how just about every other day there's a new thread about a tegu with tremors or calcium deficiencies,.... more often than not it's diet related.

Yeah some tegus are picky but they also have to and need to learn what's good to eat, especially in captivity. They wouldn't be as picky in the wild since their next meal is not a guarantee. Too often people give in, try and cut corners and do what's best or easiest for them instead of their pets by sticking to a limited diet. When in the long run you can be doing more damage than good. Since they can be fine one day and heading down hill fast the next.

 

[james.w]

Ground meats would be the least nutritional food their is. Getting the proper calcium dosage is difficult. How would whole prey be cutting corners? It is a more expensive diet vs. Feeding store bought meats.

 

[Little Wise Owl]

I agree with James. A tegu in the wild naturally eats whole prey along with fruits and vegetables. I'm sure if they found random raw meat scraps or ground meat, they'd eat it but come on... That's not going to happen all that often, if at all. It sort of concerns me that most tegu breeder's recommend feeding ground turkey as the primary source of food... Ground meat, liver and calcium is so devoid of so many important nutrients that it's no wonde why I would often see tegus starting early stages of MBD...