I may be jumping the gun since we just got him Saturday. Today we tried to offer him som eggs and turkey. Took him out, and offered him crickets and a live pinkie (we are switching him to frozen - after realizing how often he's supposed to eat!!) Anyway - I know it could be that he is still settling in - but how long does this period take? Experiences would be helpful. He seems kind of slim :cry: My only experience is with 2 beardies - so I'm sure that the Tegu is a little different :roll:
Let me start by stating that I am not much of a 'table scrap' guy. I would not start feeding your young tegu table scraps. Table scraps is like junk food to tegus. It's not high in vitamins and doesn't have the calcium or other nutrients that the tegu requires while growing. When they are old and you wanna give it a piece of ham, thats fine. When they are young I would discourage it. You stated you gave your tegu (or tried) some egg. Was the boiled? I have yet to see any tegu refuse a bit of boiled egg. Normally they like it so much (like people & chocolate) that I use it to get stubborn tegus to eat real tegu food. If you mix/crush up an egg and put a few crickets in the container, mix it up so the crickets have egg all over them. Then put a few crickets in the enclosure with the tegu. If they are active and hop around near the tegu and it smells the egg, it should eat. This has never failed for me or my friends. Feeding it outside of the enclosure, while on your couch or lap, may be too stressful right now. I'd stick to feeding it inside his enclosure until it feels more cormfortable with it's surroundings. I have seen a newly adopted tegu go a few days without food so it is likely normal, just a bit of stress. As long as it is in its enclosure, has proper temps, a decent hide, proper humidity levels, etc.. just give it some time and leave a few (2 or 3) crickets in the enclosure. A few times a day move stuff around a little to get the crickets moving around. Hopefully soon you will notice crickets missing. Note: Do not leave a bunch of crickets in the enclosure with the Tegu. If your tegu is sick the crickets may start chewing its feet. I haven't seen this, but have heard of it so figured I would post a warning. Keep me informed. Rick theTegu.com
Thanks again Rick for your advice. I actually just used some turkey lunchmeat in with eggs. I scrambled the eggs in the microwave - would a boiled egg be more desired by the Tegu? He has looked at it - it looked like he was going to nibble at first - and he actually may have just a tad bit. But then he snubbed it. I keep the eggs in his enclosure - I don't want to feed him crix in there - cause I know from experience with Beardies on alfalfa pellets - that they hide and it's really hard to get them out. Can I put a pinkie in with the eggs instead? I think I will just continue to offer him eggs, maybe put some legless crix in there depending on what you say about the pinkies - and just kind of hope he eats them. I will leave him completely alone for a few days (he has been hiding under his substrate alot - soaking up the heat I imagine?) and see what happens. He just seems a little skinny right now.
I know all the tegus I hhave given boiled eggs likes them, not sure about microwaved eggs. I'd try boiled. Pinkies would work but probably not as well as crickets, the crickets are more active and will draw the better feeding responce from your tegu. I hope this helps..
You've been a great help. I will boil some eggs and replace the old eggs with the boiled eggs I'll let you know what happens.
Great advice. Also, if he still won't eat, I've discovered that certain individuals become accustomed to all of their food tasting like calcium/vitamin powder and will not take new food items unless they have been dusted. Might give that a try. And on table scraps, it really depends on what it is. It is true that much of what you eat may not be the best for your teg, however there are also things that you might eat which are perfectly acceptable to feed your teg and are nutritious too. You'll just have to do a bit of research to find out what things are best. Since your tegu is an Argentine, that means it's diet should be supplemented with fruit/vegetable matter in addition to animal proteins. Most meat is acceptable to your tegu, but some meats are definately better than others. Generally, raw is better than cooked, but there are exceptions such as with pork which can harbor a wide array of harmful parasites if uncooked. Also pork is usually too fatty in general to be a regular food item. Seafoods are the absolute best quality animal proteins available for any carnivorous or omnivorous animal because they are easily digestible, rich in vitamins as well as essential amino/fatty acids, and high in HDL (high-density lipoprotiens) and low in LDL cholesterol, which means the fat in fish helps prevent heart disease rather that contribute to it. Regardless of other diet factors, a quality multivitamin supplement including calcium should be provided once to several times a week, depending upon the animal's vitamin intake from its food. Keep in mind that too much vitamin supplemetation is also harmful, as it will result in hypervitamintosis, in which vitamins and minerals may begin to form hard crystals in the animal's body and blood leading to blockage and death. As with all things, moderation is essential.
this is great advice, I just purchased a gold tegu 2 days ago and it still hasn't eaten...I'm going to take the advice given and try some boiled egg, and see what happens, maybe some crickets too... Leezard, did the advice work for your tegu?
