Definitely the best thing to do is read read read on Tegu diets. My 'gu was picky as a baby, but now will eat anything as long as its on a plate and smells like protein.
1. When feeding meat like chicken or turnkey, should it be cooked at all?
- nope, try to avoid cooking meats. eggs are ok cooked because, when raw, the eggwhites inhibit the uptake of most of the vitamins in the yolk. I separate the egg and either just feed the yolk or cook em. Don't microwave frozen whole prey, cause it can get extremely hot from the inside out and injure your tegu's insides. throwing food in a ziplock and letting it soak in hot tap water for 10 mins is what i have found works the best for myself also.
I sometimes mix in crested gecko diet for vitamins/flavor and always try to sneak in things like pitted cherries, fresh crabmeat (i live on the beach),blueberries, mice/rats, mango, cartilage& tendons from poultry, papaya, kale, chard, &OR mustard greens for extra trace vitamins and minerals at least 1-2x a week.
2. What supplements are recommended and how often should I use them? (cod liver oil??)
- per fist sized amount of food( like ground or chopped turkey) I add about 1/2 tsp of reptivite with D3 and 3/4- 1 tsp reptical with D3. Thats just approximately what I have always done and I have had no health issues so far. this has been the most challenging part of feeding for me..
too much or too little calcium can cause health problems in your 'gu so just pay massive attention to any changes to strength, activity, face/tail shape etc.
3. I see a lot of recommended fruits, are there any that I should strictly avoid?
- Garlic, onions, really hard fruits like crunchy apples that can scrape his esophagus on the way down.
4. What about veggies? Would he eat lettuce? Baby carrots?
- My lizz LOVES ceasar salad, I make awesome homemade dressing and leave out the garlic now. thats about the only time he'll willingly take a bite of any vegetable in my experience. but I always try to offer fresh green beans, zucchini, cooked squash and cherry tomatoes since they are all native South american foods.
5. I was told that giving him a raw egg was ok but then I read on here that you should only offer a boiled egg...
- I already summed up this in Q#1, but also try to leave on some shell or mix it into the scramble when you cook it. Fertilized eggs are 100% preferrable(craigslist is where i have all my luck with finding these), next is organic with no hormones used, then crappy cheap ones.
6. Should I offer more whole prey over other meats? (like offer mice more often than ground turkey)
-doesnt matter I dont think, as long as you supplement with vitamins enough. I am a broke college student who cant afford to buy of breed mice, but have found that buying frozen turkey legs and cutting off everything down to the bone is his all time favorite. more so than rats and eggs.
I hope all that helps, sorry if I sound bossy at all, haha I am just trying to type fast! I own an Argentine tegu, and have ALWAYS fed him off the same sized salad plate. I feed him wherever, but with your columbian you may want to take him out of the cage as their reputation is a bit more aggressive. When Dio gets too aggressive over his food I remove it from his sight until he calms down, then I return it. He is so gentle now that he can pick up the smallest sized bites out of my fingers without me even having to be afraid. Just be patient and get to know you lizard, it will let you know what it wants. They are surprisingly close to cats in attitude I think.
Good Luck!
1.0.0 B&W Argentine Tegu (Dio)
1.1.0 Crested geckos (re homed)
0.1.0 Tartar Sand Boa(re homed)
0.1.0 Axolotl (Smaug)
1.0.0 Tabby Cat (Dippy)
Madagascar Hissing roaches
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