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Thread: Columbian Tegu Diet

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Pittsburgh PA
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    Default Columbian Tegu Diet

    I just got a columbian tegu and have looked at some care sheets and such but they are all vauge on what and how to feed them. I know i should feed it outside of its enclosure but im not entirely sure what the best things to feed it are and how often. he is a juvenile

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Tampa, Florida
    Posts
    51

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    Congrats on your new tegu. In the way of Columbians I have 2 adult boys and I just got a beautiful adult female on Wednesday. Personally, I love the Columbians

    You can decide how often you feed your guy depending on how old/large he is (I fed my boys more frequently when they were babies).

    mice, rats, chicks
    It's great if you can get him/her to eat insects (sometimes the older ones are not interested) - crickets, mealworms (in any stage - worm, larval, beetle), hornworms (never feed one you find outside though because they can be toxic if they have been eating tomato leaves - but both my Columbians and my reds love hornworms), roaches
    low fat turkey
    low sodium tuna (once in a while)
    raw eggs (not too often, but you will make a friend for life if you give your tegu an egg. Also, if you are having trouble getting your tegu to eat anything you can dip it in egg).
    chicken gizzards (occasionally)
    If you can get them to eat fruits that is good too, my guys really aren't interested in fruit and never have been - but, some will eat it (tegus are very scavenger-like in the wild).
    Some people like to feed dog or cat food - I don't feed my lizards dog or cat food at all though.
    There are a couple of canned tegu foods, I have tried them a few times without great results. But, it is an option.
    I just bought a bag of Mazuri Croc diet - I haven't tried it yet but I think it will be a nice occasional supplement. We'll see how it goes, I mostly bought it to supplement my Caiman lizard... but we have several tegus and monitors so I will offer it to them as well.

    This should give you a pretty good idea. Just watch out for fattening things - you don't want your tegu overweight (like the croc diet I bought... also, rats are more fatty than mice).

    Good Luck!

    Melissa

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Pittsburgh PA
    Posts
    4

    Default

    Thanks for the help Melissa! While I have your attention, I was wondering if you had any care/taming tips for me. I keep reading about how difficult it is to make these guys docile. I have a cat and i would very much like to be able to have Gargamel (thats what i named the tegu) out of his enclosure when hes full grown and not have to worry about them having scuffles.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Tampa, Florida
    Posts
    51

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    You're right - there is a general belief that the Columbians are hard (or harder) to tame. I really don't agree with that though.
    That being said, the more you hold/work with your tegu the more comfortable he will be. You can start by showing him that you are not a threat - I am sure this seems strange, but letting the tegu see you with your eyes closed can show him that you do not consider him prey (sometimes you might even get your tegu to trust you so much that he will close his eyes when he sees yours closed. My Uro does that all the time).
    Also, tegus are very curious - so, let him explore and check out the house (within reason & as long as you are right there with him & the cat isn't too close).
    When my first male Columbian was small (like 100 grams or so) I used to sit on the couch with him rolled up in the bottom of my tshirt. He was comfortable because he was "hidden" but he was also close to me getting used to my scent and being around me.

    I take both of my male Columbians to educational talks and they are fantastic around people. The adult female that I just took home is as sweet as the two males. She went from house to house and I don't know how much handling or taming she has had but she is super sweet and completely tolerable to handling. She will actually sit with me longer than either of my males will!

    Now, you can go above and beyond "taming" and think about getting them trained... I know that there are some amazing tales about trained tegus on this forum! But, my guys understand "no" and they have name recognition. That may not be major level training but it is enough to make me really happy

    Have fun with Gargamel

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