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Thread: Won't eat whole prey?

  1. #1

    Default Won't eat whole prey?

    Hi!

    My tegu shows ZERO interest in live or dead whole mice, fish, and frogs. Are there any tricks to get him interested? He refused everything except eggs until I started coating other food in yolk like fish filet, shrimp, crab meat, some veggies. I've been using less and less yolk each feeding, but I'd like to have him eat some whole prey, live or dead.

    Please advise

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    College Park, MD
    Posts
    92

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    How big is he? Sometimes if the prey item is too big they won't eat it. You could try coating the whole prey in egg yolk if he has been eating food covered in yolk.
    1.0.0 Black & White Argentine Tegu-Kronos
    0.0.1 Normal Corn Snake
    0.0.1 Colombian Red-Tailed Boa

  3. #3

    Default

    he's about 2 1/2 ft long or so, i haven't actually measured him. The foods I've offered have been on the smaller side.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    San Antonio,TX
    Posts
    9,505

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    Hi pretty. How do you give him the food ? Is it cold ? If the food like the frozen rodents or fish hasn't been thawed out all the way they might not want to eat it. Same with the meats, fruits and veggies right out of the fridge. Is he eating ground meats like turkey or beef ? If yes, you can put the foods the doesn't want to eat in a blender and then mix it with the ground meat.
    Rich is not how much you have, or where you are going, or what you are.Rich is who you have beside you.

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  5. #5

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    I think he ate a whole hopper yesterday. I drenched the poor thing while it was alive in egg yolk and sort of snuck it into his mouth when he was licking the yolk off- this seems to be the only way he eats anything solid, by getting it shoved into his mouth when he is licking yolk. I have to almost force feed him solid foods covered in yolk- i didnt mention in my first post that I was having to push food into his mouth when he was licking the yolk off. I still do it this way with fish, shrimp, turkey. Once he gets thee first nibble he takes the rest on his own- I don't shove it down his throat, just enough so he gets his teeth into whatever it is.

    I wish him eating the hopper was as clean and easy as just saying 'he ate it' because he crunched the things face and head a few times, spit it out, crunched a bit... Graves really just licked the yolk off over and over, crunched the things skull and popped its eyes out and there may or may not have been brain matter coming out of its eye sockets and ears. Three times he took the whole mouse into his mouth, and three times he spit it back out. The poor thing was alive for about 3 minutes of this before Graves had eaten MOST of the yolk. I put the mostly dead mouse into the yolk residue bowl and left it on the floor near his hide box in the kitchen. He licked it a bit, and nosed the dead mouse, but everytime he opened his mouth on it he would turn and look at me, catch me watching him, and then walk away from it. Eventually I put him into his cage with the bowl and mouse even though i don't plan on feeding him in his cage. About 10 mins later my nieces and son (5, 7, and came running with the empty bowl screaming that he ate it and demonstrated how he did it which was pretty entertaining watching them throw their heads back and eat like a tegu LOL

    So he ate a freshly killed yolk covered hopper. Progress? I don't look at it that way- but maybe it is?

    I left him in the bathtub with another hopper the same size for a couple hours alone to see if thats his issue, that he doesnt want an audience.

    This is what I came back to find:

    1172399_10153138529015080_1732259315_o.jpg

    I have a couple more hoppers in another tank to try again soon.

  6. #6

    Default

    That has to be one of the best tegu pictures I have seen..pretty gross with what you have to do with the live mouse but it is what it is :(

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    San Antonio,TX
    Posts
    9,505

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    Usually they crunch up the bones because it will be easier for them to swallow it. I don't want to tell you what to do but I highly recommend feeding frozen/thawed or prekilled. The live rodent might stress him out and this is maybe why he will not eat it. It is also a lot saver for your Tegu to learn to eat a dead rodent later on. Because when he has to kill a big rodent later on he could get hurt. The rodent could bite him or scratch him. I have seen some very nasty bites from rodents before. Trust me you don't have to use the yolk to get him to eat. When he is hungry enough he will eat what ever you give him.

    http://www.rodentpro.com/qpage_articles_01.asp
    Rich is not how much you have, or where you are going, or what you are.Rich is who you have beside you.

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    http://www.youtube.com/user/txrepgirl

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Central FL
    Posts
    4,349

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    I agree that F/T would be a better choice.
    Laura R (FL)
    1.0.0 Colombian Tegu
    1.4.0 Argentine B&W Tegu
    1.2.0 Red Tegu
    1.2.0 B/WxRed Tegu
    1.0.0 Green Ameiva (yet another teiid)
    7 other lizards
    1 little gator
    3 FL box turtle
    1 Sulcata tortoise
    16 snakes
    5 fuzzy pets
    4 little frogs
    a bunch of creepy bugs
    and a partridge in a pear tree

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