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Thread: Balanced meals vs balanced diet

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Posts
    614

    Default Balanced meals vs balanced diet

    Hello all....

    For the last 2-3 months, I have been giving my tegu balanced meals. He gets 3-4 scoops of a ground meat, 3-4 scoops of a type of melon and 1-2 mice per feeding. All on 1 plate.

    I uesd to do the all mice in one feeding or all gound meat etc., but switched to this meal plan, that I believe, to be yielding really good results.

    Also, every 3rd meal is dusted with calcium. Also, I have cut down, almost completely eliminated the D3 supplement. He gets it maybe every 12-14 days now. Actually, awhile back, my exotic vet told me to not give him any D3, at all.

    I have noticed his bowl movements are always on schedule and healthy. No power stuff and no constipation either.

    I would like to add that my tegu will pretty much eat anything. So, he finishes absoultely everything on his plate about 99% of the time. Also, I have a very large tegu, so this amount of variety in one meal is easilly consumed.

    I am sure that this "meal plan" is really nothing new and I am in no way telling others to follow this meal plan. Some, do not feed their tegu many mice. However, on this meal plan, they are only getting maybe 3 mice a week total.


    Meals:
    Ground raw chicken or ground turkey
    Honey dew melon or cantelope
    1-2 mice (usually 1)

    Any thoughts out there??????

    Rob

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    296

    Default

    Sounds like you are doing well. I don't know that there is any reason to compare diets, and meals though. I tend to give my tegus everything they need in their meals if possible. The only time I differ is when I'm feeding large rodents, but have adequately gutloaded the rodents anyway.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Thousand Oaks, CA
    Posts
    7

    Default

    No D3? When are you supposed to stop and/or start giving d3?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Pennsylvania
    Posts
    3,310

    Default

    Here is an interesting thread on D3:

    http://www.thetegu.com/postx6722-0-0.html

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Posts
    614

    Default

    Hello nightdemon.......The D3 issue seems to be very subjective.......Here's what the vet said. He asked me.... "Do you know the proper amount of D3 he should be getting"? I said "no"..He said...Exactly........Don't give him any D3. He gets it from the lighting etc.....

    I am, in no way, recommending that someone should or should not give it. I know that most tegu owners, including myself, do give it.. I have noticed since I cut it back to only once every 12-14 days, there seemingly is no difference in healthy or behavior. I think that I, personally, will give it to him, however, just very sparingly every 2 weeks or so..

    Rob

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Posts
    614

    Default

    p.s. The vet added that the calcium powder added to the meals was fine though

    Rob

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Central FL
    Posts
    4,349

    Default

    Interesting concept...with the meals. I'm sure your tegu is quite happy. :wink:

    I guess the only two cents I would add is to maybe vary the fruit if you were so inclined.
    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

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    296

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by october
    Hello nightdemon.......The D3 issue seems to be very subjective.......Here's what the vet said. He asked me.... "Do you know the proper amount of D3 he should be getting"? I said "no"..He said...Exactly........Don't give him any D3. He gets it from the lighting etc.....
    O.k. D3 or calcium powder should only be used in the absence of proper UVB lighting anyway. The D3 issue isn't "subjective" but apparently things people disagree on are fashionably called that nowadays. If your animal isn't getting enough calcium it's health will suffer, and there is nothing subjective about that. I use no calcium on any animals under UVB lighting aside from dusting some of the crickets for my frogs on occasion.

    Usually a light dusting on the food will suffice though if you are using the powder. Think of it as though you were seasoning your own food with salt and pepper.

    Here is a link with some interesting info on it.

    http://www.reptilepets.co.za/rp0612od.htm

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