Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had an Argentine Red tegu for about 2 years and he is 3ft and approx. 8lbs. Is this an average size for his age? Also I have been feeding him Crickets and wellness brand Catfood about 3X per week mixed w/ various fruits. Is this an acceptable diet? Also, are rodents absolutely essential for his diet? If so are frozen mice an acceptable food source? And how can I prepare these mice and how can I go about feeding them to him? My tegu also seems to lean to one side and raise his belly on one side after he eats ( not directly after), is this normal? Also how can I maintain the proper humidity and such high basking temperature?

Hi, I just thought I'd give you some ideas with food and temp. If your really appauled with rodents I don't think it's nessary. You don't need to do much with them just thaw them out before feeding. Another common whole food item is chicks like from rodentpro.com again just thaw them out. I also feed my tegus mussles I get frozen in the half shell, I thaw them out and take them out of the shell. You know raw ground turkey is convient too. I think the more variety of food you offer him the better. Try putting a dark tile under the light to help raise the basking temp some. 2 years old and 3 feet it sounds like he's doing fine with what your doing. Can't expect every tegu to get to the maximum size possible some are just going to be naturaly smaller then others.