Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My blue eats like a hog, and I don't think I've ever seen him full. He's not even 2 feet yet and eats like 7 pinkies a night and 2 "SDZ cubes" the next night. After he licks his plate clean, he looks for more. He is still growing (fast I might add), but I don't want him to get obese, especially since pinkies have lots of fat in them. I'm trying to limit how much he eats, but I don't want him hungry all the time. Should I keep feeding him until he won't eat anymore?

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-reptilian9

NO! do not feed him til lhes full! he will become obese. plus lizards eyes always grow at the dsame pace regardless of how the body grows. if u feed him to much he will look wierd cuz he will ave very small eyes and a big body. another thing, dont waste yr money on pinkies. but rat fuzzies. my tegus are 16" and i have them eat 1 mouse fuzzie every 3 days. i alays keep the same feeding schedule.
monday=1 fuzzie for both
tuesday=nothing
wedsnday=crickets
thursday=1 fuzzie for both
friday=veggies (like grapes romane lettuce and maybe a smal lpice of apple)
sat=superworms
sunday=fuzzie
i feed my lizards wheneveri get home form work which is at 7:20
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i own
1 bearded dragon-Rocko
1 paraguay red tegu-Badger
1 argintine black and white tegu-Ziggy
1 leopard geko-Zeke
soon-2 chinese water dragon a male and a female

I feed Santiago once every 5 days now. I alternate fruit and rats every other feeding. Siena gets 3 meals a week . Two king meal worm ,and one mice feeding . I give her fruit on the days that Santiago gets fruit.. Santiago is 4' 2 1/2" long- Snt to vent is 20 3/8" his tail is only 10 1/8" longer) And wieghs between 16-17 lbs. He is 2 years and 4 mounths old. Siena is3' 1 3/4" long -Snt to vent is 13 3/8 "-, and wieghs around 5-6 lbs.She is around 2 years old .Russ

pinkies? at 2 feet??? try some hoppers for that guy. and your tegu is no where near obese. so dont worry

I would say as long as the growth spurt is on, there is no harm in feeding them till full. I have always done this with my Tegus and Monitors. Try 1 or 2 adult mice instead of the pinkies and see if that fills him up. I've been feeding my Tegu on a daily basis until just recently when I noticed his growth seemed to be slowing down and his appetite has decreased a little. As a testament to this feeding schedule, he has grown from 14-15" on June 6th to just over 3 feet. His current feeding "schedule" is one fortified turkey/fruit meatball every Mon/Wed/Fri and a small rat or two on Saturdays and Sundays so he is eating at least 5 days a week. Of course if one of the snakes refuses a meal, he usually gets the leftovers as well. You just have to judge how your animal is doing by how he looks. Typically, he should look "pleasantly plump" after a meal and then look emptied out after defecation, which should be every day or two. Lizards are not like snakes in that I don't believe they can be power fed and get pinhead syndrome. Again, Squishy has grown over 20" in a short amount of time and looks great IMO, with fairly heavy feedings. Good luck, your Blue is absolutely gorgeous!!

Billy

>>My blue eats like a hog, and I don't think I've ever seen him full. He's not even 2 feet yet and eats like 7 pinkies a night and 2 "SDZ cubes" the next night. After he licks his plate clean, he looks for more. He is still growing (fast I might add), but I don't want him to get obese, especially since pinkies have lots of fat in them. I'm trying to limit how much he eats, but I don't want him hungry all the time. Should I keep feeding him until he won't eat anymore?
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>>-reptilian9

Thanks everybody. It seems there are some different opinions on the subject, but I've been feeding pinkies (actually "peach fuzzies" because I was under the impression that it's better to offer food smaller than the size of their head. I realize the pinkies aren't as good for them as hoppers/fuzzies, but I was waiting for him to get bigger before I offer them. I know he could handle them, my 2 foot water dragon used to eat 1 full grown mouse a week with no problems. My blue is definitely healthy and looks plump after eating and smaller after defecating about every other day. He gets fed every night if I am able to. He has grown a lot even in the past 2 weeks. I suppose I will start on hoppers since so many of you are feeding them. Thanks for the comments, I hope he stays as beautiful in adulthood!
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-reptilian9