Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Recommended Foods : Insects , Mice , Fruit
1)Insects - Crickets , King Meal Worms All insects should be dusted with a good quality calcium mineral
supplement intended for use on reptiles such as Miner All manufactured by Sticky Tongue Farms .Hatchling tegus kept
indoors should receive a calcium that contains Vitamin D3 such as Miner All I (indoor formula) . Baby tegus kept outdoors
will receive enough D3 through natural sunlight so extra supplementation will not be needed .Captive born hatchling tegus
are capable of growing at incredibly rapid rates . They need a lot of calcium to properly develop their skeletal structure and
feeding insects which have been supplemented is the easiest way I know of to insure they receive all the minerals they need
to keep up with their rapid growth rates. All insects should be fed well prior to feeding them to your tegu . I have had good
results feeding our insects either chicken mash or game bird feed along with fresh vegetable such as carrots .
2) Mice - -Should be equal to or smaller than half the size of the tegus head . If you are feeding baby tegus pink mice
they will need to be supplemented with calcium . Pink mice contain almost no calcium unless they have been taken directly
from their mother and have a belly full of milk . Once your tegu is able to feed on hopper size mice supplementation with
calcium is no longer necessary as the skeletal system in these mice is a lot more developed and contains a lot more calcium .
3) Fruit - 2-4 servings of fruit per week while they are actively feeding (serving size = to the size mouse they are
currently feeding on) Most well fed merianae will not readily feed on fruit until after their first winter as they will receive
enough vitamins from the crickets they are being fed . You should however attempt to introduce soft sweet fruits as soon as
possible. Kiwi , passion fruit, mango, star fruit , strawberries , grapes , peaches and plums are just some of the fruits
relished by these tegus . I have found that red/purple colored fruits are the easiest to get them to first feed on (red/ purple
grapes & strawberries) as they really seem to notice color.
Other Foods
1) Eggs - Although tegus in the wild do feed on eggs they really should not be fed eggs in captivity . In the wild eggs
contain a baby chick at some stage of development , eggs purchased at our local markets do not and are an incomplete
diet. Tegus in captivity which are fed eggs quickly become addicted to them and then tend to refuse healthy foods which
can cause them to develop deficiencies which may effect their health or even cause death . Eggs also contain a lot of
bacteria that can be transmitted to your animal and make them very ill .
2) Lean ground meats such as turkey - Lean meats are an incomplete diet as they do not contain enough calcium
and minerals to ensure proper development or sustain a tegus life . If you are going to feed any lean ground meat use
ground turkey and mix it according to the San Diego Zoo diet or your animal will eventually have a nutritional problem (the
younger the animal the worse it will be) Ground turkey mixed according to this recipe is OK because the minerals it
contains is in proportion to that of a mouse. San Diego Zoo diet = for every 10lbs of raw ground turkey add 90 grams of
bone meal and 2 crushed Centrum Vitamins
Temperatures
Basking temperature should be 110F directly under the heat source . The cool end of the cage should be between 80F and
85F during the daylight hours and above 75F at night for babies and above 70F at night for sub adults and adults . If night
time temperatures drop below 70F most of these tegus will begin to refuse food.
Substrate
1) Cypress Mulch - easy to find at garden centers in the south east U.S.
2) Hemlock Mulch - easy to find at garden centers in the north east U.S.
3) Eucalyptus Mulch - easy to find at garden centers on the west coast
4) Orchid Bark - on the expensive side but it looks very nice and is easy to find almost anywhere in the U.S.
5) Play Sand - Heavy and a bit messy indoors but it works ok . Doesn't work well in cages with sliding glass doors as most
tegus will kick it up and get it into the tracks.
Hide Box
Should be kept at the cool end of your tegus cages . Dark colored Rubber Maid boxes with an entrance hole cut in the
side or custom built wooden boxes work well . Mulch underneath hide box should be lightly misted with water to maintain
it slightly moist (not wet to the touch)
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Stella St.Pierre
www.bluetegu.com

np

What a great and very specific care sheet. Is most of this applicable to the majority of tegu species? I know from reading your website that the blues are not particularly interested or in need of fruit, but what about the rest? I have printed this out to keep and suggest everyone else does too. It will be a great reference. I do not have a tegu currently and have been "lurking" for awhile. A friend of mine has 4 and loves them, so I am considering one. Thanks again for taking the time to put together this terrific info.

Pam Gross