Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just in case anyone missed it, LLL Reptile (at www.lllreptile.com) has a special on the Zoo Med "Tegu & Monitor Food" (canned) at 3 cans for $0.99.
I remember buying my first can at PetsMart for over $3! I put in a quanity of 12 (for 36 cans) and it came to less than $20 with shipping included.
Anyway if anyone's interested the link is:
Zoo Med canned Tegu & Monitor food

You can do what you want to....But it is a pretty crappy food alternative.

Again, and I will say this again...there is not a nationwide mouse shortage and when they say there is it is for advertising purposes. So go out and purchase some mice in bulk over the internet.

cheers, andrew

I don't use it as an alternative, but as a variety. I was under the impression it's good for your monitors (as long as it's not the only thing you feed them) - I could be wrong though, so I'd like to hear why you think it's crappy.

I prefer feeding my monitors (I have 2 savannahs housed seperately now, thinking of getting a third, as well as a large b&w tegu) mice (the baby will be getting mainly crickets and when I can, pinkies) but where I live - out in the middle of nowhere at a BOQ room (state government paramilitary) there are no pet stores anywhere in site.
Inside my BOQ (as small as it is) I have a small refrigrator with just enough room in the freezer area for a rack of ice. As much as I'd love to buy frozen rodents in bulk, I have nowhere to put them.
Usually what I do is buy live mice out where my parents live (a county south of me) when I visit on my days off, and either bring my lizards with me (the tegu can even eat while we're in the car, the first day I got him within 30 minutes he was already eating) and feed them here, or buy a dozen mice and bring them back with me. (I don't like keeping live mice at the BOQ because if one gets out and takes a visit to another officer they might decide I shoudn't be keeping reptiles there.)

So other than live food I feed a variety of the canned food, ground turkey, chicken, and crickets.
Since I've been paying $3 a can lately for the canned food (which my tegu especially eats) I took advantage of their offer.

Anyway just wanted to explain my situation, I do see the benefit in ordering frozen mice in bulk, but not everyone has the space to store them. When I get a full sized refrigrator I'll look into it more.

Hi Corrupt, In your training, to prepare is key to success. If your situation does not allow for certain things, then that makes prepreration more important.

If your serious, then buy a mini freezer, and buy whole food items. If not, prepare for the results of whatever your feeding. Whatever that may be.

I am not a fan of feeding partial foods. On the otherhand, as a test, I fed dogfood to three male argus monitors. After three years they were fine and apparently healthy. Again, I do not recoment that. How this will work for you, really depends on how you read and keep your monitors.

In otherwords, in my view, feeding partial foods, meats, turkey diet, etc. Is best left to experts that can recognize the effects and react quickly. Not for beginers who do not know what they are seeing. Unfortunately, its beginers who want to feed something convienent and the experts who use whole foods. Thanks FR

I was under the impression (at least from what local pet stores have told me) that you should feed monitors (and tegus) a variety of food.
The only things I feed my lizards are - mice, crickets, grilled plain chicken (the kind you see at publix in the refrigrated area, looks like you can add them to salads - the plain kind), ground turkey (same section as the ground beef) and canned monitor & tegu food by Zoo Med. They eat everything I offer them and seem to enjoy it. The chicken is slightly warmed before offering it to them, and the turkey I put in for about 2 minutes (so it's cooked but still has a little red in it) and then break it into small enough pieces that they can eat it no problem.

If I'm doing something wrong then by all means let me know as I come to love my lizards like dogs. (Especially my savannah who is just about as tame as a dog.)
I'm considering buying a full sized refrigrater (with the freezer) in a couple of months, but the mini freezer isn't a bad idea either. I've seen them in the sunday's ads for good prices (usually around $50) so I may just do that and buy the frozen rodents.
I'm always open to advice and suggestions precisely because I haven't had years of experience with reptiles.
If feeding a variety of foods (the ones mentioned above) isn't a good thing, what would you suggest? Stricly mice and rats?

a varity of whole foods. like rodents, birds, whole fish, insects, is fine. Not a varity of partial foods. Please consider, roughage such as, fur and feathers and exsoskeletons are needed as well. As with most animals.

We have shown, time and time again, that a diet of mice, is a good solid diet. It has produced generations of monitors. But please, a varity of whole foods is great. Good luck FR

Thanks for the advice, now I see what you mean about a variety of "whole foods".
I'll start working off of the turkey & chicken and moving towards mainly mice from now on. (What to do with those 36 cans of tegu & monitor canned food that I already ordered.. lol)

I know how you feel amigo, I bought a case of them and my monitors do not like it one bit. I do feed them once a week the Zupreem stuff along with crics and mice alternately, but they turned up their nose at the 'on sale' food. Well at least yer not out too much money.....hehehe. Best regards!

You can send that monitor food to me and I'll give it to my dog... her currently favorite foods are lab block and turtle pellets so I'm sure she'll enjoy it.
(for the record, the dog gets plenty of whole foods, whenever she can steal them out of the sink. I'm just thankful she doesn't leave the heads behind the couch.)
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!