Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just had to post a pic of our newest family member.
A 14" Argentine B/W Tegu. Name coming soon we hope.

We aquired him from lllreptile while at the reptile expo in Tampa on Saturday. I really enjoyed talking to the fine folks that were attending their booth as well as many others that were there. That was the first reptile show I've been to and had a blast.
That is catfood in the picture which he did eat part of but I have no intention of feeding in the future. (at least not on a regular basis) We will not be feeding live food and assuming our tegu agrees he will be eating turkey/eggs/fruit for the bulk of his diet. My question though was how this should be prepared. After scanning some of the forums I noticed that some people said to cook the eggs and some didn't. But nothing about the turkey. Should the meat be raw? Any treat suggestions?
I've also been scanning for tips on constructing his adult cage which I plan to start on as soon as I decide how it should be built. I'm currently thinking 6'x3'x2.5'.. which is the largest size I can accomodate without building it modular. Anyone have plans I could use as a basis? Or suggestions on materials? I know there is no "right" answer to these questions but tips are surely welcome.

PS.
Snapped a picture of our rankin dragon (Pango) this morning too.. so he doesn't feel left out I'll post one of him also hehe.

I'm not sure what your aversion is to feeding live food but if you want what is best for your new friend you should be feeding him/her fruit, as many crickets dusted with Miner-All I as he/she can eat and pinkies occasionally. I do not prefer feeding live mice but I do feed thawed frozen mice. Look back about 12 posts from this one and you will read where Ron St.Pierre recommends and explains the benefits of a 100% rodent diet. Whole prey items are the best possible food source for all tegu.

I certainly don't want to start a debate about live food. I was just taught that live prey raises aggresive tendencies. There are people better educated in this area than me that could argue this both ways..
I do appreciate your concern though so I'll just say that I will do what I hope is best for all my animals. If indeed I am pursuaded that it is unhealthy to leave whole prey out of his diet then I will correct this with frozen/thawed. I have nothing against feeding him mice.. just not live ones
I did read that post btw.. It was my understanding that Ron was speaking of Blue Tegus and stated also that their needs were different than that of the Argentine tegus. Maybe I misunderstood.. I'll certainly look it over again.. thanks

There is some thought that live food of any kind (insects, rodents, etc) may spark some "wild" tendencies in captive reptiles resulting in aggressive behavior. This is remedied by feeding frozen/thawed rodents.

The benefits of feeding whole prey items is fairly substantial. Diets formulated for other types of animals (cat/dog foods, etc) can have a detrimental effect on reptiles if given large amounts over time. Now I do occasional use these products when I run out of rodents but it rare. Even the "Turkey Diet" is no substitute for whole prey items. Animals that I have raised on diets other than whole prey items generally faired poorly.

Up till this point we have not been able to beat a diet consisting of rodents/insects and fresh fruits(in the case of Red Tegus)

Ron St Pierre
Bluetegu.com

If you do have to feed a processed food the best is Wysong Turkey Au Jus it is a whole food for cats. I mix it with some ground turkey brest. The ingredients are only Turkey, Turkey Liver, Turkey Heart, and Water Sufficient for Processing, I also mix in some Miner-All I. I only use this when I leave town and my wife has to feed our guys, she wants no part of frozen mice. I'm lucky to even get to keep them in the freezer

The link directly to the caned food is to long but go to the one below and go to
Produces/Ordering
--- Pet Products
------ Feline Diets then scroll down and you'll find it

I have used Wysong food with doges in the past and nothing compares to any of there products
Link

Thats good to know thanks. The only reason I fed him catfood was because I had just got him and wasnt able to get to the store to pick up anything until the next day. I just feel like I'm doing something wrong feeding him uncooked ground turkey lol. But I guess in that respect it couldn't be any different than any other live/dead whole food.

Wysong also makes other varieties of feline and canine food. I occasionally use the venison, rabbit, and duck to feed the Tegus. It's quality food and the price reflects that...not too bad if you're only feeding an animal or two tho.