Tegu Food List

[PuffDragon]

I compiled this list with some help for another forum, but I thought I would share it here as well. This forum has been great in answering all my questions and the wealth of knowledge is fantastic. I felt it only appropriate to give something back!

Whole prey
Captive raised insects
Crickets
Roaches
Mealworms
Super worms
Wax worms
Silk worms
Horn worms
Earth worms
Snails
Crayfish
Pinkie mice
Quail hatchlings
Baby chickens
Mice
Rats
Hamster
Gerbil
Feeder frogs/toads/lizards

Meat
Soft-boiled or scrambled eggs
Raw meats: turkey, lamb, venison, fowl, beef
Fresh fish filets
Organ meats: liver, hearts, gizzards
Sea food: Crab, Scallops, Shrimp

Fruits
Tropical fruits: Mango, Papaya
Melons: cantaloupe, honeydew, casaba, watermelon
Bananas- in moderation, peels can be fed if grown organic
Apples- in moderation
Cherries
Grapes- Thompson seedless; green and red
Concord grapes higher in oxalates
Tomatoes- high in oxalates**
Berries:
Strawberries- high in oxalates** and goitrogens* so in moderation
blueberries, raspberries, & blackberries
Figs -fresh or dried
Dates
Kiwi
Peaches- high in goitrogens*
Pears- high in oxalates**
Pumpkin

Veggies
Acorn squash, butternut squash
Kabocha squash
Parsnip
Alfalfa
Okra
Green beans
Green peas, snap peas
Leeks
Prickly pear cactus

Dark leafy greens like:
Chicory greens (Escarole)
Collard greens
Dandelion greens
Endive
Mustard greens
Turnip greens

Spaghetti squash
Bell peppers
Rapini
Zucchini
Yellow squash
Radish
Yucca root- cassava- tough, should be shredded
Asparagus
Broccoli in moderation, high in oxalates**
Beets and Beet greens in moderation, high in oxalates**
Carrots and tops in moderation, high in oxalates**
Bok choy - in moderation, high in goitrogens*
Brussels sprouts- high in goitrogens*
Parsley- good source of calcium
Cabbage- in moderation, high in goitrogens*
Cauliflower- in moderation, high in goitrogens*
Coriander- in moderation, high in oxalates**
Rutabaga
Sweet potato- feed rarely
Corn- feed rarely or never, low in Ca and high in Phosphorus
Spinach- feed rarely or never, high in oxalates and goitrogens
Swiss chard- feed rarely or never, high in oxalates**
Lettuces -low in nutrition
Celery- low in nutrition
Cucumber- low in nutrition
Flowering plants like- Nasturtiums, Dahlia or hibiscus, just be careful of pesticides and herbicides
Lentils-cooked
Cooked pasta or rice
Whole wheat bread

Got a suggestion? Add it. Don't agree with an item listed above? Tell us.

*Goitrogens are naturally-occurring substances that can interfere with function of the thyroid gland. Goitrogens get their name from the term "goiter," which means an enlargement of the thyroid gland. If the thyroid gland is having difficulty making thyroid hormone, it may enlarge as a way of trying to compensate for this inadequate hormone production. "Goitrogens," like circumstances that cause goiter, cause difficulty for the thyroid in making its hormone.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=47

**Oxalates are naturally-occurring substances found in plants, animals, and in humans. In chemical terms, oxalates belong to a group of molecules called organic acids, and are routinely made by plants, animals, and humans. Our bodies always contain oxalates, and our cells routinely convert other substances into oxalates. For example, vitamin C is one of the substances that our cells routinely convert into oxalates. In addition to the oxalates that are made inside of our body, oxalates can arrive at our body from the outside, from certain foods that contain them.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=48

Top Healthiest Fish

[wolfy-hound]

Wow. That's a lot of foods and obviously a lot of research. I wonder why you listed apples as "in moderation"? I feed a great deal of apples to mine and always have.
Also, I have gotten little to no success with feeding vegetables, but especially leafy vegtables. I would personally not feed bread, or pasta. It's sticky carbs, and I would not think it would be a good part of a diet, and also run somewhat a risk of clogging up the digestive system.
In general, mine eat most of the meats(raw whole prey heavy), and fruits. I do feed whole fish, and on occasion raw eggs.
Thanks for posting! That's a great list.

[Michelle.C]

Nice list!

You might also want to go into detail about the whole food prey. Earthworms (especially) have the nutritional value of a nice, yummy sheet of cardboard; Superworms aren't much better.

Eggs should be cooked due to exposure of salmonella.

If you have a stubborn Tegu, You can always trick them into eating Vegetables, etc. On Veggie day, I take various vegetables and shove them in chunks of Turkey, she never seems to notice.

[PuffDragon]

I wonder why you listed apples as "in moderation"?

Apples are a good treat but are thought to have no real benefit to feeding them regularly. The sugar and acids in fruit can kill off beneficial bacteria that reptiles use to break down cellulose so you only want to offer fruit sparingly as is. Fruits with more nutritional density like berries, melon, mango, papaya, kiwi or prickly pear are better staple treats but apples in small doses make many happy reptiles.

The pectin in apple or grape skin is actually a very healthy soluble fiber that can help pass the chitin from feeder insects so every once in awhile would be suitable, if not more.

You might also want to go into detail about the whole food prey. Earthworms (especially) have the nutritional value of a nice, yummy sheet of cardboard; Superworms aren't much better.

This list is merely a suggestion on what you can feed. Some are suitable as just treats, others as a staple. I encourage anyone looking to try new food items to do their own research first. I wish I could lay out all the nutritional info on each item but there are already a number of good sites out there with most items nutritional values labeled. I honestly don't have time to do it. Good suggestion though!

I've never had much success feeding vegetables, leafy greens, or most fruits but others have. For T. merianae I don't think it's absolutely necessary but there's got to be benefits from all the phytonutrients available in them. I don't feed pasta but there has been reports of some benefits to it.

[wolfy-hound]

If argentine tegus are not fed sufficient fruit, theyt end to have issues shedding(as per other owners I've talked to, and the minor experiance on my own). I feed more fruit than meat, overall. No veggies, becuase frankly I got tired of cleaning up veggies that were tossed out of food dishes.
I started my hatchling tegus last year out on finely chopped apples and grapes, and ground turkey, with insects. They did quite well. I started my original tegus on the same, and moved them off insects, and onto whole prey as soon as possible, and they've done stunningly well.
If you'd like a more detailed listing of the typical diet mine eat, I'd be pleased to run it down for you.

[PuffDragon]

I almost didn't post because I do not want to spark a huge debate. I just do not have the energy for it but I will share my 2 cents and leave it at that.

I don't really buy into the fruit vs shed thing. If you break it down I think what people are looking for by feeding fruits are Vitamins A, B and E. For they all have been documented in benefiting skin in reptiles, as well as humans. Granted fruits do contain these and other minerals in trace amounts they are still primarily water. There are other ways to provide essential Vitamins into the diet than just fruit.

Vitamins A and B (especially B12) can be found in abundance in beef livers. Vitamin E in cod liver oil, wheat germ oil and flax seed oils. In the wild T. merianae consume vegetation, fruits and seeds. Seeds are mostly likely providing the essential oils and Vitamin E.

Supplementing the staple diet with your standard vitamin/mineral dust, calcium, beef livers, and cod liver oil would fulfill most of diet requirements in my opinion.

One T. merianae I kept would not even go near fruits. I had a male who lived 11 years (was an adult of unknown age when I got him) in my care and never once ate fruit or had a bad shed. I credit good sheds to proper humidity more than anything else. In there natural range humidity averages 80-100%. Most care sheets say 60-70% should be sufficient but I have always kept mine right at 80% and never have had a bad shed beyond anything normal in my animals.

In the end it boils down to what you feel is right for your animals. I feed fruits, invertebrate and vertebrate food items myself. But until the fruit vs shed thing can be properly researched by scientists and peer reviewed, I will be skeptical of it.

You sound like you take great care in your tegus. Can you share some pics? I would love to see!

[PuffDragon]

...are Vitamins A, B and E.

Vitamin E in cod liver oil, wheat germ oil and flax seed oils. In the wild T. merianae consume vegetation, fruits and seeds. Seeds are mostly likely providing the essential oils and Vitamin E.

This should be Vitamin D not E.

[wolfy-hound]

Check out my postings here, and my youtube videos under "wolfyhound". I've got LOADS of pics and videos. I love mine.
Not debating, just sharing what I do with my tegus that works for me. When I got mine, I was told sweet fruits.. but my guys prefer tart apples! But they love grapes(cut in half of course).

[PuffDragon]

I've found honeydew, grapes, blueberries and cantaloupe to be the most accepted with ones I have owned. I've never offered apples only because I always forget to buy them.

[rebeccabecca]

Odd thing is that this list makes me want one. I'm getting one in the fall just not sure if I should get a red or B&W.