Our little new member is eating after we got our temps right… problem is Damascus only wants to eat Dubia roaches and horned worms (kicks dirt on sardines, snails, rapashi grub mix, super worms, fruits/veggies. I want to ensure a balance diet he eats but only those 2 insects I am not quite sure what to do as the reptile store we got him from said “do not feed raw this young” that being said I want to ensure a healthy development. We have a repashi powder to put on the insects so I have been doing that. The temp in the cage on the hot spot is usually 110-120 throughout the day and he has sphagna moss under his rock hide which is his basking spot which stays 80degrees for a warm humid hide and a cool area that gets in the mid 70s so he can go anywhere in between; that being said how can I encourage him?
Thank you for your time and consideration when reading ^^
(For the mods I hope this is in the right spot if not I apologize:( )
My tegu likes purple grapes, Black berry’s and banana. She will eat high end canned dog food, her favorite is goat. I will mix finely chopped vegetables into dog food a couple times a week. She likes any kind of roach or meal worm. Silverside fish , pinkies, ground turkey [I feed pinkies and turkey sparingly] She likes the precooked dog that has meat and veg with no fillers. I use calcium powder with D on all food and add reptile vitamins weekly.
I would say keep putting out a variety of foods chopped small enough for the little dude to eat and if he will eat anything like canned dog food, hide the veggys . Good luck.
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We actually picked up some blackberries since that is what you suggested :). I heard about the pinkies but we were told he is too young for any raw food would that include pinkies? I tried to mix the veggies/fruit in a little dish with moving insects to entice him but no go. Today he just got Dubia roaches and horn worms vented with fish to help him be okay with something else ^^; he shredded the two horn worms and the Dubia roaches are walking around with the supplement powder on them in a bowl placed in the ground so they can’t climb out and can be left in. My wife thinks that maybe he doesn’t touch fruits/veggies because tegus might become more omnivorous when they get older?? I tried looking this matter up but couldn’t find much.
I have heard that babies need more protein. Maybe see if he will eat a really good canned dog food, easy to mix a little veg in that. It might be a good idea if you could find a breeder to talk to. My tegu was a larger juvenile when I got her, poor thing was living on ground turkey and nothing else. Not every seller at a shows know what they’re doing. It took persistence to get her on other foods, but she started growing and became very active. She sometimes eats hard boiled eggs cut up with the shell on (I forgot about the eggs before) You might be overfeeding but with a baby I would be afraid to cut back unless a very knowledgeable person suggested it. Good luck
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