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Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 613 Location: The Netherlands
Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 12:55 am Post subject:
I guess you could feed it fish (and that would probably be any fish we can eat which is not spiced or anything) but not as stapel diet I think... better feed it rodent or ground turky with suplements.
Any special reason why you would want it to eat fish? _________________ 1.0.0 T.rufescens
0.1.0 T.merianae
1.0.0 Testudo horsfieldii
1.0.0 Stenodactylus sthenodactylus
0.0.1 Ceratophrys ornata
0.0.1 Geocholone elegans
0.0.1 Python regius
2.0.0 Mustela Putorius Furo
0.1.0 Bouvier des flandres
Joined: Nov 06, 2004 Posts: 972270 Location: Central Maine
Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 8:11 am Post subject:
I have heard of some people feeding tuna. I have not heard of any pros and cons. Sardines I am unsure of. I know some of packed in oils and I know some have herbs and spices. Live feeder fish may carry parasites so a lot of people agree that it's not worth the risk, but others claim tegus have an "iron gut" and feed their tegu live fish.
I once fed a goldfish to one of my colombian's. It kept slipping from her mouth. She swallowed it eventually, so I guess u could feed it a fish, but ONLY as a treat, do not make it the staple part of its diet. Stick to rodents and insects for this, with fruit on the side.
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 613 Location: The Netherlands
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 3:05 am Post subject:
Well I know with goldfish to be carefull as when you have tortoise or turtles you dont want them to eat them because they can have all sorts of sickness that the turtle or tortoise can get too.. So you feed them guppies
Now I know a turtle is something else as a tegu but still...I wont risk my tegu's. _________________ 1.0.0 T.rufescens
0.1.0 T.merianae
1.0.0 Testudo horsfieldii
1.0.0 Stenodactylus sthenodactylus
0.0.1 Ceratophrys ornata
0.0.1 Geocholone elegans
0.0.1 Python regius
2.0.0 Mustela Putorius Furo
0.1.0 Bouvier des flandres
Joined: Nov 06, 2004 Posts: 972270 Location: Central Maine
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 9:18 am Post subject:
Live feeder fish may carry parasites, some more the others. I don't think there is a place to see which is more risky and which is less risky, but I think the general consensus was to avoid it. The nutritional value of a feeder fish isn't worth the risk for most people.
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 613 Location: The Netherlands
Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 9:46 am Post subject:
Yes I understand Rick but when you have animals that live partly from eating fish and the people that know a great deal about it say its better to avoid feeding goldfish I think they aren't good for any animal... _________________ 1.0.0 T.rufescens
0.1.0 T.merianae
1.0.0 Testudo horsfieldii
1.0.0 Stenodactylus sthenodactylus
0.0.1 Ceratophrys ornata
0.0.1 Geocholone elegans
0.0.1 Python regius
2.0.0 Mustela Putorius Furo
0.1.0 Bouvier des flandres
well i was thinking of feeding escobar fish maybe once in a while but not as a staple and deffinatly not feeder fish(fish people eat) i was just looking for something else to feed him cuase seems like he is not eating as much he only eats a few crickets(live) and meal worms(live) one pinkie a day or one fuzzie and turkey(about the size of a fuzzie) every other day. and thought maybe he was bored with the food so i wanted to mix it up everyonce in a while.. cause once a month i give him a little lean ground beef as a treat and he eats it up quick so i just wanted a little more feeding options cause i can't find silkies or roaches in my area and am gonna start to order them if i can find a good place.
I believe feeder fish are actually fish that are bred specifically to feed to animals (or other fish) - you can get people with stocks of things like guppies and goldfish that they only breed to feed to other creatures. They can sometimes be raised in relatively poor conditions, and parasites can spread quickly and ruthlessly through a tank leaving the whole stock infected. Best to avoid them
The things youre feeding sound good. Maybe you can try mixing in some veg or fruit for a little more variety, though theres no guarantee your tegu will touch it Maybe you can try locusts; theyre the only insect big enough for my tegu to catch effectively now, but I cant stand them so he doesnt get them often.
Goldfish as a food source isn't necessarily bad in and of itself. However, a monoculture diet of goldfish can be, as goldfish lack certain nutrients that are found in other food items, plus there's something about enzymes formed when frozen (I don't know the exact specifics, sorry). Like feeding lettuce to herbivores, the lettuce itself isn't bad, but as a staple it isn't good.
Feeding of one animal to another is ALWAYS a risk for transfering parasites. Anyone who tells you that freezing the food item kills the parasite obviously doesn't know much about eggs and cysts. About the only sure method of killing parasites is with heat. Whereas you and I do well with cooked food, most animals cannot properly digest cooked animal proteins, so this isn't really an option.
However, the other side is that parasites usually aren't a problem. I guarantee anyone reading this has parasites. It's impossible to live in our world without gaining a few biotourists along the way. Parasites are usually only a concern during development (embryo to sub-adult growth phases), or if the host's health is otherwise compromised. As a rule, they don't harm healthy adult hosts, but there are exceptions to all rules.
As for tegus eating fish, there are some notes of them doing so both in captivity and in the wild, although not exactly under "natural conditions". In Milstead's herpetological communique (Milstead, W.W., 1961. Notes on the Teiid lizards in southern Brazil. Copeia 1961: 493-495.) the author accounts a case where captive tegus at the Porto Alegre Zoo would scavenge the uneaten fish given to the caimans, and other cases where wild tegus scavenge from the "trash" fish discarded by commercial fishermen on beaches. Basically, tegus are oportunists and usually won't pass up a free meal. Captive ones, however, do develop finicky habits.
Joined: Dec 28, 2004 Posts: 253 Location: Miami, Fl
Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:12 pm Post subject:
I feed my guys fish whenever we have leftovers like salmon, tuna, dolfin, swordfish, snapper... as long as it is not seasoned or flavored. _________________ Bennett
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