Tegu Food List: What Food Can Tegus Eat and Which To Avoid

Tegus are omnivorous reptiles that require a varied diet to stay healthy and happy.

The foundation of a tegu lizard’s diet should consist primarily of protein and greens. The exact ratio will depend on the age and species of your tegu:

• Adult Argentine and Red tegus should be fed a diet of 70% protein and 30% greens (including fruit).
• Colombian tegus and baby tegus, regardless of species, should be fed a diet of 90% protein and 10% greens (including fruit).

Protein sources should be varied and can include whole prey items, such as rodents, chicks, fish, and insects.

Greens should be a mix of dark, leafy vegetables to provide essential vitamins and minerals. Fruit should only be fed as a treat.

Calcium supplements are particularly important for maintaining strong bones and preventing metabolic bone disease.

You will need to adjust the ratio of protein to greens based on your tegu’s age and species.

Hatchlings and juveniles generally require a higher protein intake, while adults can thrive on a more balanced diet.

Colombian tegus aka gold tegus have slightly different dietary needs, requiring more protein even as adults.

Below, a comprehensive list of all the foods that tegus can eat and what should be avoided:

Whole Prey

• Captive-raised insects
• Crayfish
• Chickens (baby)
• Crickets
• Freeze-dried grasshoppers
• Earthworms
• Frogs (feeder)
• Gerbil
• Hamster
• Horn-worms
• Lizards (feeder)
• Meal-worms
• Mice
• Pinkie mice
• Quail hatchlings
• Rats
• Roaches (canned)
• Silk-worms (canned)
• Snails (canned)
• Super-worms
• Toads (feeder)
• Wax worms
• Reptilinks (* get $5 off through this link or add code “petswithscales” at checkout)

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Other meat products

• Eggs, raw, soft-boiled or scrambled
• Raw meats (poultry, lamb, venison, beef)
• Fresh fish filets (* some can be high in mercury)
• Organ meats (liver, hearts, gizzards)
• Seafood (crab, scallops, shrimp)

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Fruits

• Apples (in moderation)
• Bananas (in moderation, organic peels can be fed)
• Berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries (in moderation, high in oxalates and goitrogens))
• Cantaloupe
• Casaba
• Cherries
• Concord grapes (higher in oxalate)
• Dates
• Figs (fresh or dried)
• Grapes (Thompson seedless, green and red)
• Honeydew
• Kiwi
• Mango
• Melons
• Papaya
• Peaches (high in goitrogens)
• Pears (high in oxalates)
• Pineapple
• Pumpkin
• Tomatoes (high in oxalates)
• Watermelon

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Vegetables

• Acorn squash
• Alfalfa
• Asparagus
• Bell peppers
• Butternut squash
• Chicory greens (escarole)
• Collard greens
• Dandelion greens
• Endive
• Escarole
• Green beans
• Green peas, snap peas
• Kabocha squash
• Leeks
• Mustard greens
• Okra
• Parsnip
• Prickly pear cactus
• Radish
• Rapini
• Snap peas
• Spaghetti squash
• Turnip greens
• Yellow squash
• Yucca root (cassava, should be shredded)
• Zucchini

In Moderation:

• Beets and beet greens (in moderation, high in oxalates)
• Bok choy (in moderation, high in goitrogens)
• Parsley (good source of calcium)
• Broccoli (in moderation, high in oxalates)
• Brussels sprouts (high in goitrogens)
• Cabbage (in moderation, high in goitrogens)
• Carrots and carrot tops (in moderation, high in oxalates)
• Cauliflower (in moderation, high in goitrogens)
• Celery (low in nutrition)
• Coriander (in moderation, high in oxalates)
• Corn (feed rarely or never, low in calcium and high in phosphorus)
• Cucumber (low in nutrition)
• Flowering plants (nasturtiums, dahlia, hibiscus, be careful of pesticides and herbicides)
• Lettuces (low in nutrition)
• Rutabaga
• Spinach (feed rarely or never, high in oxalates and goitrogens)
• Sweet potato (feed rarely)
• Swiss chard (feed rarely or never, high in oxalates)

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Other Foods

• Bread
• Cooked pasta or rice
• Whole wheat bread
• Lentils (cooked)

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Recommended supplements

• Calcium (without D3, free of phosphorus)
• Multivitamin

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Foods to Avoid

• Avocado
• Chocolate
• Alcohol
• Caffeine
• Processed and sugary foods
• Onions
• Garlic

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