Tegus can eat raw poultry including chicken, turkey, quail and so on.
As a matter of fact, these are some of the healthiest proteins you can feed to your tegu because they are nutritious and low in fat, and closely resemble what an adult tegu would eat in the wild.
While it is okay to feed cooked meat occasionally, the process of cooking denatures the quality of proteins and nutrients available to your tegu lizard.
The stomach of a reptile is built to digest raw meat, so it is best to feed chicken raw.
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How to feed poultry to your Tegu
You can feed your Tegu lizard any parts of a chicken or turkey as long as it’s not processed, seasoned or cured.
If you buy a whole chicken, you can give your pet the heart, liver, and gizzards which are filled with nutrients.
You can even feed the carcass as long as you slice it up according to the size of your tegu (they’ll have no problem cracking the bones but may hurt themselves trying to swallow a large bird all at once).
Chicken necks, wings and feet can also be fed, as well as entire small chicks or quail birds.
In fact, feeding whole prey ensures your tegu gets access to all the meat, bone, connective issues and organs which are filled with all the nutrients it needs.
If you are squeamish about feeding whole animals to your lizard, consider reptilinks, a type of commercially prepared sausage link that contains whole prey as well as eggs, fruits and vegetables, making for a complete meal for your tegu.
You can get a discount on your next reptilink purchase through this link or by typing in the code “petswithscales” at checkout.
Feeding Tegus ground poultry meat
Ground chicken and turkey are a valid option for tegus and many caretakers prefer to feed these regularly.
Feeding ground meat has the benefit of allowing you to mix in veggies and supplements in your pet’s bowl to create a healthy meal, and also makes meal prepping easier.
Ground lean turkey dusted with calcium powder and mixed with different kinds of vegetables and fruits is one of the healthiest meals that should appear in every tegu’s diet.
Experts recommend providing a calcium supplement (free of phosphorus and vitamin D3) twice a week and a reptile multivitamin once a week.
Tegus and Salmonella
You should not worry about your Tegu contracting salmonella from eating raw chicken.
Truth is, most reptiles already carry salmonella in their body, and they do not get sick from it.
When handling raw chicken or turkey, you should make sure that you wash your hands carefully after feeding and handling your reptile, who may indirectly pass salmonella to you from its mouth or droppings.
Tegu and Chicken FAQs
Can Tegus eat raw chicken?
Yes, and Tegus can eat all sort of poultry including chicken. Raw meat is preferred to cooked meat because nutrients are more easily available to your tegu.
In fact, the cooking process denatures protein, so it is best to feed tegus chicken raw.
Can tegu eat ground chicken / turkey?
Yes. You can mix the raw ground meat into a patty together with some veggies and dust it with calcium powder to make a healthy meal.
Ground chicken and especially turkey meat is one of the leanest proteins and healthiest options you can feed to a tegu on a regular basis.
Can tegu eat chicken gizzards, hearts and liver?
Yes, you can feed all parts of the bird to your tegu, including heart, gizzards and liver.
Feeding these is actually recommended as they are highly nutritious and an important source of vitamins and minerals.
Can tegu eat chicken bones, necks and feet?
Yes, all parts of the bird can be fed to your lizard. Tegus have strong jaws and sharp teeth which allow them to break through bone and munch on pretty much anything.
Chicken carcass should be fed uncooked and cut to appropriate sizes to avoid injuries, but it’s otherwise a very healthy source of calcium. Same goes for chicken necks and feet.
TEGU QUICK LINKS
PetsWithScales.com is an informational website about big lizard pet care. We collect and provide information from different sources across the web on how to keep and care for reptiles as pets. The species we mainly deal with are tegus, monitor lizards, skinks and geckos. Our aim is to provide high quality information to help pet owners make better, more informed decisions about their animal’s diets, health and life.
PetsWithScales.com is an informational website about big lizard pet care. We collect and provide information from different sources across the web on how to keep and care for reptiles as pets. The species we mainly deal with are tegus, monitor lizards, skinks and geckos. Our aim is to provide high quality information to help pet owners make better, more informed decisions about their animal’s diets, health and life.