Tegus are omnivorous reptiles that require a varied diet to stay healthy and happy.
This diet should consist of approximately 70% protein and 30% plant material (for adult Argentine and Red tegus), or 90% protein and 10% greens (for Colombian tegus and baby tegus regardless of species). Fruit and some other foods should only be fed sporadically or as a treat, and some supplements like calcium are also recommended.
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
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)
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
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)
Other Foods:
- Bread
- Cooked pasta or rice
- Whole wheat bread
- Lentils (cooked)
Recommended supplements:
- Calcium (without D3, free of phosphorus)
- Multivitamin
Foods to Avoid:
- Avocado
- Chocolate
- Alcohol
- Caffeine
- Processed and sugary foods
- Onions
- Garlic
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.