Replacing ground turkey with ground beef?

[tortoises101]

I've read that ground turkey should be a staple meat for tegus. However, I can't find ground turkey anywhere here. Ground beef on the other hand, is readily available and very cheap. Comparing the nutritional values, the only difference I see is more amino acid in turkey (I can make up for this with eggs) and a little more fat in beef (8% more). What do you guys think?

 

[jtrux]

Man, I don't know anything about Canadian grocery stores but down here ground turkey is EVERYWHERE. Personally I eat the hell out of it.

I don't know about a staple but there's nothing wrong with offering it regularly. Sure would be a lot cheaper than having to buy a lot of feeders.

 

[Tom]

Beef is fine as long as the rest of the diet is balanced. Make sure your are feeding lots of other non-meat things too. I feed mine a fair amount of big roaches too.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

There are high end cat foods that are in facsimile, small rodents ground up. They are sold from refrigerator cases in PetCo and other big box pet stores. In zoos we would use a product called 'carnivore diet' which was the same thing for lions, tigers, and bears, oh yeah. It works good for many things that eat whole small animals, the big box store version is good.

And then as Tom suggests, insects too.

Will

 

[RedfootsRule]

I've heard this to, ground turkey being better then beef....And it makes sense. Red meat, for most things (including us) is not healthy...Causes heart issues. I can't tell you what it does to tegus, but birds definitely seem healthier then cows.

 

[Tom]

There are high end cat foods that are in facsimile, small rodents ground up. They are sold from refrigerator cases in PetCo and other big box pet stores. In zoos we would use a product called 'carnivore diet' which was the same thing for lions, tigers, and bears, oh yeah. It works good for many things that eat whole small animals, the big box store version is good.

And then as Tom suggests, insects too.

Will

I actually use "bird of prey diet" or "carnivore diet" for mine. Beef based. I didnt mention it because it isn't readily available to the general public. I get it straight from the manufacturer through a mutual contact. I mix in various other things and have meatless days too.

 

[chairman]

You could use whole chicks for your tegu. Several frozen feeder companies sell chicks in various sizes for reasonable prices.

 

[EricIvins]

Personally I would cut out anything that isn't a whole food. My Tegus get Rodents, Chicks, Fish, Snails, or anything whole. Why make the guesswork that much harder to make a diet complete?

 

[tortoises101]

I've heard this to, ground turkey being better then beef....And it makes sense. Red meat, for most things (including us) is not healthy...Causes heart issues. I can't tell you what it does to tegus, but birds definitely seem healthier then cows.

I'll be feeding alot of whole foods (rodents, big insects, fish, etc) and organ meats from time to time. Thanks guys.

 

[tortoises101]

Update: I went to a new supermarket today and found ground chicken that's even cheaper than ground beef per pound. Guess I'll be feeding that now.

 

[chairman]

Be careful with chicken, it is very very fatty. Unless you happened to find a specialty 'low fat' variety, you are not going to appreciate what will be coming out the back end of your tegu shortly...

 

[tortoises101]

Be careful with chicken, it is very very fatty. Unless you happened to find a specialty 'low fat' variety, you are not going to appreciate what will be coming out the back end of your tegu shortly...

By the way, I do not have my tegu yet, I'm just making preparations.

Here's some nutrition facts about chicken and turkey. I do not see much difference...
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/10049/2
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/931/2

 

[Infernalis]

I myself am a huge fan of whole prey.

whole prey is nutritionally complete.

why complicate things.

 

[chairman]

Here's some nutrition facts about chicken and turkey. I do not see much difference...
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/10049/2
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/931/2

I couldn't find the nutrition data for 97% lean ground turkey on the site you listed but it does have half the fat of ground chicken... and I've never seen lean ground chicken offered. If there were a lean ground chicken I'd substitute.

Another calorie site:
http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-wegmans-ground-poultry-97-percent-i92747
http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-chicken-ground-raw-i5332

 

[Infernalis]

Just curious if this has ever been brought up. I occasionally give my lizards Purdue Chicken hearts & gizzards. They are like a buck a pound at Wal mart, organic, hormone free & very little fat on organ tissues.

I would never suggest as a staple diet, but a couple here and there as treats seems like it wouldn't hurt a thing.

 

[chairman]

I believe that beef hearts are a part of a successfully used tegu food mixture.

Chicken hearts/gizzards have a Ca ratio of worse than 1:10 and are high in cholesterol. But they are very low in fat, high in vit B, iron, and a couple other trace minerals not found in a lot of other things. Roll them in Ca+D3 and they'd probably balance better. I doubt that your particular pair has much to worry about from a treat like giblets, though.

 

[tortoises101]

I myself am a huge fan of whole prey.

whole prey is nutritionally complete.

why complicate things.

Did some more research on whole prey and the wild diets of tegus and I am now modifying my diet plans. 85% will be whole prey and the rest will be split between fruits and meat. This diet plan will constantly experience changes as my tegu matures. Feeding whole prey does sound more nutritionally complete and natural.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

I concur with Tom on the insect aspect of a tegus diet. Breed Madagascar hissers and feed the freshly shed adults. The soft body, before hardening, makes for an enjoyable meal. Also when feeding, mix up your feeding spots when you can. For instance, at night, while its asleep, put some of the food in a hollowed out piece of wood, letting him use his olfactory centers of his brain to find it. This type of stimulation, I feel, is important for their emotional well being.