# "advance" puppy food for a blue tongue



## nir.n (Jun 1, 2014)

Hey, I want to start adding dog food to my blue tongue's diet. He isnt eating very well and he is getting skinny. I tried dog food in the past and he really liked it. "Advance" puppy food was recommended to me but i noticed that all their dog food contains rice. Could i feed him a chicken and rice can? If not what brand would you recommend? (And please give me the can name as well). Also, what should i avoid in dog foods? And lastly, i own a dog and feed him dry food. If ill soak it in water, can i feed it to my blue tongue? What should i look for? 

Thanks in advance!


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## MesseNoire (Jun 1, 2014)

If he isn't eating well it's probably a sign of incorrect husbandry or illness. 
Tell people more about your setup and provide some pictures of both your lizard and setup and people will be able to help.

I have fed "wellness" cat food cans, "k9" freeze dried food and "supercoat" chicken liver flavour cat dry biscuits to bluetongues in the past.


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## Stevo2 (Jun 1, 2014)

Have you tried Vetafarm reptile pellets? They're a better food for a bluetongue than dog food. So far you've really given us no information that we can use to try and help your lizard.


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## nir.n (Jun 1, 2014)

He is 1.5 years old
I use a 40W lamp for heating + a 25W heating cable under the terrarium. 
He used to have only a cable but I read that for a blue tongue a lamp is highly recommended. 
He also got a 100UVB exo terra lamp. It was absent for only a week, the second lamp fitting i ordered just arrived and i'm going to install it tomorrow.
I would also appreciate if someone could answer my dog food question.

Thanks in advance! 

Some pics:


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## Wild~Touch (Jun 2, 2014)

Purina Supercoat Adult Chicken & Liver

cat food small dry pellets

Always have ample fresh water in with the lizard


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## animal805 (Jun 2, 2014)

30-32c is not really warm enough for a bluey, you need to aim for a 35c basking spot. There are a host of other food options but I have fed my Pink tongue skink on the Coles brand chicken cat food on the odd occaison when all other food has been difficult to find.


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## book (Jun 2, 2014)

I second raising the basking temperature. Blue Tongues do best with a day time body temperature of 32 to 36oC, so I run my basking spots approaching 40oC with areas away from the heat source of 25 to 30oC. This allows the lizard to warm up quickly and move to a cooler part of the enclosure as required. 
I change my Bluetongues diet for variety. I have not used the brand you mention but do use canned dog food mixed with chopped salad and veggies. 
The current brand I use is Nature's Gift. I like that it is made in Australia and has a good calcium to phosphorus ratio and low in salt. Young Blue Tongues also get Vetafarm Lizard Pellets and adults get Purina Super Coat Puppy Dry Food (sometimes mixed with Vetafarm Lizard Pellets). From time to time I change over to raw pet meat, veggies and added calcium and other vitamin suppliment. Egg is also mixed in on occation. 
What do you currently feed?


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## Mr.Self-destruct (Jun 2, 2014)

Dog food and cat food are not lizard food. Different nutritional requirements. Feeding dog and cat food can lead to liver and kidney problems over time. 

What kinds of food do you offer it? 

How long has it been in your care and what did the previous owner feed it? 

Has the animal been wormed?


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## coastals (Jun 2, 2014)

Mr.Self-destruct said:


> Dog food and cat food are not lizard food. Different nutritional requirements. Feeding dog and cat food can lead to liver and kidney problems over time.
> 
> What kinds of food do you offer it?
> 
> ...



a lot of blue tongue skink breeders feed dog food and have skinks that live long lives, so I would question the liver and kidney problems. If it was a sole source of food, without any fruit, veg or supplements then I could understand.


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## montysrainbow (Jun 2, 2014)

Mine used to love scrambled eggs! And meal worms lol well they were their treats anyway.
I didnt feed dog food.


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## Stevo2 (Jun 2, 2014)

Mine is currently brumating - very economical and no diet problems, lol!


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## dragonlover1 (Jun 2, 2014)

I steer clear of tinned dog food(too much preservative),my (son's) bluey gets snails, fruit,veg,occasional chicken mince or beef and some times mealworms which she absolutely loves


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## RoryBreaker (Jun 3, 2014)

This time of year can be difficult to increase the condition on a bluey. Even though cage temps may mirror summertime, a lot of skinks still choose brumation type behaviour. 

Your skink does look a little light on, looks a male to me and some eastern males can tend to be a bit on the skinny side. I wouldn't worry too much yet. Keep providing a basking area, keep fresh water available to it and come late August/September. You can concentrate on offering a wider range of goodies for it to eat.

Purina supercoat chicken and liver dry cat food, if your skink chooses to eat it, will bulk it up when a dish is provided in its cage 24/7 for it to graze upon. I still like to feed other goodies though. But that can wait until spring to give that a whirl.

cheers


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## nir.n (Jun 3, 2014)

Thanks you for your advice and tips! I really appreciate it! 
Im going to bunnings this weekend to get a stronger lamp. 
I usually feed him grinded vegetables, some fruit(apple, banana), green mix , mealworms(he used to really like them but since it got cold he barely notices them) and snails (after 2-4 weeks of waiting period).
There is always water in the terrarium(you can see it in front of the hide in the pic, its a transparent box)
Just one more thing, does anyone know the answer to my original question? 
Is a chicken and rice "Advance" puppy food it good? 
If not, could you please recommend a different caned dog food? (he seems to like dog food more than cat food).
And as i mentioned before, I own a dog, what should I look for in his dry food that may prevent me from feeding it to my blue tongue? 

Thanks in advance!


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## Mr.Self-destruct (Jun 3, 2014)

For snails you can usually get cheap leafy greens that are being thrown out at farmers markets. Use an old wheely bin nd just chuck snails in there with the greens. They'll not only clean out, they'll start breeding too.

Mince and the like are fine for putting on some weight in a short amount of time but you've got to question how capably designed is a bluey's digestive tract for mammal and poultry levels of fat? Better off breeding roaches, soldier fly larvae and snails while providing a access to leafy greens, fruits and a commercial diet.


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## RoryBreaker (Jun 3, 2014)

Advance puppy food is not fortified with D3.

The Purina supercoat chicken and liver dry cat food is.

PURINA SUPERCOAT - Adult Chicken & Liver

If you are going to feed canned dog food, blueys will eat any brand really, just dust it with calcium. Woolworths select branded cans (5 meats variety) is quite moist when compared to the likes of Chum....therefore making it easier to mix the calcium and veges through it.


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## nir.n (Jun 4, 2014)

I do own Vetafarm calcium and vitamin powder.
Are the Woolworths cans good for a blue tongue (If dusted with the vetafarm powder, chopped greens and vegetables)? I’m asking because in the past I’ve been told to feed them “quality” dog food. 
And just to make sure, can I feed a blue tongue with dog/cat food containing rice? What ingredients should I avoid?

Thanks in advance!


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## book (Jun 5, 2014)

I feed canned dog food containing rice on occasion. Meat should be the main ingredient, not meat by products. Added veg is also good but mix it with more veggies. I alternate between different flavours. 
I have not used the Woolworths stuff. I always look for a quality dog food without preservatives if possible and not too high in fat. Some cheap dog and cat food just looks like strangely coloured mush with white fat separating from it. Stuff like that I would not feed to a dog either.
Calcium to phosphorous ratio should be 1:1.2 or better on the calcium side or add more calcium supplement to the mix. 
I avoid fish in canned food. Danny Brown's book, A guide to Australian Skinks in Captivity (I highly recommend it) says fish type cat and dog food is suitable for Water Skinks specifically, so I don't use it for other skinks including Blue Tongues. His recommendation if feeding tinned food is that it should be no more than 10% of the lizard’s diet. His book also lists good fruits and vegetables to use.
Toxic fruit and veg included avocados, onions and rhubarb.


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## LittleHiss (Jun 7, 2014)

nir.n said:


> Thanks you for your advice and tips! I really appreciate it!
> Im going to bunnings this weekend to get a stronger lamp.
> I usually feed him grinded vegetables, some fruit(apple, banana), green mix , mealworms(he used to really like them but since it got cold he barely notices them) and snails (after 2-4 weeks of waiting period).
> There is always water in the terrarium(you can see it in front of the hide in the pic, its a transparent box)
> ...



The problem with ALL dog and cat and lizard and bird food - basically food for any animal - is that, at the moment, there are NO laws require the manufacturer to tell the truth on their packaging about what is actually in the food, and that includes the ingredients and percentages of protein/fat/vitamins/carbs etc. So when it comes to your bluey I suggest scrambled eggs if you HAVE to feed him something he wouldn't eat in the wild, but it would be astronomically better if you fed him things like snails from your garden, unless you have snail baits out, lots of vegies, a bit of fruit, big maggots, fly pupae in with his vegies and the occasional mealworm and even pinky mice to build him up a bit. They are all foods that he would be naturally eating, and if you feed him these, you know what he's getting and aren't blindly trusting labelling on manufactured animal foods, which, as I said, is not even regulated.


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## MesseNoire (Jun 7, 2014)

LittleHiss said:


> The problem with ALL dog and cat and lizard and bird food - basically food for any animal - is that, at the moment, there are NO laws require the manufacturer to tell the truth on their packaging about what is actually in the food, and that includes the ingredients and percentages of protein/fat/vitamins/carbs etc. So when it comes to your bluey I suggest scrambled eggs if you HAVE to feed him something he wouldn't eat in the wild, but it would be astronomically better if you fed him things like snails from your garden, unless you have snail baits out, lots of vegies, a bit of fruit, big maggots, fly pupae in with his vegies and the occasional mealworm and even pinky mice to build him up a bit. They are all foods that he would be naturally eating, and if you feed him these, you know what he's getting and aren't blindly trusting labelling on manufactured animal foods, which, as I said, is not even regulated.



And?.....

What about pet food made in the US or UK?
Don't they have higher standards and laws regarding ingredients.
Food like Royal Canin, Eukanuba, Hill's Science Diet, Wellness are all made overseas. Most if not all have the same ingredients and packaging as the ones sold in Australia.


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## LittleHiss (Jun 8, 2014)

Fractal_man said:


> And?.....
> 
> What about pet food made in the US or UK?
> Don't they have higher standards and laws regarding ingredients.
> Food like Royal Canin, Eukanuba, Hill's Science Diet, Wellness are all made overseas. Most if not all have the same ingredients and packaging as the ones sold in Australia.



.... not what I learnt when doing my cert IV in vet nursing, but okay.
And from experience, I have often found newspaper inside several different brands of dried dog food, and string and splinters of wood inside canned dog food.


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## RoryBreaker (Jun 8, 2014)

I have opened a fair whack of different brands of dog food over the years and mixed veges in by hand on most occasions. 

I am yet to see any of your foreign objects within anything that I have used. Found a piece of bone once, but really it's no issue. 

Different strokes for different folks I guess. As long as your bluey looks and is healthy.


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## CrazyNut (Jun 8, 2014)

Mate blueys will eat anything. They are like dogs, feed them anything you would feed a dog and don't feed him things you wouldn't feed your dog. So long as you give him a varied diet. Give him some chicken mine loves and its great fir adding condition. If he is still thin then it is illness or incorrect husbandry. Bump up the basking spot to 35 of 36 make sure he always has freshwater. As said before it can be difficult to add condition during the cooler time of the year so don't worry to much mate.


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