Food Question

lmb02 · Postby **lmb02** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 11:47 am

I am feeding Ollie canned cat food as part of his diet and I was wondering which flavors are best for them. Right now he is only eating chicken and I was wondering if a beef or fish flavor might be healthier or worse or if they are all equal and it doesn't matter! Thanks to anyone who responds!

mom22wins · Postby **mom22wins** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:41 pm

I've heard that when they are babies they need more protein in their diet than they do as adults. I've heard cat food has more protein than dog food. The thing is, you don't want to just feed them mushy stuff cause they can get mouth problems. I think a good mixture of different cat and/or dog foods mixed with various fruits and vegi's (you'll find in the caresheet on this website) is the way to go. I've heard seafood is not a good thing to feed bluey's. So I'd stick to the beef, chicken and turkey flavored foods. Personally, I think the beef is a good choice for babies. Try to do a different meal every day so they don't get too used to one thing and get finicky.

Good luck and welcome to the forum!

Diane

Tattoo · Postby **Tattoo** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:03 pm

I agree with Diane. I would steer clear of the fish. Also :welcome:

to the forum. Better be posting us some pictures of your skinker before too long. I have heard the posting of photo's is required. :shock:

Just kidding. :lol:

Steve · Postby **Steve** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:12 pm

Personally I think cat food and dog food are way too high in fat to feed to most reptiles

Iams/Eukanuba low fat or restricted calorie cat food is about the only one I'd be comfortable with that I've seen to date... (it's the same product)

lmb02 · Postby **lmb02** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 2:38 pm

He is not getting cat food as his only food source. I use it to get him to eat his fruits and veggies. The place I got him from wasn't feeding him anything besices cat food (chicken flavor). He gets a different mix everyday the only thing that is the same is the chicken flavor. When we first began, his food was like 80% cat food 20% fruits and veggies. Over time I have reduced the cat food and increased the fruits and veggies, but he still won't eat the greens without the meaty smell of the cat food. It says on the care sheet that a high quality cat food is ok to feed but I just wasn't sure which paticular flavors were best or if it mattered.

MartinsPerson · Postby **MartinsPerson** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:05 pm

First off, welcome! Its great to see that you're here and asking questions, but more importantly that you've already read the caresheet. That's fantastic.

As far as flavors go, I'd take a look at the nutrition label on the can. You want to find a whole meat source as the primary ingredient. I tend to look for chicken, turkey, or beef. I don't like how fatty lamb is, and fish makes me uncomfortable. Next, make sure that there aren't any split grains within the first 3 ingredients. This is harder to find. Although IAMS advertises well, I don't feel that they are a very high quality food. They're the best that you'd find a grocery store, but not the best over all.

I would do a search on the forum as this question has come up many times. But as a quick recap, some generally accepted brands that are ok to feed are Spots stew (can be found at Petco), merricks, precision, and natural choice. As with all processed foods its best to feed these sparingly or as a binder for the other foods. Good luck!

Steve · Postby **Steve** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:57 pm

Not a grocery store brand, and no split grains within the first 3 ingredients... please don't attempt to discredit my advice if you don't actually know the product.

Restricted-Calorie formulas are low-calorie, low-fat diets with high-quality, animal-based proteins. This helps your pet lose fat and keep lean muscle. These protein sources also provide great taste. Instead of using excessive levels of inexpensive fiber, Restricted-Calorie contains normal fiber levels from beet pulp – an excellent source that promotes normal bowel function and small, firm stools. Restricted-Calorie formulas also have an appropriate balance of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids for healthy skin and coat.

lmb02 · Postby **lmb02** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:36 pm

The food I am currantly using is Authority, the PetsMart store brand and the ingrediants are as follows:
Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Ocean Fish, Brewer's Rice,
Egg Product, Guar Gum, Salt, Brewer's Dried Yeast, plus some various vitamins and minerals
Crude Protein: 10.0%
Crude Fat: 6.5%
Crude Fiber: 0.8%
Omega 6: 0.85%
Omega 3: 0.15%

How does this sound? My skink estimated age is just under a year.

Jenn · Postby **Jenn** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 5:06 pm

I had two skinks that came to me eating a mainly catfood diet. It takes time and patience but you can get them off of it and get them to eat the veggies. I would get a mini chopper. This allows you to get the greens/veggies really small. Also if you are going to use other meats (turkey, chicken...) chop that up in the chopper as well. This gives it more of a catfood consitency. I then mixed the chicken, greens/veggies and a small amount of catfood in the chopper. This got the catfood smell on everything and made everything stick together so it was hard for them to pick things out. Those two skinks won't eat a plate of veggies/greens plain like some of my other blueys but they do eat mix with their meat and no longer need catfood.

Postby **Zach** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 6:14 am

Spot's Stew at Petco is the best cat food I've found; and that's what I use.

SailleSkinklover · Postby **SailleSkinklover** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:35 pm

I've also used the Wellness catfood, chicken flavor, that was posted in the care sheet. (Its the can with the pink label) It has all sorts of good meat/veg stuff in it, but no grains, and no fish.
I think Chuff likes garlic, because there's some in that brand of kitten/cat food, and he goes crazy for our baked chicken (which we always cook with a little garlic.) !
But no, I would never feed him raw cloves or anything. :shock:

Tattoo · Postby **Tattoo** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:57 pm

I use Wellness brand cat food as well. The ingredients on the can look healther than some human food labels I have seen :freaks:

! Go figure. :roll:

Postby **Zach** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 2:51 pm

Also a great brand!

SailleSkinklover · Postby **SailleSkinklover** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:03 pm

[quote="Steve"]Not a grocery store brand, and no split grains within the first 3 ingredients... please don't attempt to discredit my advice if you don't actually know the product.

I was confused by this comment? :notsure:

I thought all the advice on here was good, and maybe I missed something?
Anyway, my Herp vet said that really cat food is a little too rich to be served to adult Blueys very much, so I use it sparingly and to get him to eat his dandelion and collards.
Hey Zach, I got the Wellness brand from you/Caresheet!!

Steve · Postby **Steve** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:41 pm

It was a reply to MartinsPerson

SailleSkinklover · Postby **SailleSkinklover** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 11:07 pm

Huh.
Anyway, How are the Pink Tongues doing? Is their diet the same as for Blueys? More Pics soon? :clap:

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