Dog Food Types

[CopperLynne]

Looking for high quality dog foods I stubbled on freeze dried nuggets that you rehydrate. Has quality meat and vegetable/green ingredients.
Would this be a good option (of course with added fresh items)?
*Photo attached is from their site.

[kingofnobbys]

I wouldn't recommend the stuff for skinks .

Is "designed" for dogs , and so not even remotely similar to the dietary needs of a skink.

[CopperLynne]

Why is wet dog food so highly recommended then?

[kingofnobbys]

Why is wet dog food so highly recommended then?

Cheap & convenient & many skink keepers don't know better.

But really only "suitable" in emergencies or a very small part of the diet if at all.

I never give cat or dog food to my skinks , I try to keep to a more natural diet for my gang of bluetongues and eastern water skinks along the lines of this : https://www.completecritter.com/blue-tongue-skink.html (with the exception that I do not include pinkie mice in their diet (too high in fat and not appropriate, also wild bluetongues do not catch and eat mice, I do include raw chicken eggs (whole) and hardboiled eggs on a weekly basis as a treat for skinks, they love egg) which is based on actual scientific study of what BTS eat in the wild rather than what is forced on them by keepers. It is harder to and involves more effort to follow the Food Pyramid but it's worth it.

[xXxBORISxXx]

Hey there,
I choose to feed my skink dog food mixed with fresh spring greens, and rotating in different foods like Arcadia OmniGold and Repashy Blue Buffet.
Here is an excellent, evidence-based video about using dog food in skink's diet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYqEsFqEj68
Of course, it is up to the keeper to decide which diet is right for your skink,as long as it is research based.
I don't have experience with the dog food you have listed, but the one I used personally is the Blue Wilderness Trail Tray.
https://bluebuffalo.com/en-ca/all-natur ... s-chicken/
I like the small size of these ones as I just have one skink.

[CopperLynne]

The reason I was going with this one was because the ingredients seem much better than most normal wet foods:
Rabbit (with ground bone), Organic Collard Greens, Organic Squash, Organic Celery, Rabbit Livers, Rabbit Hearts, Cranberries, Blueberries, Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Montmorillonite Clay, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Organic Cilantro, Organic Ginger, Sardine Oil, Rosemary Extract, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Quinoa Sprout Powder, Alfalfa, Dried Organic Kelp, Vitamin E Supplement, Mixed Tocopherols (natural preservative).
And then rotate with different flavors, reptilinks, and dubias.

[Yeshika]

Not sure if ginger is okay for skinks

[kingofnobbys]

Not sure if ginger is okay for skinks

I wouldn't risk giving anything containing ginger to my pet skinks or dragons. Might be OK for a cat or a dog to make it more "tasty".

[vana]

My skink has been eating special kitty canned cat food mixed with fruits and veggies (with supplements) for 21 years.

[splashy07]

Might I add that the dog food I use is far from cheap....almost three bucks a can. And I have 15 skinks. Their food costs more than mine when you figure in the eggs and chicken I also make for them.

[CopperLynne]

What brands do you use?

[Taliats]

For the record, dog food is absolutely fine for Skinks. A lot of top tier keepers use dog food, it's not dog food itself that is bad, it is the type that you use.

A lot of ground up and chopped meat is "designed" for humans but people still give that to their lizards. You have to remember that Skinks will eat literally anything in the wild, but that being said, this is not the wild, and a lot of captive animals live much longer than their wild counterparts.

I use Butcher's dog food, I buy in bulk and if you get the right brand, it is absolutely grain free, I mix it with whatever veggies I have to hand that day, I always make sure that the veggies that I have are safe for skinks, however.

[splashy07]

Ditto, Taliats. I wouldn't want to duplicate what my skinks would eat in the wild. They eat garbage. I want and expect them to outlive me. Their diet costs more than my own, with the exception of the insects which I produce myself. I do not recommend this practice, but I know breeders who exclusively use cheap cat food and have animals 20+ years old and still producing big healthy babies. For economical purposes, when you breed animals for a living and have over a thousand of them that's the way it is. For myself, they are pets first and simply would not keep more than I could adequately care for. They get the best of the best, and that's what I would recommend for pet keepers.