Veggie delight food mix

[Lea]

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Today's mix was meat free, thanks to a delicious kangaroo rump earlier in the week! It included: broccoli, runner beans, plums, a few tiny grape tomatoes, carrot and some mashed banana, to fool the pickier eaters into thinking they were eating a big treat. It worked and the shinglebacks hoovered up the mix, looking very happy and satisfied.

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[Lea]

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[Nae]

Look at them all!

Something tells me they think your cooking sucks

[Bluish]

They're eating better than most people I know
Very nice skinks!!

[Rani-May]

They are all so beautiful. i want them all

[Jeff]

Great pictures Lea! The food made my mouth water, and the skinks made me very jealous. They look great! Of course it's hard for those of us who have a bunch of sleeping skinks right now.

[Richard.C]

Looking great lea,those yellow flecked ones are great,well they all are but the yellow is quite striking

Have u noticed the female eating more that was tarting around with the male,lol

[Lea]

Great pictures Lea! The food made my mouth water, and the skinks made me very jealous. They look great! Of course it's hard for those of us who have a bunch of sleeping skinks right now.

I tried to make the pictures seem nice and real, to make you feel as if you are right there with them and make the pain of not having your own awake, just ease that little bit. I feel for you, I don't like the cold weather much, but winter does seem extra long with the skinks asleep, too. It's a tough time of year. No wonder people get SAD, it's even more understandable when you own brumating skinks.

[CarlyM]

Gorgeous pictures!

[Lea]

No, not really ... They are all eating like little pigs on amphetamines, it's hard to notice a difference between them. One of the other females, the lighter one, is carrying some extra weight though, but she didn't appear to be one of the love interests! May he got to her on the sly ... I guess time will tell, but she's a bit more defensive than before, more wary and even a bit snappy. I've not handled her too much, just in case, but I did have her out a week or two ago, just to get some progress photos for a comparison. There's not much to tell right now, just her slight increased awareness, if anything, but she appears to be gaining roundness near her hind quarters. It might be wishful thinking on my part though.

[hurricanejen]

Awesome mix! Definitely makes me miss my darlings while they're all sleeping. I am SO. ENVIOUS. of your shinglebacks! Am I the only one who just loves the really dark, nearly patternless ones?

[Jeff]

...Am I the only one who just loves the really dark, nearly patternless ones?

Yes. You are the only one.

[LarissaLurid]

I wouldn't feed the tomato often at all. It's very acidic and high in oxalates.

[Lea]

I wouldn't feed the tomato often at all. It's very acidic and high in oxalates.

Yes, they can be. Luckily for me, I have a whelm of patients with gastric reflux issues and nearly every tomato variety has been tried and tested- lower acid varieties are around, you just need to be wise to them. I'm also very wary of renal issues and other complications potentially arising from, or associated with, a high oxalate diet. I have also had the treat of experiencing kidney stones and therefore am fairly clued in to low oxalate/moderate oxalate diets, factoring in the occasional higher oxalate food. Overripe tomatoes are therefore a treat item and do occasionally feature in their meals.


Thank you for chipping in with that though. There is never an ill moment for a little education. It would be great if you had some recent articles related to this- I'm always on the lookout for new information in this area of nutrition.

[El Lobo]

I will leave aside the question of oxalates, lest a newbie will again find cause to ask if I have read the caresheet.

Fresh tomatoes are not very acidic; they have a pH value of 4.0-4.6. In some food charts they are described as mildly acidic, yet in others as mildly alkaline. All the following fruits have an equal or lower pH than tomatoes:
Apples, Apricots, Figs, Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime, Mango, Nectarines, Oranges, Peaches, Pineapple, Plums, Pomegranates, Prunes, Quince and Tangerine.¹

Additionally the same applies to the following berries:
Blackberries, Blueberries, Cherries, Cranberries, Red Currants, Gooseberries, Grapes, Raspberries and Strawberries.¹

I think some of the misunderstanding surrounding the acidity of tomatoes stems from the fact they are in the pH range that has long been believed to be ideal for the propagation of botulinum., i.e. clostridium botulinum could not form toxins below a pH of 4.6. Research has shown that to no longer be the case.²

Lea - that is in my view an excellent well presented healthy meal, obviously enjoyed by the diners.



1. U.S.F.D.A.: CFSAN - Bad Bug Book - pH Values of Various Foods Bad Bug Book: Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins Handbook

2. Clostridium botulinum can grow and form toxin at pH values lower than 4.6, - G. J. M. Raatjes & J. P. P. M. Smelt - Nature 281, 398 - 399 (04 October 1979).

[Lea]

My postgraduate degree in nephrology kind of covers me on the knowledge front, with oxalates

But, I am always open to offers of knowledge from well learned beings!

[acanthurus]

Wow, they are looking great Lea. I wouldn't rule out babies this season just yet. Some of mine never seem to get that round until just before birth. I very rarely see mine mating (maybe once or twice each season), but that never seems to stop the boys having their fun when I'm not around.

Jen you're not the only one. If I had the room I would love to have a group of black asperas

[StaceyLeigh]

Skinks are stunning! and they are sure enjoying their veggies!