Dog food vs. Cat food

wrath · Postby **wrath** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 8:18 am

Hi,
I've been feeding my baby Northern dog food. I read on the caresheet to feed cat food. Is dog food ok? Would cat food be better? Thanks

Fatal_S · Postby **Fatal_S** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 8:28 am

Good topic. Personally I prefer dog food since dogs are more omnivorous like BTS. Cats are carnivores and catfood has added taurine (cats need it supplemented). I do feed catfood sometimes, but for the most part I stick with dogfood.

Linnea · Postby **Linnea** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 11:00 am

since im not sure exactly whats good, i actually feed both cat food and dog food!

i feed gold, which is a half good cat food, with chicken and oxen meat.

i feel cesar, which is a very good dog food.

if youre unsure if its good or not ( as long as the ingredients are okay for a skink, always check this!), then feeding a variety of products will reduce the bad food you pick and mix it with the good ones. it might also give the skink some nutrition you didnt even know they needed.....i think this is the best, but that might just be me.

then again, there is a standard you should never go below! dont feed something totally odd looking and smelling and......ew xD

Helikaon · Postby **Helikaon** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 4:43 am

Cat food usually just has extra protein, carbs and fat in it and yes added taurine. I feed dog food as i can get meet vegie mixes and i need bulk lots due to so many mouths to feed, but yes either will be fine, i aslo feed other stuff as well. egg, vegies fruit and the lieks, what ever i have around.

MissMeg · Postby **MissMeg** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 6:39 pm

I aslwell Feed both. I usally buy the (wellness I think) dog food that like 95% pure meat. I cut it up and freeze portions.

I also feed mine cat food. I like how they come in those little containers. They are usally the perfect size (Maybe a bit big) They are easy when Im in a hurry and dont have time to thaw the other food.

Fatal_S · Postby **Fatal_S** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 8:46 pm

I just tried the 95% chicken on the babies and they loved it (I'm finding my babies eat more and grow faster on chicken than beef). But that mean's it's just chicken so I worry about calcium, thus I'm always sure to powder with calcium +D3.

Owlstar · Postby **Owlstar** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 1:11 am

As I read the topic, I was curious to see if my own dogs wet dog food could be fed to my Skinks. I use Alpo Lamb and Rice for my dogs, since my little Shih Tzu is allergic to beef. If you've heard of it, would it be a good treat for my skinks?

MissMeg · Postby **MissMeg** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 7:06 am

I Use just plain calcium. My vet told me that if hes getting the proper UV he doesnt need the D3.
Dont quote me on this, but I think she said too much D3 is bad... I cant remeber if thats what she said or not though. So If im wrong please correct me.

Linnea · Postby **Linnea** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 8:14 am

MissMeg wrote:I Use just plain calcium. My vet told me that if hes getting the proper UV he doesnt need the D3.
Dont quote me on this, but I think she said too much D3 is bad... I cant remeber if thats what she said or not though. So If im wrong please correct me.

too much of any vitamin that is able to be stored in the body is bad. ADEK are stored in the body of humans, not sure about reptiles, but since its stored in fat then i guess so.

all other vitamins will just go the other way out if theyre not used : D

Gary90 · Postby **Gary90** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:22 am

Mine likes both cat and dog food. There both ok I think you should just mix it up once in a while.

Postby **Katrina** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 11:09 am

There is concern about the taurine content in cat food, although nothing is conclusive. However, all large scale breeders who feed pet food with veggies exclusively feed dog food for reasons stated above - so if you are looking for one staple protein source, dog food would be a better choice. If you are switching things up and feeding a variety then adding cat food in should be just fine.

As for D3 toxicity - it is a concern that my vet brought up, so it seems that it is a legitimate concern for other common reptiles such as beardies. I was concerned about it and switched to calcium without D3 for a while, but after hearing the large scale breeders who don't provide UVB but just supplement generously with calcium and D3 it seems like less of a concern. They have never seen any issues with this method and have hundreds of skinks that breed successfully and are older than most of the pets on this forum. It is tough because there isn't a lot of research or good information specifically on BTS, so some of the best information we have is from these breeders.

Postby **Katrina** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 9:57 pm

Owlstar wrote:As I read the topic, I was curious to see if my own dogs wet dog food could be fed to my Skinks. I use Alpo Lamb and Rice for my dogs, since my little Shih Tzu is allergic to beef. If you've heard of it, would it be a good treat for my skinks?

This was never answered, but it should be fine as a treat for you skink.

critterguy · Postby **critterguy** » Sun Oct 09, 2011 11:55 am

So long as care is taken with dosages calcium/multivitamins shouldn't be an issue. I myself use calcium only as most dog food is formulated with lots of vitamins already.

Another good treat is crested gecko diet. Sometimes they'll eat it by itself but it is a lot less messy when mixed with df.

Dog food vs. Cat food

Dog food vs. Cat food

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