Taurine?

[LarissaLurid]

I know that everyone says too much taurine (like how you should feed dog food instead of cat food) is unhealthy for lizards like skinks, but what exactly results from too much taurine? I have not seen too many definitive answers on the subject before.

[Bird_Brain]

I think the general consensus is that we don't know if the extra taurine will cause issues, thus prefer to use dog food over cat food.

[LarissaLurid]

Alright, yea that's basically as far as I've ever heard about it, so I didn't know if there was more to it. I know I've heard some people argue and say to just use it anyway because there's not really proof it hurts them. Not like I was planning to use it anyway. lol Thanks though

[Fatal_S]

I use it sometimes. I love that it's usually cut up into tiny pieces. But basically what Brad said; I don't know if it would hurt so I usually use other things.

[El Lobo]

We all need taurine but cats can't synthesise it so cat food is required to be supplemented by additional taurine as a protection against blindness and heart disease. It does not seem to be suggested that BTS need extra and if they do receive extra from cat food, are there any side effects. Like many vitamins, minerals, amino acids etc there can be some level of toxicity from too much. With taurine it is suggested it has the potential to stimulate the hypothalamus.

In the absence of evidence that BTS have a need for more taurine than found in other foods such as dog food it is to each of us to decide as to how much we are prepared to feed. My opinion is that the occasional use of cat food probably isn't detrimental but to use it as a staple may be quite different.