Dog food ingredients

[ChristianH26]

Hello. This isn’t the usual dog food post. My sister works in a dog groomers and we just had to visit for her to phone some customers. While there I noticed Lily’s dog food which appears quite fancy. Could somebody please read the ingredients from these photos and tell me if any are suitable/ unsuitable for skinks. Hopefully this could help somebody else as well. Thank you for anyone who takes the time to read

[rixusaku]

Personally I would avoid those since potatoes show up pretty early in the list which means there's a high content of them, and blue tongues shouldn't be having potatoes and starches in their diets. Sweet potatoes are fine though. Also, I noticed some spinach in the first one you pictured and spinach is another item that should not be fed to blue tongues. I don't think what you pictured will hurt your blue tongue, but it's not very healthy or nutritional so it's "empty" filler space that could be better filled with something they'd need in their diet

Here's a list I've compiled from various sources about what not to feed blue tongues, some of which have been provided by my veterinarian (the vet was found using this site's veterinarian list). If anyone finds something on the list that shouldn't be on there or something that's not on the list that should be, please let me know!

TOXIC; NEVER Feed:
Avocado, Azalea, Buttercup, Citrus Fruits, Daffodil, Eggplant, Garlic, Grapes, Honeysuckle, Iris, Ladybug, Lubber Grasshopper, Monarch Butterfly, Mushrooms, Onion Family (includes items like chives), Queen Butterfly, Rhubarb, Tulip

Avoid Feeding (or provide very little of/rarely):
Corn, Fish, Iceberg Lettuce, Pineapple, Potatoes, Spinach, Star Fruit, Tomatoes


Some of my sources:

1. https://www.lizards101.com/full-blue-tongue-skink-diet-guide-food-list-supplements/
2. https://www.exoticdirect.co.uk/news/what-can-blue-tongued-skinks-eat#:~:text=Toxic%20food%20for%20Blue-tongued,be%20avoided%20at%20all%20costs
3. https://www.reptilesmagazine.com/blue-tongue-skink-care-sheet/
4. https://reptifiles.com/blue-tongue-skink-care/blue-tongue-skink-food/

Source #4 contains a list of recommended dog food brands that you can review and evaluate to figure out what most recommended dog food brands contain and don't contain. Or you can simply feed your blue tongue something off the list to save you time on research. #2 also states that potatoes are toxic while other sites state they're fine in moderation, so I would just personally avoid potatoes altogether just to be safe.

EDITS: mostly grammar fixes but also adding that link #2 states that potatoes are toxic to blue tongues.

[rixusaku]

Although, thinking about it, it's probably fine to feed your blue tongue one of those as long as it doesn't make up the bulk of their diet. So maybe once in a while is fine.

[ChristianH26]

Wow thank you very much for taking the time to compile all of this, I really appreciate it. I will scour these lists now

[rixusaku]

You're very welcome, Christian! :D

[IvanDanko]

Hi Christian,

Generally you'll be fine with most quality dog food as it is constituted specifically for omnivores (of which both dogs and BTS are) which is what makes it such an effective food source for BTS.

The percentage of potato in this particular dog food is very small (3-4%) and won't be a problem.

The link posted above does not substantiate the claim that potatoes are toxic - but that BTS are not efficient at metabolising them which may or may not be true. As long as potatoes are not a significant portion of your skinks regular diet I'm sure you will not need to worry.

They have given you specific percentages of most of the ingredients. They have also included quite a number of vegetables and vitamins/minerals. Ideally you might like the percentage of pure animal proteins added to be higher to make it easier to determine composition (I use a brand which has 95% animal protein and then add in my own vegetables etc. - but some brands such as above simply include more vegetables for you)

You may need to cross-check the herbs included in regards to suitability as there are quite a few.

[ChristianH26]

Okay Thankyou I will take a look at the list of herbs today