Diets for skinks and live birth video

[hurricanejen]

Just curious who plays with the new diets that come out like I do. I've recently been trying some higher quality diets than the usual pellets from Rep Cal, which they loved, including the new Repashy gel diets (omnivore and carnivore versions) and picked up a bag of Mazuri insectivore diet. Both the Repashy gel diets were relished by my skinks, probably due to how gross they smell when they're being prepared, and the Mazuri diet was also quickly accepted. I still provide fresh food on a regular basis, but I like having an easy go-to food for days when I am running late or as an addition to the diet that includes supplements etc in lieu of dusting every single food item.

So far so good. I've only been trying the new diets for a couple months, definitely makes feeding time easy, especially since I can't always get to the store as often as I want to right now.

And I had to crack up that my newborn, just a few hours old, baby blue tongues born last night were already chowing the mazuri. Sorry for the crummy pic, all I had was my cell phone when I saw it.



Just thought I'd share my experience with the diets, and see if anyone else used them too.

And as promised, this is the video of my female giving birth!
http://youtu.be/BalGyUooW4U

Looks like there's 11 babies, there were slugs passed but those were eaten pretty quick.

Thanks for looking guys!

-Jen

[anchietae]

Jen,

I love your video! Your female is very pretty. Those babies are characters!
I think I'll try some of those foods also.
Thanks for sharing.

Casey

[Richard.C]

nice jen,havnt used these diets with blueys,tried some with beardeds,they didnt like the plain colored icky smelling ones but devoured rep cal pellets,i didnt like it because they pooped green from pellets and was softer stools then what they would normally leave me,but they seemed to do well on it,good as a stand by like u said and part of a varied diet

[hurricanejen]

Thanks guys! The female is gorgeous, definitely a butthead though. Even when she's NOT gravid she tries to eat my fingers!

I've tried the ZooMed brand pellets with beardies/blueys as well, even though the ingredients list looks much nicer they definitely all seem to prefer the Rep Cal like you said. My guess is it's the fruity smell more than anything, although with the smaller pellets for tortoises/iguanas, they definitely show a preference for certain colored pellets. 99% sure the pellets are all the same, just colored differently, but the animals don't seem to think so!

The stool consistency is one thing I definitely like about the mazuri over the repcal, though, much firmer and more solid than repcal poos.

[Richard.C]

if only they used snail flavor,lol

its a plus the firmer stools then,i really disliked repcal green soft poop especially when one walked through itsome brands say u can use fruit juice to soak it,maybe a tip to make eww ones more palatable

[Bird_Brain]

I have been using the Mazuri Insectivore diet for some time now (a year atleast) and very pleased with it. I just supplement their normal diet with it. Feed it between meals. I really wished they made their Omnivore diet in smaller "Kibbles". I have also used their Iguana diet in the past and was happy with it. I just used it to mix with dog food. I never tried to feed it by itself. I have used the Carnivorous reptile gel, but that was way too much work for what it was worth. The chinchillas were also fed Mazuri. I have always been very happy with it.

Also, for anyone who wants to give it a try, Mazuri is running a FREE SHIPPING promo right now for orders under 100# (till Aug 13th. US only). Go check them out! www.mazuri.com

[hurricanejen]

Shameless plug since I work at LLL and you mentioned deals: check it, our prices are slightly cheaper, although right now with free shipping that does make it direct from Mazuri a better deal. BUT when that deal is done... check us out too When you call in there's a decent chance it'll be me taking your order, and if it's not ask for me - everyone knows I'm the blue tongue girl, and I've tried every. single. food. product. we. carry.
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/rep ... 25-pounds/

Carrying on: Same deal, I supplement the normal diet with it. Have you raised any babies up with it, ReptileKing? I think if you smashed up the omnivore kibbles a bit, or softened them, the blueys would eat them anyway. Mine often steal monkey chow from the treat bag for my rats, if they can eat monkey chow sized blocks I'm sure they can eat the omnivore kibbles.
I should make a video of them eating the monkey chow...it's kind of hilarious.

Richard - have you tried mixing canned snails with less palatable food? I use the ZooMed canned snails but I swear I've seen regular canned escargo or something similar in those weird food markets around here, those could probably work too. Since you're in Australia you might have different weird food shops than I do, but maybe you have a gourmet shop or an asian market around? I've used chicken liver goo aaaaand raw eggs to mix in to my skink's food to make less palatable food more desirable. Both worked quite well, although the egg was definitely a mess...

-Jen

[Richard.C]

we get canned snails never used them,the zoomed ones are very pricey over here,more to the poibt theres no shortage of snails here,so no need to use dried ones,though a good option for mixing with pellet diet,u can buy tinned snail meat for human consumption,if u rinse the brine off thers another option

i raised heaps of beardeds and water dragons on rep cal,they developed well,they preferred the juvue sized pellets when they got big,even when i broke the adult pellets up,never used it with skinks though,but assume they would grow just as well though,i still prefer dog food for them though,but thats just me,if it aint broke dont fix it

[Robyn@SYR]

Great video capture Jen : )

[Karen]

Interesting point about canned escargot Jen. I guess it would just be a matter of making sure what they pack them in isn't high in sodium or anything like that. I've used the ZooMed snails on occasion to mix things up and it's always well received.

I'll definitely have to give the Mazuri pellets a try as another aside. I like the idea of them having something crunchy to work their jaws. I tried out the RepCal Beardie pellets a few months ago, would you consider Mazuri to be better quality?

[hurricanejen]

I actually like the Mazuri pellets much better, from what I've heard about them is that the mazuri food is often used in zoos, and since the general stool quality seems better plus the animals really go for it without the fruity smell and colored dye... tells me it's probably a better diet than the RepCal. The nice thing about repcal is that it comes in smaller quantities; 25 lbs of insectivore diet is going to last me just this side of forever with my few skinks!!

[Bird_Brain]

Just an FYI, Mazuri now sells the Insectivore diet in a 3# package!

[hurricanejen]

Just an FYI, Mazuri now sells the Insectivore diet in a 3# package!

Yeah, but my company doesn't carry it...

Yet.......

[Jennifer B]

Jen, if your supplier is a Mazuri dealer, even though the 3# Insectivore may not be part of their regular order, they can get it. Ask them if they'll add a bag or two to their next order.

[AnnaMonroe]

I absolutely loved the video, i laughed every time the mother gave that "excuse me, what are you doing" facial expression when the babies were being helped !

[smolek]

I absolutely loved the video, i laughed every time the mother gave that "excuse me, what are you doing" facial expression when the babies were being helped !

What video?

[Rani-May]

So tiny and cute!.

the video is in the very first comment

[AnnaMonroe]

Right under the photo is a link to a very awesome video! :}