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Skinny Tegu

StygianChild

New Member
Messages
25
So I got my B&W Rorschach about 3-4 mo ago. He's about 2ft long. When i got him he was a hair thin. Since i've had him i've noticed he eats maybe every 4 days, if i'm lucky. and he's been pooping less and less. I think I haven't seen/found a poop in 2+ weeks. He's still his normal friendly self and is active if i take him out of the tank.
so i'm looking for some ideas on why he's loosing weight and not pooping.

I did take him to a vet and we are currently giving him de-wormer and that's supposed to have the side affect of increased appetite. So far i've seen him eat about a quarter of a HB egg, and a super worm and a small nibble of turkey in the past 3 day ( i feed every other day).

All his tank specs are fine according to the vet and everything else i've read.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I'm starting to get a bit worried…

The two pics with him under the red light are from a couple days ago. The other one is around when i got him.
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snibborsirk

Active Member
Messages
203
Location
Columbia, SC
Def try various foods like dude said. I've had the best luck with frozen/thawed mice or dripping some raw egg yolk over ground turkey - they usually can't resist the raw egg! Good luck
 

StygianChild

New Member
Messages
25
I've tried all sorts of things. ground turkey, hb eggs, fruit and veggies, super worms. He's eaten a fuzzy but i don't ant him to get too hooked on those because they are so fattening. I have talapia in the freezer that i haven't tried yet. and i've heard raw egg isn't good for them; they could get salmonella or there was something about not being able to absorb some vitamin because of something in raw eggs… (i don't remember the details on that one)

Either way, he tends to just nibble on it a bit and ignores it.
 

beardeddragon111

Active Member
Messages
371
this tegu looks pretty skinny. If he's gonna eat it and its fattening, give it to him. Honestly though, I don't think fuzzies are too fattening. I would give him anything he'll take. If he eats mostly whole foods that's a good thing. Bones and organs are healthy for them. Sorry if I'm saying something innacurate please correct me if I am.
 

Justsomedude

Active Member
Messages
146
yea I would lean more towards the fattening foods right now to get him to eat as much as possible! Don't worry about the salmonella thing either remember every reptile on this planet has one form or another of salmonella growing in their intestines! So just plump em up! Have fun making some funky mixes of different types of food and get that tegu looking like a chunky monkey! Once he has the weight back on em then you can start to be more decisive about what he is eating. If all this fails....go to another vet! Don't be afraid to get a "second opinion" drs are wrong all the time even though its highly unlikely it might be just the thing to save your little dudes life!
 

Lavin45

Member
Messages
34
And I got my Loki a month ago she was skinnier than yours is in the pictures what I did to be her up in one month was ground Chuck crickets and wet dog food on the high-quality though. She beefed up so fast it's unbelievable. I swear by the ground chuck, prep some balls of it and freeze them so you can thaw them in hot water in a bag when you need and keeps them fresh. And feed DAILY!!! Young tegus especially malnourished ones need to gain that weight FAST. She also wouldn't eat it first at all I couldn't get her to even look at food but upon taking her to the vet they gave her some antibiotics and a dewormer and about two days later she was chipper as ever and hungrier than I've ever seen. They also force-fed her 12 mL of mashed up pinkies just because she was so skinny.
 

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Justsomedude

Active Member
Messages
146
And I got my Loki a month ago she was skinnier than yours is in the pictures what I did to be her up in one month was ground Chuck crickets and wet dog food on the high-quality though. She beefed up so fast it's unbelievable. I swear by the ground chuck, prep some balls of it and freeze them so you can thaw them in hot water in a bag when you need and keeps them fresh. And feed DAILY!!! Young tegus especially malnourished ones need to gain that weight FAST. She also wouldn't eat it first at all I couldn't get her to even look at food but upon taking her to the vet they gave her some antibiotics and a dewormer and about two days later she was chipper as ever and hungrier than I've ever seen. They also force-fed her 12 mL of mashed up pinkies just because she was so skinny.

Damn good for you! I love hearing stories like that! And that's a really nice bong as well!
 

Roadkill

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
497
Location
Earth
That tegu doesn't look skinny, it IS skinny. No, that's not a criticism. It's possible, as the vet seems to think, that this could be possibly due to parasites, but I disagree that de-wormer will stimulate appetite. It isn't a clear cut issue. If your tegu had such a heavy parasite load that it was causing this kind of severe weight loss, then guess what is going to happen when you give a good dose of de-worming medication? The parasites are gone and the tegu gets better, right? Sadly, this is what most people think. Here's what happens: say your tegu had a lot of parasitic worms, it got a good dose of de-wormer, and all those parasites die. Now your tegu has a bunch of dead or dying organisms through a lot of its system, rotting and releasing toxins. You DO want to get rid of the parasites (if they're there) but it isn't as simple as take some medicine, instantly better. While undergoing treatment, it is likely the poor tegu is going to be feeling quite bad. As some have said, you want to think of high calorie type foods, this is typically fatty type stuff, but also easily digestible and non-aggravating. Dog food was suggested, and I would concur, as long as you read the ingredients and stay away from fillers such as wheat, corn, soy, oats, rice (ie. grains), and any dairy product. There are probiotics out on the market you might try, but from my experience....I'd have to say they aren't probiotics for reptiles. Most of the bacteria in them are for/from dairy consuming organisms, and so are not typical reptile gut flora. I'd also drop the use of insects, particularly super worms. Insects are a natural dietary item, but can also be unsettling to the stomach under certain circumstances, and I frankly don't think super worms are actually good for anything (I've had too many issues that I attribute to super worms, won't use them anymore). Something you might try, and which I've had good success with reptiles needing special care is Oxbow Carnivore Care. Stinks like hell, but seems easily digestible and quite nutritious.
The issue of Salmonella is a concern, but is overstated in so many ways. All animals can carry Salmonella, not just reptiles, and all animals can be susceptible to Salmonella INCLUDING reptiles. It depends on the virulence of the strain. Use clean technique and clean foods. As far as eggs, the egg white has albumin, which strongly binds to biotin in the egg yolk. Albumin is readily denatured (basically destroyed) by heat, so feel free to boil the eggs.
 

dpjm

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
378
I've used Oxbow Carnivore Care as well with a veiled chameleon. It sure does stink.

Hey Roadkill, what issues have you had with superworms?
 

Roadkill

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
497
Location
Earth
Nothing like some of the stuff that is often heard around (eating a lizard from the inside out, etc.) but for the last couple of years in the area I've been living, getting the type of invertebrate prey I actually wanted for some of my animals has been very difficult on a regular basis. Super worms, however, are always abundant and so were the item I'd use when I couldn't get other stuff. I swear every time I fed the lizards those, their health would take a dive. Now, before I go further, I'll state I don't honestly think it's the super worms themselves, per se. In the herpetocultural world, most invertebrate prey we use are not used because they are nutritious, they're used because they're easy to cultivate. The easier they are to cultivate, the less attention goes into making sure not only that they're nutritious, but that they are "clean" and healthy. This is what I think is going on with super worms, they're relatively easy to cultivate, and considering how everyone these days are cutting corners to reduce costs and increase profits.....well, I just don't think we're getting a good, clean product with super worms anymore. I actually lost a lizard that I attribute entirely to super worms.
 

Walter1

Moderator
Staff member
1,000+ Post Club
5 Year Member
Messages
4,384
Nothing like some of the stuff that is often heard around (eating a lizard from the inside out, etc.) but for the last couple of years in the area I've been living, getting the type of invertebrate prey I actually wanted for some of my animals has been very difficult on a regular basis. Super worms, however, are always abundant and so were the item I'd use when I couldn't get other stuff. I swear every time I fed the lizards those, their health would take a dive. Now, before I go further, I'll state I don't honestly think it's the super worms themselves, per se. In the herpetocultural world, most invertebrate prey we use are not used because they are nutritious, they're used because they're easy to cultivate. The easier they are to cultivate, the less attention goes into making sure not only that they're nutritious, but that they are "clean" and healthy. This is what I think is going on with super worms, they're relatively easy to cultivate, and considering how everyone these days are cutting corners to reduce costs and increase profits.....well, I just don't think we're getting a good, clean product with super worms anymore. I actually lost a lizard that I attribute entirely to super worms.
Nailed it on the dilemma of easy to cultivate often equals little attention to nutritional quality.
 

dpjm

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
378
So Roadkill, you are saying that superworms themselves are not the issue, but the way that they are raised. So if you breed your own and feed them nutritious food in a clean environment then problems should be minimal? Or are there issues with the worms themselves, no matter how they are raised. Even if you are just speculating, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this.

I don't feed any to my tegu anymore, but we do use them for other lizards. I raise them in peat moss and feed them a well-chopped mix of fruit and vegetables that I mix into their substrate. I think is at least better than raising them in and feeding them bran, which is probably how they are raised in large scale operations that provide them to pet stores.

On a side note, I had a breeder of black soldier fly larvae (Phoenix worms) give me a trial sample of those. I was excited to try them because they do have a better nutritional profile than most feeder insects in some respects. For example, they require very little calcium dusting because the Ca : P is pretty good. But when I actually got down to feeding them out I was really disappointed. They have a really tough, sort of leathery exoskeleton. If this does not get pierced than the worms come out in the feces intact. I even noticed one still wiggling after it had passed through the digestive system of a leopard gecko. For any lizard that doesn't chew it's food much, these are not suitable at all.
 

StygianChild

New Member
Messages
25
Do you know if that Oxbow stuff is carried at regular pet stores or would i be better off looking online? and are there any dog foods you would recommend? I'd assume I'd be looking for a wet food.
 

dpjm

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
378
I got Oxbow through a vet clinic, I don't know that it is carried in pet stores.

Be careful with dog food, they are often loaded with ingredients like corn, wheat, oats, and rice that a tegu can not digest and will cause much intestinal discomfort. Review Roadkill's post above.
 

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