# Young B&W rescue.



## Compnerd7 (Jul 8, 2013)

Hi all,
I haven't posted on this board in a while, however now I have come across a a rescue and I am looking for a few pointers.

I have had an Argentine red for 2 years now, and I just picked up a rescue. Here is his story.

My brother sent me a picture yesterday of a lizard and asked "what kind of monitor is this?"; but obviously to me that was no monitor, but a Tegu! Here is the picture that was sent to me:




Of course, the picture was appalling to me and made me angry about the condition of the lizard... Then I heard the story behind him. A friend of my brother had rented out a house to a family, and they had a few different large lizards and different animals. They up and just left one day, and also left behind lots of animal supplies, along with their Black and White Tegu. He was stuck in that cage for a month, with no food, water, heat, or UV. He was just left in that wire crate for 6 weeks alone. My brother was sent out to check on the house, found the lizard, and sent me a picture. He felt so bad for the lizard he went and got him 3 mice which he ate right down, and changed out his was which he said was basically just 1" of poo water. He asked if I would be willing to go and pick him up the following day, but I wasn't going to let the lizard suffer for another day and I just immediately left and picked him up. When I got to him he was skin and bones, so skinny that his hip bones stick out of his back like spikes, and his back bone protrudes out like an iron rod.

He is one of the sweetest Tegus i've meet, and he is just a lover. I know he has a long road to recovery, but I believe that he will be ok. Yesterday, my brother gave him 3 mice, which is quite a bit for a lizard that is almost starved to death. I soaked him in water that entire day, and I also gave him some small portions of turkey with vitamins, and a few bugs ( super worms and crickets ). Today I have laid out some more turkey, and some liver. All of them wrapped in supplements.

My one real question that I have is how much food should I be offering him every day. Since he was literally SKIN AND BONES, I know you shouldn't just start giving him mass amounts of food right off the bat, and ease him back onto a healthy diet. Right now he isn't eating, but he had a little too much to eat yesterday. 

If anyone has any tips on helping this guy recover, that would be great. Anything to add that isn't usually covered in basic Tegu care. I am not new to caring for these lizards, but I have had Tegus for only 2 years. I have him now in a 6'X4' cage that is built for Tegus. It is water sealed on 3 sides with 2 doors on the front. I have a 150W heat bulb and 2 UV/UVB strips in his cage. A good, high humidity, warm cage for him. 

I have a nice kiddy pool I like to soak my lizards in, and i'd like to take him out there tomorrow to soak him and let him get some sun (since he was left in a garage for 6 weeks with no light). The weather here is around 102 in the day so I believe that should be plenty warm for him as I watch him in my lizard kiddy pool. 

Any other advice I would gladly soak up, thanks! 

He is a picture of him now, about 12 hours after I rescued him. He is looking 100% better than he was, but he still has a long road ahead of him.


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## Bubblz Calhoun (Jul 8, 2013)

_Vet visit for an over all check up with a fecal to rule out parasites and some blood work. For now with the large meal it just had I wouldn't offer anything else to eat until it pees and poops, to make sure his organs are still working properly, haven't started to shut down and are able to process and pass what it has eaten. Afterwards start with small meals and work your way up as it progresses. Tegus are pretty hardy and in time with proper husbandry and normal feeding it can recover._


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## SnakeCharmr728 (Jul 8, 2013)

Agree with Bubblz, dont offer any more food until he passes that. He probably more dehydrated than anything and you want to focus on hydration before pumping food into him or else his kidneys and liver may not be able to handle it and it will just make him worse. If you can get him to a vet for a blood panel to check for renal failure and do some sub-q fluids. I would feed a slurry. you can grind up a whole mouse as it has more nutrition than ground turkey, and offer that to him. Also do small, often meals rather than large spaced out meals. if you want to offer a whole mouse you can inject water into it so it gives him more hydration. I literally gasped when I saw his pic, hes so lucky someone experienced found him! Please keep us updated!!!!


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## Josh (Jul 8, 2013)

Welcome back to TT!
Kudos to you for adopting this guy. He already looks a lot better than he was in the top photo! Keep us updated on how he progresses. He's a good looking lizard!


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## Teguman0301 (Jul 8, 2013)

Get some yogurt and let him lick it. Do that for 5-7 days. It really helps bring them back when they are like that one.


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## SnakeCharmr728 (Jul 8, 2013)

yogurt? really? I have always heard that dairy is not compatible with their systems and can cause the runs.


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## Compnerd7 (Jul 9, 2013)

*I will for sure keep you updated. When I got home this evening I walked into the bathroom where I was letting him soak / walk around in the high humidity, and he had made a giant solid poo. I was actually happy to have one of my big lizards poop on my floor haha. I gave him a little food after that, now he is asleep for the night. I was surprised that his poo was not runny. He has been soaking a lot, and I add some minor calcium / electrolyte mix to his water. I took a culture of his stool, and examined it under microscope. No visible parasites / worms but taking him to the vet didn't even cross my mind for some reason. I am lucky to have a great reptile vet close to me, and he has done some minor surgeries and check-ups on my big lizards before; he is really good. I will have to set up an appointment, but I know now that I won't get in until Thursday, because my vet does only surgeries Monday - Wednesday. I think he will be just fine until then regardless*

*Dairy products are not good for reptiles in general. Only mammals can digest lactose, and dairy products can be very harmful. Though the bacteria in yogurt would be beneficial, the lactose would not  *
* *
* Even now after only 1 day his hip bones and starting to get covered over, and all seems to be going as smooth as it could be. I will upload some more pictures tomorrow, and some of his back end where his hips are protruding out. I was extremely irate when I first saw this lizard. If my brother had not come across him when he did, I believe that he would have been dead in just a few days, and that would be a shame because he just a teddy bear of a lizard (as almost all Tegus are), and seems to crave attention from people.*


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## Aardbark (Jul 9, 2013)

The poor little guy. Keep up the good work, its so nice to see people like you who rescue these wonderfull animals.


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## chitodadon (Jul 9, 2013)

Keep up the good work god bless u

from Samsung Galaxy S3


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## laurarfl (Jul 9, 2013)

Yeah, I'd pass on the yogurt. As it was already mentioned, a vet visit to check the condition of the kidneys in particular wold be a good start. Since the kidneys are probably taxed, a well hydrated diet that is low in phosphorous would be ideal.


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## Midwestmonster (Jul 9, 2013)

I hope the little guy pulls through. I used to work at an animal shelter and its appalling what people do to animals in general. He is very lucky to find his way to you. Both my pit bulls were rescues and they are so loyal. I truly believe a rescued animal will never forget your kindness!


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## Compnerd7 (Jul 11, 2013)

Thank you all for your support, he is doing very well. Yesterday I had him with me out by the pool soaking a tub, and enjoying some warm sunshine. Some of the food I offered him was a mix of eggs scrambled in olive oil, turkey, chicken, vitamin supplement, calcium supplement, zucchini, banana, and summer squash. He spent most of the day today just sleeping inside, and eating small meals all day. He has pooped twice now which is a good sign. Here are a few pictures I took yesterday while we were outside. 

TAKING OFF DEAD SKIN:








HIS HIP:








TEGU OMELET:


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## bfb345 (Jul 11, 2013)

Good job he is looking better and better keep it up


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## chitodadon (Jul 11, 2013)

Great job

from Samsung Galaxy S3


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## Midwestmonster (Jul 11, 2013)

He's looking so much better! I bet he is going to be one loyal friend for a very long time. Trust me, rescued animals never forget who showed them kindness. My pit bull rescues show me this appreciation everyday. He will give you his heart.


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## Compnerd7 (Jul 11, 2013)

Midwestmonster said:


> He's looking so much better! I bet he is going to be one loyal friend for a very long time. Trust me, rescued animals never forget who showed them kindness. My pit bull rescues show me this appreciation everyday. He will give you his heart.


 
I too do work with Pit Bulls, and I have a soft spot in my heart for them as well. 

Tomorrow I have an appointment with the vet. I hope he gets a clean bill of health, because I can't afford a costly vet bill right now, but I don't think it will be too bad because he is doing fantastic! I replaced all my UVB bulbs with Repti-glo 10.0 strips, they were about 8 months old and it seemed like a perfect time to change them out. He has had a wide array of foods to snack on and poos solid every day like a good healthy Tegu. He is a very affectionate lizard for being so young, but I too believe that rescued animals are much more affectionate and grateful to their new owners. Honestly, I have always preferred Argentine reds and others because of their color, but Captain has a nice pattern and great coloration. I think he is quite beautiful, I am going to try and find out where he came from. This is what I have been giving him for food lately:


Eggs scrambled in Omega 3 fish oil, Turkey, Chicken, Liver, and fish. I have a calcium supplement powder with no phosphorous that I add to his food, along with a complete vitamin supplement liquid. I tried injecting a pre-killed mouse with the liquid supplement, but he wouldn't have it. Just like your average stubborn Tegu, if it smells like vitamins or something he doesn't want, he just won't eat it. Next injection I do I think I will take_ Snakecharmers _advice and shoot the mouse up with some vitamin water. I wasn't careful and I accidentally injected the mouse today right in the stomach so most of the solution came out it's mouth , I will use a larger mouse next time, a smaller needle, and try and make a hematoma rather that just blow up a mouse balloon haha. I am getting hopper sized mice and gut loading them with different fruits and veggies he needs, then pre-killing them and feeding them to him. About 2 hoppers a day, both spread apart at different times of the day. I know people like pics, so here are some pics from this afternoon. The bowl of food is just eggs cooked in fish oil and turkey. I tried to sneak in some fruits and veggies in that last egg scramble, but of course he wanted nothing to do with that and just picked it apart lol...


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## Aardbark (Jul 12, 2013)

He is looking so much better already. Your doing great work.


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## chitodadon (Jul 12, 2013)

Much better keep it up he will truly live u

from Samsung Galaxy S3


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## Logie_Bear (Jul 13, 2013)

The change in appearance for the short time you've had him is already phenomenal. I wish the both of you the best of luck, he's one lucky tegu that you came along when you did! <3


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## Midwestmonster (Jul 14, 2013)

Logie_Bear said:


> The change in appearance for the short time you've had him is already phenomenal. I wish the both of you the best of luck, he's one lucky tegu that you came along when you did! <3



I totally agree. What an amazing turnaround. He looks great! So happy for the lucky guy. Great job!!!!!!


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## Compnerd7 (Jul 14, 2013)

Here is the one week update. He got a clean bill of health on Friday, and keeps putting on weight. Took him out again this afternoon in the heat to soak, bask, and swim with the turtles outside. Had a great time out there.


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## chitodadon (Jul 15, 2013)

U r doing great

from Samsung Galaxy S3


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## jtrux (Jul 20, 2013)

Good job, good thing you found him.


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## Compnerd7 (Jul 22, 2013)

Here he is at 2 weeks and 1 day, doing great!


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## SnakeCharmr728 (Jul 23, 2013)

oooh he looks so much better, hes so lucky you found him!


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## laurarfl (Jul 23, 2013)

What a difference! He looks really great!


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## Compnerd7 (Jul 24, 2013)

Here is a short video of him eating a random mix of foods. Ground turkey mixed with a vitamin supplement and coral calcium mixed in. The worms are _Manduca sexta_ or Goliath Worms. He gets a variety of Different bugs, along with mice, but about 60% of his diet is ground turkey (actually a turkey we raised, then slaughtered and ground up) mixed with a liquid vitamin supplement, and pure calcium. I also mix in extra D3, OMEGA 3 fish oil, 1-2 times a week fish or liver, and occasional fruits that he will eat. He just shed his whole body but not his entire tail.


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