# friends tegu not growing?



## thestem07 (Nov 15, 2009)

I have a friend that has a Black and white that was I believe hatched this spring.
she has had it since may, when she got it it was about 10 inches long. It is now only 18 inches long. I got my tegu late august and he was the about the same 10 inches long, since I got mine he has grown to about 24 inches and is just now slowing down for the winter.
Anyways back to my friend's little one, I know they grow at different rates and all but it seems like her's is really not growing much at all. Her's is kind of a picky eater compared to mine, I know she said he/she likes eggs but nothing much else, other than some turkey every now and again and super worms. She has him/her in a 20 gal long tank, with all of the lighting and temps pretty decent, (not 100% sure as to temp gradient, will ask her soon) the set up seems good to me, maybe alittle small but he/she is not very big. 
I am just trying to figure out if there might be a problem, or could it be that her tegu is just a female? Do females grow slower than males? (pretty sure I have a male, has jowls starting and I am starting to see tail spurs)

Thanks in advance, on behalf of me and my friend.


----------



## Bubblz Calhoun (Nov 15, 2009)

_Picky eater or not, there should be some whole prey in its diet. If it doesn't take it, then wait a few days before she feeds it again. Unless there's something else going on,... it won't starve itself. Does she add Calcium supplement to its food and if not then where is it getting the Calcium it needs? Try to get it outside or some where that it can bask in natural sunlight, sometimes that'll stimulate their appetite. If its not hibernating it'll still usually take food just not as often.

Where is this friend and why isn't she asking about the health of her Gu?  _


----------



## DaveDragon (Nov 15, 2009)

The problem is her Tegu is an import for South America. They hatch in January. Tegu's up here hatch in June/July. It's probably full of parasites. She should have a fecal sample checked. And, of course, get it on a better diet.


----------



## thestem07 (Nov 15, 2009)

From what she has told me she does add calcium and has tried pinky mice, and he/she eats them every now and again but not a lot. She has also told me she adds super worms with the eggs and turkey. She said he doesn't really eat much more than egg, however he has started to eat more super worms the last few weeks. 
As far as getting much natural sunlight, we live in Michigan and it is starting to get alot colder here and soon we will have snow on the ground so going outside and stuff like that will be out of the question for a few months.
She is not on her because I am not sure she knows about this site, I will tell her about it when I talk with her again. She also until I got my tegu have anything to compare growth to or anything else like that.

I will ask her if she is knows if the little guy is a captive breed or wild caught next time I talk with her as well. I am also going to print off the food list that someone posted and tell her to try somethings on it to see if they will help.
There is a reptile show coming up next weekend in our area and I think she is planning on talking with a few people there about it as well.
I thank you for your suggestions and help. I will pass it on to her and keep you posted on the little one.


----------



## DaveDragon (Nov 15, 2009)

thestem07 said:


> I will ask her if she is knows if the little guy is a captive breed or wild caught next time I talk with her as well. .


They are probably captive bred but hatched in South America and shipped north. The long, stressful time of shipping can cause the normal level of parasites in the Tegu's to rise to unmanageable levels, causing them eat but not grow, they're feeding the parasites more than themselves. 

Tell her to to get him tested ASAP.


----------



## thestem07 (Nov 15, 2009)

Will do, Thank you very much Dave. We both appreciate it very much.


----------



## thestem07 (Dec 6, 2009)

so just an update on the status of my friends little tegu. I was baby sitting it this week while she moved to a new apartment and it is now eating super worms like crazy and enjoyed multiple pinkies while it was here, as well as some ground turkey. Anyways I looked at its fecal matter, (when cleaning it up) and compared it to my tegu's. The little ones seemed to be more brown and looked more like ground beef. Could this be a sign of parasites? 
He also seemed to be kinda really in active but I would guess this is due to it being hibernation time. 
I think she is going to take him to the vet either this week or next as finals are in a week and she was moving this week.

Anyways thanks once again for the input and help.


----------

