# baby tegu wont eat outside of cage! please read bobby



## goonzo420 (Aug 10, 2009)

okay so i just got my new tegu chachi i only had him for 3 days now and he is still not eating the cage temp is 98 on the hot side and 77 on the cool im using a repti sun 5.0 uvb and the humidity is 80. he is completly healthy but a very very frightened tegu. i have some crickets in his cage but im using cypress mulch. he wont eat in a bin and im afraid hes going to injest cypress mulch what should i do pleae help! should i wait a week and starv him or just keep trying on the feeding bin. it is a big pain to waste crickets you know? :rant im using a 20 gallon tank should i take the crickets out? i had them on vitamin dust but they got it off some how.


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## Bubblz Calhoun (Aug 10, 2009)

_Hi Goonzo420,..its still a new baby you have there. So I would say give him a couple of days to settle in and try again later. The next time you feed him give a lil variety maybe some mealworms with some ground turkey or cut up a pinkie / hopper on the side (if it can't take'em whole) with a lil fruit or baby food. I know its not reccomended to feed inside its enclosure but if that doesn't work you may have to, just to get something into him, without stressing him out too much. If it comes down to feeding it inside its enclosure until it gets use to being around you, do so. Just make sure you put its food in a bowl or on a lil plate with a paper towel, newspaper or something up under it to cover the substrate.

Eventually he'll start to come around,..as for the calcium on the crickets, after a while they clean themselves off. :-D Also to help with bonding and getting your tegu use to your scent. You can place a piece of clothing that you have worn inside the enclosure with him. Or after He poos take him out and let'em crawl around your bed or hide in the pillows for 10-15 mins a day (to start and gradually increase) or until it starts to show signs that he has had enough. Just a lil activity a day to let him know that its okay and your not going to hurt him,...goes a long way :-D._


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## Richard21 (Aug 10, 2009)

Goonzo420, relax. You have only had your baby for 3 days. What do you expect? Give him time to adjust to his new home. All food not eaten by a tegu should be removed. Crickets can also nibble on your tegus tail and get him stressed out. If he is not eating by a week or so then feed him in his enclosure watch carefully to see if any food gets tossed in the substrate and pick it up.


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## DaveDragon (Aug 10, 2009)

You could put him on newspaper for a couple of weeks until he's eating normally and you can feed him in a bin. It's just not worth the risk of him being afraid of you but hungry and possibly eating the mulch.


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## cabral (Aug 10, 2009)

same happened to me at the beggining what i did is left him in hist terrarium 3 days without touching or bothering him at all , not even to feed him or change his watter, let him settle , after then try feed in a feeding bin but first hold him until he relaxes , if he wont eat try cage feeding. he will be ok 
dont worry


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## throneofjade (Aug 10, 2009)

My guy didn't want to eat crickets out of the feeding bin at first, but once I gave him a pinkie in there he didn't mind it anymore. I also place his bin under a light. Just watch him eat when you do feed him because they tend to throw their food around.


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## whoru (Aug 10, 2009)

is 98 degrees to hot for a tegu


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## DaveDragon (Aug 10, 2009)

whoru said:


> is 98 degrees to hot for a tegu


Is that basking (surface) or ambient (air)?? That's OK for basking but if the air (outside the basking lighted area) is that high the basking temp is probably much higher. I use Accu-Rite digital indoor/outdoor thermometer/hygrometers from Wal-Mart, about $11. To measure the basking temp you should get a TempGun, available online for about $25.


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