# Does my tegu have a cold?



## redtail2426 (Dec 13, 2007)

My tegu has been sneezing since tuesday at first I noticed it when he would dig in his substrate so I went through and cleaned out all the fine particles. But he was still sneezing it seems to usually happen after he has dug in his substrate or used his nose to push through his plants but sometimes he just sneezes. So this started on tuesday and he probably sneezed about 15 times tuesday and yesterday it didnt seem to be as bad maybe 10 times and today he might have sneezed once but im not positive. I have checked his nostrils they are clear, his eyes are clear, he has not expelled any mucus from his mouth, I have tried listening for wheezing but cannot hear anything when he breathes, His breathing does not look noticeably labored, He is still very active and eating and pooping. He did look like he was yawning a bit more then normal this morning but i dont know if that means anything. So if anyone knows if my tegu has a cold or if they can even get colds please let me know. Thanks for any help.


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## VARNYARD (Dec 13, 2007)

What kind of bedding are you using, and hows your humidity?


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## redtail2426 (Dec 13, 2007)

I am using cypress mulch and my humidity is usually 60-80 percent but usually hangs around 60-65. My basking temps are 100-110 and cooler temps are 78-83. night time temps are 73-78.


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## VARNYARD (Dec 14, 2007)

Does your tegu have any drainage from his nostrils? It might be an UR, however it is very rare in tegus, I have never seen a tegu with one. If he continues to show these signs you might want to take him to a vet and get some testing done.


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## redtail2426 (Dec 14, 2007)

Well I took him to a vet today after I saw him have about 5 body spasms this morning were he would turn his head to one side and then turn his body to the other and spasm to the side his body was pointing like twice. and his tail was twicthing when he was roaming my room, he was also acting funny trying to eat his substrate. So I get to the vet and he bugs out and runs out of his pillow case and jumps off the examination table which is about 3 to 3 1/2 feet off of a linoleam floor, so I wasnt to happy about that but what are ya gonna do. Anyway after that I give her the run down of what has been going on and she asks a bunch of questions about his diet and setup and she says that as far as a respiratory infection everything looks good nostrils are clear eyes are clear his mouth looks healthy. So she tells me that just to be safe we should give him a small dosage of baytril for 7 days so that was that. And as far as the body spasms she said that instead of me giving him calcium twice a week that I should give it to him everyday and that might be causeing the spasms and that also he could have some fluid in his ear makeing him spasm like that as well. So that was the rundown of what happened and I asked her if he would be ok from his fall off of the examination table and she said he should be fine as he was running around the examination room after he fell and then afterwards she picked him up and gave him a physical exam and was feeling around his body and manipulating his legs and such but she said to keep an eye on him and to let them know if anything out of the ordinary occurs and then she reminded me of how they fall from tree branches in the wild yada yada yada. So all in all I guess it was a good visit except for the fall that got me kind of nervous. Also if anyone has any tricks to giving there tegu there baytril please let me know as I was told to give it to him in his mouth which is prooving to be extremely difficult. Thanks and this was an extremely long post. :lol:


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## VARNYARD (Dec 14, 2007)

Ok, I have a few questions. Are you feeding rodents? Also, the calcium, does it have D3 added? If it does, you cannot feed it every day.


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## redtail2426 (Dec 14, 2007)

the calcium I have does not have d3 and I am feeding frozen rat pinkies and will be moving to rat fuzzies when these last ten are gone.


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## VARNYARD (Dec 14, 2007)

I don't understand how a higher calcium intake can help with the spasms; this makes no sense to me. Also, I think the intake of calcium is going to throw the ratio out of whack. She does understand that tegus are not monitors and are not strictly carnivores.


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## Nyarlathotep (Dec 14, 2007)

Sorry to pipe in with a few (possibly stupid) questions. Here goes:

- UV lighting? What distance is it from the ground+basking spot.
- How long have you had him? How big was/is he?
- Colombian or Argentine?
- How does the inside of his mouth look/smell? (be careful with the smell part)
- How long were the rat pups frozen? After a long time, frozen rodents experience vitamin-B degradation. (which I don't think should contribute to MBD-related twitching...)
- Is he exposed to other (larger) animals, either visually or perhaps smell? (my tegu went a little crazy for 2 days after I moved my blood pythons close, even though he couldn't see them).
- Have you been exposed to any other reptiles recently? (I think most have forgotten to wash their hands after a reptile show at least once)
- Any changes at all that he might have found stressful within the past month? (stress can play hell on their systems in a million ways)
- Have you had a fecal run?
- Are you administering the baytril im or orally?

The twitching makes me a little nervous.


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## Nyarlathotep (Dec 14, 2007)

Nyarlathotep said:


> ...
> - Are you administering the baytril im or orally?



Sorry, I missed the part where you said "in his mouth".

Personally, I'd be hesitant to give a reptile antibiotics orally (preferring front leg or similar), especially one with an unknown problem. If you've never given injections to a reptile, any tegu wouldn't be a good first try.

If it fits within your time and budget, try scheduling a series of appointments for the injections (every 2 days typically). Many vets offer deep discounts for administering a quick shot.

If an oral liquid is your only choice and the animal is still eating, try "injecting" the food item. I assume you have measured syringes (without needles). Without a needle, you can usually "inject" a fluid into a thawed rodent's mouth or butt. Optionally, you can rip a tiny hole in the abdominal skin.


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## redtail2426 (Dec 14, 2007)

Nyarlathotep said:


> Sorry to pipe in with a few (possibly stupid) questions. Here goes:
> 
> - UV lighting? What distance is it from the ground+basking spot.
> - How long have you had him? How big was/is he?
> ...





-2 megaray basking floods 20 inches away from stones one 3 ft reptisun 10.0 20 inches from substrate.
-ive had him 2 months he was 40 grams now he is 240grams
-argentine
-the inside of his motuh looks healthy dont know about smell
- rat pinkies only frozen for a month
-he is exposed to my dog and cats nothing new
-i have not been exposed to other reptiles
-i ruined his burrow when i went through the mulch and cleaned out the shedded skin peices
-i had a fecal run and it was clean 


To VARNYARD 
My vet knows that he eats fruits and veggies because i told her, and I only feed him rodents twice a week.


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## Nyarlathotep (Dec 14, 2007)

100% stumped here. Again, no offense for the "basic" questions. (just trying to get a picture). Sounds like you haven't missed a stitch.


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## redtail2426 (Dec 14, 2007)

There is definately no offense taken I thank you for trying to help me I am stumped as well.


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## snakehandler (Jan 7, 2008)

try an uretrha catheder with a syringe. it works perfectly to adjust just any medicine.


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