# female is acting weird! trying to lay on her back??



## Jeremy Ross (Feb 9, 2011)

She has been spending a lot more time in the basking spot since last night then normal and is quite lethargic today. She keeps shifting her weight around, rolling onto her sides and even her back! 

I don't know exactly why she is behaving that way, but I gave her a nice bath/drink.

she is undulating her belly around and like i mentioned she was on her back for a while. her breathing is also rapid but short...

Has anyone else experienced these kinds of behavior before? 

She lives with a male red and for the past week he has been non stop huffing over her. I have not confirmed actual copulation yet, but he has certainly been trying. but since i got home on Sunday she has just been very inactive... and now all this as i mentioned before...


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2011)

haha the only time iv seen this behaviour is in horses when there colocing.


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## slideaboot (Feb 9, 2011)

Is she impacted? When's the last time she had a bowel movement? When Aesop was impacted, he'd do a lot of barrel rolling, trying to force out the "goods". 

I know boas and pythons will tend to behave how you mentioned, when they are REALLY gravid (like, about to pop gravid)...

Have you opened her mouth to see if there is an obstruction to her breathing?


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2011)

I wonder if she ate some substrate??

When you gave her the bath did she defecate??


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2011)

thats kinda what i said but in a dif manner.lol soacking usually works and i herd of a few other things from the vet that they can do.


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## Jeremy Ross (Feb 9, 2011)

She did not poop or pee. She seems like she could be impacted, when i removed her from the tub her belly was really firm, I usually feed her rats that my snakes don't eat but i have 100 hairless mice i got specifically for her for when she is gravid. but she is not for eating right now... Can feeding them rats impacts their gut?


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## Jeremy Ross (Feb 9, 2011)

it is unlikely that she ate substrate while feeding. but it is possbile that she ate something foreign while free roaming my bedroom... I feed them directly from 18 inch forceps. Yes i looked in her mouth there is no blockages.


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2011)

Maybe try to get some cod liver oil down her .. 

Mineral oil and baby food or what ever works ...


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2011)

To many rats could impact her ..

Do you feed much of anything else ??

Variety is important in avoiding impaction ...


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## slideaboot (Feb 9, 2011)

Jeremy Ross said:


> She did not poop or pee. She seems like she could be impacted, when i removed her from the tub her belly was really firm, I usually feed her rats that my snakes don't eat but i have 100 hairless mice i got specifically for her for when she is gravid. but she is not for eating right now... Can feeding them rats impacts their gut?




Too many rats can DEFINITELY impact your tegu. As far as what constitutes "too many", well, that depends on the tegu. It sounds like she's impacted, if she's firm in the belly. I'd give her a LOT of warm soaks, cod liver, and mineral oil (an oral syringe will work for this). 

She's for sure not gravid? How long has she been around a male tegu?


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## Jeremy Ross (Feb 9, 2011)

They have been living together since october (free roaming my room) sleeping in my closet and I have a kiddie pool with beach sand and a soak tub with a heat light over it in the middle of my room for them to bask... but the male did not try to mount her until 2-3 weeks ago no longer. and she never really let him in... i went to my mothers for the weekend and when i came home she was super sedated... I usually feed them chicken, she has certainly not eaten more than 3 large rats and maybe 4 medium/small since i got her in october... so 7 rats total at most since october. the largest rat i offered to her she didn't eat and my red male took it down and passed it fine... as i said her stomach is firm but i feel no egg like projections. I was hoping that is was her being gravid but i am just worried i'll wake up and find her dead!


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## Jeremy Ross (Feb 9, 2011)

she usually avoids her food if i put cod liver oil on it, but i could just turkey baste it into her mouth i suppose...


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2011)

That sounds like a plan ..

Mix it with something ... 

Have you given any thought to the other end ???


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## Jeremy Ross (Feb 9, 2011)

Not exactly sure what you mean by that? Good news is that i came home from class to find her wading in her artificial ocean. aka the wash tub that is filled with water that sits within her sand filled kiddie pool under a 125 watt bulb she is breathing more regularly and does not as distressed but she still has not pooped. AS i write this she just death rolled in her water tub... 
what do you mean by "thought to the other end"? are you suggesting an enema or anal suppository?


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## Jeremy Ross (Feb 9, 2011)

By the way I cannot express my thanks enough to the ample amount of quick reply's! My whole life I've anticipated owning tegu's and monitors. I vowed to do it to the best of my knowledge and to never restrain them if possible. I have 3 tegu's each were taken from living conditions that I consider deplorable. as each of them were adult size and were living 100% of the time in enclosures no larger than 36x20.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions and reply's


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2011)

For an impaction a mineral oil enema [mixed with water ] is often administered ...

Oral syringe or possibly [turkey baster ]...

Good luck with your tegus ..


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## Jeremy Ross (Feb 9, 2011)

So, I rolled my fingers down her stomach from Anterior pectoral girdle towards the vent using gentle wavelike motions (This is a love novel. Not like that!~GROSS~) Out of the water over the sink. I put her back in warm water came back 10 minutes later to find some pee and a Whispee pooh. She was still very sedated. I removed her from the water temporarily to inspect the pooh for large parasites, Nothing visible. I saved it to inspect it under a scope. When i picked her back up i noticed her stomach was a lot less tense than it was before, so hopefully at the very least what i did relieved some gas from her system. I did the breast to vent finger motion again and after about 20 seconds she snapped at my hand which i think is a good sign other than her being in discomfort... But she is still very sedated... I anticipated some kind of hibernation to happen especial in late fall because she spent a good week in the closet and didn't want to eat for me at first. But in the last 3 months she has really risen up and been pretty active in my presence... She was actually the most "monitor-like" of my tegus... I put her back in new clean warm water. Mean while I'm in Limbo avoiding class work and hoping for the best...


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## Jeremy Ross (Feb 10, 2011)

Despite my efforts and perhaps due to them My female red tegu passed away this evening. I believe it is due to an impacted gut and added stress from the male... Thanks to everyone who tried to help. I am in disbelief at how fast this all happened.


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## Guest (Feb 10, 2011)

Oh #$%*!!

We take that very seriously here at tegu talk ...

So sorry about your loss ...

You did what you could ...


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## Guest (Feb 10, 2011)

seems to be a lot of tegus dieing lately.sorry for your loss.


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## slideaboot (Feb 10, 2011)

Man, I'm sorry. Lot of tegu tragedies lately. Too many.


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## Jeremy Ross (Feb 10, 2011)

Wow that is a little bit frightening! Are any of you familiar with the effects that mycoplasm has on T. marianae and T. rufescens? I read somewhere that they can get it. Is it deadly to them? or is the tegu a host for it to plague something else like in the G. sulcata tortoises?


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## Guest (Feb 10, 2011)

Respiratory infections are troublesome and can be passed to other reptiles ..

You should use good hygiene after handling animals and keep their enclosures clean and at proper humidity at all times ...

You are also better off to buy only captive breed animals from a respectable breeder ..


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## Guest (Feb 10, 2011)

Oh no.. so sorry for your loss. You did what you could..


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