# Now I really need help



## KoreanDeathKid (Mar 25, 2008)

Ok, so before all you guys start to get mad at me for not being able to care for my little Vegas properly like most of you guys would, but I really was trying my hardest and now, I'm just plain stuck, where to go from this point on.
It's been about 5 months since I got my red tegu from J&J Reptiles, which was shipped to me, came healthy, perfectly fine, nice, never tried to bite, never ran away, no sudden movements etc. It was just plain calm, it only shook a little for a while, maybe for 2 days when I held him, but he got used to his new home and stopped being skittish and didn't mind at all while being handled, he even ate from my hand. But only about 2 weeks after I recieved him, he went into his hide, and blocked the entrance. I never saw him again, until mid February. I noticed that he was in shed, and gave him a bath, but unfortunatly, he lost one of his toes, and a tip of it's tail came off (it looks like nothing now), I don't know why he wouldn't shed properly and his body parts came off, but it got me pretty upset. Actually, I went mad that day, because I've never had anything like this happen before. So I fed him lots of ground turkey, boiled eggs, and soft fruits, and tried mice, which he really didn't like, never ate them actually, to tell the truth, he didn't eat any of it, except eggs. I sprayed his enclosure everyday, put a bricks, and a rough rock in there for him to rub against during the shed. I don't think, he atually shed at all. Then my parents wanted to go on a trip to Victoria, and I was like " But what about Vegas? he's got shedding issues" then my dad gets really mad, because he never really wanted me to have a red tegu in the first place and now, I didn't want to go on a trip because of a red tegu. But I went anyways, because the situation was pretty intense, I left a bowl of boiled eggs, grapes, apples, salmon, and ground turkey in there for him while he were away. (We left on Monday) So I come back tonight, only hours ago, and see my little Vegas in his brick hide room with mulch against the entrance a sleep, his skin was all dark, and didn't even eat the food I left in there for him, and it looks like he's about to loose a couple more toes too. I had this shed-aid thing, which I bought for my previous reptiles, and I used that for my tegu a couple times before, and just used it again a hour ago. I put my tegu and got the shed-aid in a little tub of wet mulch and a rough rock, and covered it with a warm wet pillow case. It held the moisture very well, and so did the heat, my teug got active and start to walk around the tub, which made him rub his body all over the rough mulch and the rock. and about a hour later, I checked on him and he still did not get his shed off, it's not even moving away from his scales.
I think I've made a mistake on the tegu from the start, it was doing great, and now, it looks like he's about to die or something, because of bad shed. Please read and help.


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## VARNYARD (Mar 26, 2008)

I am going to address this later this morning when I get off work. I really do not have the time right now, but I will try to help you as soon as I get back.


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## VARNYARD (Mar 26, 2008)

Ok, can you get some raw yogurt? He needs to be eating something more than eggs. Also have you tried soaking a pinkie in egg yoke?

As for the shedding problems, he needs some beef liver and soaking a few times a day in plain warm water. Keep soaking him until the shed starts coming off.


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## DaveDragon (Mar 26, 2008)

We fed our sick baby B&W Activia yogurt and meat stage 1 baby foods for 2 weeks before he got his appetite. He wasn't being fed properly at the pet store (cringe!) that my wife bought him from. The stress of relocation put him over the edge.


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## redtail2426 (Mar 26, 2008)

Well his diet dosnt look good at all he needs way more variety than that and his shedding issues are porbably due to poor husbandry, his enclosure needs to hold humidity and his hide also has to be humid, it sounds to me like his hide wasnt humid and when he spent all that time in there is when the shedding issues began. You can also supplement with some vitamin A to help with shedding but dont give to much because you can overdose on it.


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## KoreanDeathKid (Mar 26, 2008)

ook, thanks a lot for the help everybody, my tegu's hide is humid, and i always see him in there, they way how i do it, is i put two bricks sandwiched to make a little room for the tegu and put some mulch in there and spray the mulch to make it humid, which always worked with my other reptiles, I just don't see why it wouldn't work with my tegu, I spray his enclosure everyday and have a towel on top of the screen to hold the humidity, I tried giving him some pinkies with raw eggs, but he only licked the raw eggs right off the plate and never went for the pinkie, but I guess it could work now that he starved long enough, i offered him a lot of soft fruits, not to over feed him or anything like that, but he just never ate them, he ate strawberries, grapes, kiwi and other fruits like that before he went into burmation, and after he came out, he just never ate anything but eggs
i will try to get everything that he needs by today, or tomorrow, i think i do have some raw yogurt here
again, thanks everybody, i'll give you an update


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## VARNYARD (Mar 26, 2008)

Redtail, that is why we feed the beef liver, it is high in A, I would also feed foods with the needed vitamins, in my opinion it is much better then a supplement vitamin product.

David, the Yogurt needs to be raw, most of the Yogurts bought at the store are not active, they have been processed with heat and it kills the needed bacteria.


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## nat (Mar 26, 2008)

Hey Dave
do you have pics of your setup? Maybe that will help people offer some suggestions as to what some issues may be. Also, have you tried giving the tegu some live food like crickets or superworms? the movement might stimulate him to chase and eat.


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## DaveDragon (Mar 26, 2008)

VARNYARD said:


> David, the Yogurt needs to be raw, most of the Yogurts bought at the store are not active, they have been processed with heat and it kills the needed bacteria.


The Activia yogurt has live bacteria added to it. It's sold to replenish the bacteria in your digestive system to get it regular. And it tastes good too!


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## VARNYARD (Mar 26, 2008)

DaveDragon said:


> VARNYARD said:
> 
> 
> > David, the Yogurt needs to be raw, most of the Yogurts bought at the store are not active, they have been processed with heat and it kills the needed bacteria.
> ...



I know, but before the Activia came along we would go to the GNC store, they carry raw yogurt too.


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## redtail2426 (Mar 26, 2008)

VARNYARD said:


> Redtail, that is why we feed the beef liver, it is high in A, I would also feed foods with the needed vitamins, in my opinion it is much better then a supplement vitamin product.
> 
> David, the Yogurt needs to be raw, most of the Yogurts bought at the store are not active, they have been processed with heat and it kills the needed bacteria.


 O ok I see, Dosnt liver also contain vitamin D3? If I was going to try and get my tegu vitamin A I would feed carrots I dont have just a vitamin A supplement.


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## VARNYARD (Mar 26, 2008)

An excellent source of high-quality protein and natureÃ?Æ?Ã?â??Ã?â??Ã?Â¢Ã?Æ?Ã?Â¢Ã?Â¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?Â¡Ã?â??Ã?Â¬Ã?Æ?Ã?Â¢Ã?Â¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?Â¾Ã?â??Ã?Â¢s most concentrated source of vitamin A. All the B vitamins in abundance, particularly vitamin B12 The liver is not a storage organ for toxins but it is a storage organ for many important nutrients (vitamins A, D, E, K, B12 and folic acid, and minerals such as copper and iron). These nutrients provide the body with some of the tools it needs to get rid of toxins as well.


> Vitamins
> Amounts Per Selected Serving%DVVitamin A21568IU431% Retinol6410mcg Retinol Activity Equivalent6421mcg Alpha Carotene7.5mcg Beta Carotene110mcg Beta Cryptoxanthin7.5mcg Lycopene0.0mcg Lutein+Zeaxanthin0.0mcg Vitamin C1.3mg2%Vitamin D~ ~Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol)0.3mg2% Beta Tocopherol0.0mg Gamma Tocopherol0.0mg Delta Tocopherol0.0mg Vitamin K2.2mcg3%Thiamin0.1mg9%Riboflavin2.3mg137%Niacin11.9mg60%Vitamin B60.7mg35%Folate172mcg43% Food Folate172mcg Folic Acid0.0mcg Dietary Folate Equivalents172mcg Vitamin B1248.0mcg800%Pantothenic Acid4.8mg48%Choline290mg Betaine3.8mg


 
It does have vitamin D in it, but not high in D3. This is fed in one meal a week, it should not be fed everyday.


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## Adams13 (Mar 27, 2008)

Beef liver is very cheap as well, its a great food source. Korean I really hope things work out man, post pics of anything thats possible, your tegu, enclosure, etc. and if need to get your tegu to eat fruit try putting them in water with whatever food your tegu will accept. I usually defrost my mice in ziplock bags and as i do this i place fruit inside so the smell of the mice gets transfered to the fruit its seemed to get my guy to eat almost anythng. 

Jordan


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## KoreanDeathKid (Mar 28, 2008)

just an update on Vegas, i was able to get him to eat some raw eggs, some other meat such as crab, steak (unseasoned), and other parts of beef, i did try mice covered in egg yoke, but was not able to get a pinkie because the place i go to for feeders were all out of them, so i had to go with a hopper, but he tried, it was just too big for him, but he licked the egg yoke off, i tried to give him some corn and peas, but i guess he was just too full, so the good news is he's eating again, but the shed is still on him
the bad news is that i went through laser skin treatment and i can't go out in the sun, or any source of light for the next 2 or 3 days, i've been stuck in the house playing video games going everywhere in the internet, and getting fat, and can't get the beef heart or the raw yogurt, my parents went to number of places to look for them, but couldn't find any of them


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## redtail2426 (Mar 29, 2008)

How old is your tegu ?? And how long is he ?


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## KoreanDeathKid (Mar 29, 2008)

i'm guessing Vegas is about 7 or 8 months old, i'm not too sure about the length (i'm not a big fan of measuring lizards), but i think he is about 1 feet long or a little over that by a couple inches, may be 1 1/2 feet long?


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## KoreanDeathKid (Mar 29, 2008)

oh and i can't find my cell phone or my phone anywhere after my trip to Victoria, i remember seeing somewhere in the house, but that's about it, therefore, i cannot post any pics, but i will try to post pictures as soon as i find either one of em


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## redtail2426 (Mar 29, 2008)

that sounds really small for a tegu that age.


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## KoreanDeathKid (Mar 29, 2008)

i know, u gonna help me or wut? i've asked for help, not to get critized and have people call me a bad owner that doesn't care for his animals


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## VARNYARD (Mar 29, 2008)

That is not too small if it has been hibernating.


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