# Better health, better diet.. Same but new song & dance.....



## Guest (Oct 17, 2010)

Okay guys, new problems... But a few other problems fixed...
Member who haven't read my previous post please read this to get filled in on the problems I was having.
<!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.tegutalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=8085&p=74174#p74174" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewtopic.php?f=52&t=8085&p=74174#p74174</a><!-- l -->
Okay. The twitching has stopped for a few days now. Vet said his fecal float was great.
Since he ate the pinky he hasn't eat but, 3 crickets, 2 super worms & 2 bites of eggs.
Everything that was recommended in the last post he will have nothing to do with it. He will not eat another pinky either.
All he does is hide. 24/7. Yesterday I got him out, petted him for a few mins. "force" fed him. (By force I didn't pry his mouth open, I rubbed the side of his mouth until he opened it & I sat a cricket in there & it was up to him to close his mouth.)
I have a water pan in his cage large enough to him to strech out in... But he won't. So I have to put him in the tub.
Do you think the previous owner has traumatized this little guy?
He charged my wife the other day. But he hasn't tried to charge me.
I am very tempted to get another Tegu.

What do you guys think? Is it something I am doing? Or is this little guy the victim of being delt a s***y hand in the beginning of his life?


----------



## Guest (Oct 17, 2010)

Here is some pics of him. To get an idea of how big he is, his cage is 55 inches long, 28 inches wide & 28 inches tall.


----------



## Guest (Oct 17, 2010)

He looks way cool to me ..I wouldn't [force feed ] him .. He wants to take a dump and go to sleep .. Let him ... When he wants food he will warm up to you when he finds out you are the provider .. Be cool and give him a while .. I don`t think a [replacement] would be less trouble ...If it was easy every one would do it ..


----------



## Guest (Oct 17, 2010)

He used to roam his area & bask. Now he just hides. I have his lights set on a timer. @ 8pm his white light goes out & his black light comes on. and @ 7am hit black goes off & his white comes on. But he never comes out. He would stay hidden all day if I didn't mess with him a few times through out the day.

Leaving him alone souns like a good thing, but I think this guy has major problems. Mental problems. I feel bad for the guy. 



montana said:


> He looks way cool to me ..I wouldn't [force feed ] him .. He wants to take a dump and go to sleep .. Let him ... When he wants food he will warm up to you when he finds out you are the provider .. Be cool and give him a while .. I don`t think a [replacement] would be less trouble ...If it was easy every one would do it ..


----------



## chelvis (Oct 17, 2010)

try not using a black light for two weeks. They can actully see in the lighting and with some animals it can mess up their day and night pattern which can cause a whole slu of other issues. If you want night time heat for him use either a red light (reptiles can not see red light specturm from what i read) or a crematic heater.


----------



## Guest (Oct 18, 2010)

hmm,my tegu doesnt come out very often either.but the smaller one i have does...i do see him come out to bask every so often but not as much as i would like.my gut tells me soemthing is up....


----------



## chelvis (Oct 18, 2010)

this time of year it all comes down to what kind of tegu you you have. If you have an arg b&w or a red they will be slowing down now for hibernation, even if you do not change the lighting or heating. Somthing in the air or other signal tells them it is time to hibernate. Blues will burmate meaning the slow down but they may still eat and bask, last year my blues went into full hibernation however. The reason its wierd for a columbian to slow down right now is they typically do not hibernate. I havent even heard of them slowing down around winter time.


----------



## Guest (Oct 18, 2010)

Well, first off, as the other member mentioned, ditch that black light. They've been known to not only cause stress to your reptile (it disrupts their sleep cycle, because the needed natural night time environment is not replicated), but I believe I read that they can cause severe eye problems. Get a ceramic heat emitter. They may cost a little bit more, but they last for years, and put out ZERO light. Your little guy may not be getting decent sleep, and is therefor "off" right now.

Now, when you say that you have your lights on a 12 on/12 off cycle, what are the actual lights that you are using? Your black light is obviously used for night time heat (though I've already gone over what to get instead of it), but what is the "white light" that you're speaking of? I remember from your previous post that you had ordered a ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 for his UVB, but what are you using for his heat? Keep the 12/12 cycle going, with the UVB and heat being on during whatever your day hours are, and the ceramic heat emitter coming on during the opposite hours.

I also wouldn't recommend "force-feeding" him right now. It ALSO causes stress to your animal (quite the stressful little buggers, aren't they?), and may create an unwanted pattern in him. Just keep offering him the previously recommended variety of foods, every day, and keep spending time with him as much as you can. From the pictures, he looks healthy. He *may* have charged your wife depending on how little time she's spending with him in comparison to you. Don't worry about him not soaking in his water dish. He may do it while you're not around, or may be getting all of the soak time he needs when he's in the bath tub.

And above all, please keep us updated!


----------



## Guest (Oct 18, 2010)

His UVB is on a 14 off 10 on. The white light is a regular heat light. I forget the brand. My local pet store owner gave it to me. It was an over stock. I used the red light for the past 2 days. 



nordica said:


> Well, first off, as the other member mentioned, ditch that black light. They've been known to not only cause stress to your reptile (it disrupts their sleep cycle, because the needed natural night time environment is not replicated), but I believe I read that they can cause severe eye problems. Get a ceramic heat emitter. They may cost a little bit more, but they last for years, and put out ZERO light. Your little guy may not be getting decent sleep, and is therefor "off" right now.
> 
> Now, when you say that you have your lights on a 12 on/12 off cycle, what are the actual lights that you are using? Your black light is obviously used for night time heat (though I've already gone over what to get instead of it), but what is the "white light" that you're speaking of? I remember from your previous post that you had ordered a ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 for his UVB, but what are you using for his heat? Keep the 12/12 cycle going, with the UVB and heat being on during whatever your day hours are, and the ceramic heat emitter coming on during the opposite hours.
> 
> ...


----------



## Guest (Oct 19, 2010)

Hmmm, switch to a 12 hours on/12 hours off cycle. Columbians don't hibernate as Argentines do, so there's no need to reduce their day-time cycle. I'd still recommend getting a ceramic heat emitter for your night-time heat.

Other than that though, I'd say just give it some time. From the pictures, he looks really healthy, so just keep offering him food every day. If I remember correctly, you really haven't had the little guy *that* long. You're doing all you can, and I highly commend you on coming to the forums for advice; it shows you really do care about your tegu, and only want the best for him.


----------



## Guest (Oct 19, 2010)

*Re: Advant*

What is this junk?



stuv741 said:


> Advantageously! Jiang buy Gucci handbags Sen nodded and said: Eastbound cheap nfl replica jerseys Crony, I am also fake Gucci handbags so advised. Opportune. Wow Gucci replica handbags wholesale gilded asked with narrowed eyes: Sirius has wow gold helped so more in Prc ** mechanistic, definitely someone to .


----------



## Guest (Oct 20, 2010)

A spammer.


----------

