# so i finally got my B&W!! but i'm a little worried...



## kurtle55 (Mar 1, 2009)

i finally got him and he seems to be healthy but the thing is i got him on 2/26 and he still hasnt eaten. (its 3/01 right now for the record)
this is normal for him since he has just moved in right?


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## VARNYARD (Mar 1, 2009)

Is the animal a green head hatchling?


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## kurtle55 (Mar 1, 2009)

no he is about 20 inches right now i'm not sure how old he is though. is this abnormal?


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## omgtaylorg (Mar 1, 2009)

well, he is going to need a few days to adjust and wether he was hibernating or not when you got him also needs to be taken into account, or brumating(slowing down eating and activity) in the winter months...its normal for most tegus to not eat during the winter months very much, if at all.


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## mr.tegu (Mar 1, 2009)

I wouldn't worry about it to much yet. What are you offering as food? When i was having trouble feeding my young tegu i introduced ground turkey to the diet and it started eating great for me.


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## dragonqueen4 (Mar 1, 2009)

feed him fuzzies. my tegu would only pick at everything else i would offer him. now i give him fuzzies and he LOVES them!!


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## kurtle55 (Mar 2, 2009)

i am offering him fuzzies


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## kurtle55 (Mar 2, 2009)

so its day 4 now and i just offered him a scrambled egg and chicken and he isn't eating still.


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## ashesc212 (Mar 2, 2009)

Is it possible that he's hibernating?


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## VARNYARD (Mar 2, 2009)

Where did the animal come from?


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## kurtle55 (Mar 3, 2009)

i dont know the breeder but i got him from a pet store in town. i had been looking at him for a good 2 months and he was eating everyday there and i know the girl who works in the reptile section and she is great with reptiles and has been working with them since she was little. 
my friend got a B&W not too long ago and he said his didn't eat for the first week so thats a little comforting. 
so far i have offered him crickets, frozen pinkies, a live pinky(which has been in his cage for like 18 hours) raw chicken and scrambled eggs.
if it doesn't eat after like 8-10 days should i force feed him?


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## omgtaylorg (Mar 3, 2009)

again its winter time, tegus tend to either one, slow down eating, or two STOP completely and sleep all the time...yours is in one of the categories. What are the temps in the cage and how big is the cage? How much does he/she sleep, is it only up for a little to bask and goes back under or is it up all the time and not eating? Try offering some super worms, mine loves them, also try some more things, ground turkey, beef liver, chicken heart, I do ham sometimes, shrimp, fish...theres alot you havent tried still. Also on the pinky, DEFF do NOT leave the pinky in his cage after he clearly isnt eating it...never leave left over food like that in there especially live...it makes the tegu uncomfortable.


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## kurtle55 (Mar 3, 2009)

i mean the basking spot is at 105 degrees and the warm side is around 80-90 while the cool side is at 70. but he is only upfor a few hours. when he is up he kind up walks from side to side of the cage and then he will bask. the cage foot print is 4ftX19in. should i put tinfoil over it to hold in heat more?


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## omgtaylorg (Mar 3, 2009)

cool side could be up a tad bit more, and your basking is good and warm sounds good, I personally have the foil on top but its more for holding in the humidity rather than the heat, also will hold heat though as well, but you dont really need much more heat except on your cool side a bit, whats your humidity? And again im sure the tegu is fine its just brumating for a little bit more, also dont worry unless you physically see signs of malnutrition in him like a really skinny tail base and obviously skinny stomach.


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## kurtle55 (Mar 3, 2009)

well the only reason i am worried is because he was eating everyday before i got him. 
the humidity is anywhere from 60-70%


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## Beasty (Mar 3, 2009)

Sometimes they take a bit to acclimate to new surroundings.
Be patient. If it was eating before it should be fine. Force feeding is ONLY an absolute LAST resort. You don't want to stress it out by cramming stuff down it's throat. Not to mention that will totally kill the trust factor from the start. Be patient and it will eat when it's ready. It's frustrating and expensive(in wasted feeder items) when they go on strike like that but that's the nature of the thing.
Hope that helps.


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## omgtaylorg (Mar 4, 2009)

well if you do get too worried, you can always take him/her to a local herp vet to check for parasites and stuff like that, but the real worry should only come when you notice signs of malnutrition...but if hes up every single day for some time he should be eating atleast a little bit eventually.


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## VARNYARD (Mar 4, 2009)

omgtaylorg said:


> well if you do get too worried, you can always take him/her to a local herp vet to check for parasites and stuff like that, but the real worry should only come when you notice signs of malnutrition...but if hes up every single day for some time he should be eating atleast a little bit eventually.




I agree, take him to a Vet, the animal has parasites I would bet, if it came from a pet shop it is more than likely an import tegu. Imported tegus are well known to be loaded with parasites.


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## Suzanne (Mar 9, 2009)

Hi, 
Do you know what he was being fed in the pet store? My tegus seem to love stinky stuff. I tried feeding them raw chicken they haven't taken any yet but they love sardines!


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## Schnab (Mar 9, 2009)

It would be a good idea to get him checked by a vet since you don't know where it came from. As mentioned before, it's still winter and it's normal for tegus to stop eating during this time. If your tegu's looking abnormally thin, then I'd worry about possible parasites.


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## kurtle55 (Mar 27, 2009)

sorry i havent replied in a while. but i do have good news. it took him about 12 days but he finally started eating!!! at first he would only eat deli turkey but after 2 days he started eating eggs and now he will eat crickets too. he won't mice but does like chicken.

do you still think i should take him to a vet?


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## Schnab (Mar 28, 2009)

Well your consern was him not eating and he's doing fine now, so it's not really necessary at the moment. But it's good to get them checked out once in a long while to make sure everythings all good. I mean, if you can afford to take him, do whatever.


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## VARNYARD (Mar 28, 2009)

Try dipping the mice in egg yolk, he should take them then. If he seems healthy, then there is no need to take him to the vet.


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## kurtle55 (Mar 30, 2009)

well i work at a vet so it shouldn't be a problem they just dont know very much about reptiles (thats why i havent taken him there yet). but thanks alot guys you've helped alot


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## kurtle55 (Mar 30, 2009)

and i definetly will try that egg trick on the mice tomorrow for sure


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## ashesc212 (Apr 2, 2009)

If you do take him to the vet, I'd definitely take him to see a herp vet instead. 

I'm glad to hear that he's eating! Have you tried giving him any raw ground turkey, tilapia, or anything like that yet? My tegu loves cut up raw tilapia.


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