# tegu is eating cypress mulch AGAIN



## Anthony (Aug 2, 2009)

man i dont know what to do anymore now she is choosing cypress mulch over ground turkey and crickets.... twice today i caught her eating mulch.... she has ground turkey and beef liver on a huge plate and on the other side of her tank shes eating cypress mulch... theres also a few crickets in there she can eat and she JUST ATE ground turkey a few hours ago in her feeding bin... she is offered food non stop and a variety of food but yet she still eats substrate... what the heck should i do?


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## BOOZER (Aug 2, 2009)

gotta feed her out of the enclosure! might want to change substrate as well. but again separate feeding spaces!! :fc


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## Richard21 (Aug 2, 2009)

I bet that is frustrating. IMO I would change the substrate. If he eats the new substrate I would put him on paper towels for a while. I would never risk my little guy getting impacted.


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## AWD247 (Aug 2, 2009)

Definately remove the substrate if its associating it with food, and as mentioned above, definately feed it outside the bin, I think it makes such a difference.


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## 31drew31 (Aug 2, 2009)

Could put him on a smaller substrate. Dirt/sand mixture maybe spagum (sp) moss. My tegu always eats substrate ( always being i catch her a couple times a week) so I just use a small type of mulch and has never had a problem with him going to the bathroom.


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## GOT_TEGUS (Aug 2, 2009)

Anthony said:


> man i dont know what to do anymore now she is choosing cypress mulch over ground turkey and crickets.... twice today i caught her eating mulch.... she has ground turkey and beef liver on a huge plate and on the other side of her tank shes eating cypress mulch... theres also a few crickets in there she can eat and she JUST ATE ground turkey a few hours ago in her feeding bin... she is offered food non stop and a variety of food but yet she still eats substrate... what the heck should i do?




Anthony , I just posted this on another post :-D 

Best thing to do use a feeding bin No substrate

heres Bobbys videos check them out

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## DaveDragon (Aug 2, 2009)

Our male Blue had to have all substrate removed. He's on vinyl flooring in his enclosure. I've seen him eat cypress many times and he's been impacted 3 times and nearly died. It may not be normal to have no place to burrow but I'd rather he be alive. He had plywood hides on both ends and sometimes I throw a towel in there.


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## GOT_TEGUS (Aug 2, 2009)

DaveDragon said:


> Our male Blue had to have all substrate removed. He's on vinyl flooring in his enclosure. I've seen him eat cypress many times and he's been impacted 3 times and nearly died. It may not be normal to have no place to burrow but I'd rather he be alive. He had plywood hides on both ends and sometimes I throw a towel in there.




Agree with Dave :-D GUs have different personalities so you may be better using news paper or no substrate.


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## BOOZER (Aug 2, 2009)

GOT_TEGUS said:


> DaveDragon said:
> 
> 
> > Our male Blue had to have all substrate removed. He's on vinyl flooring in his enclosure. I've seen him eat cypress many times and he's been impacted 3 times and nearly died. It may not be normal to have no place to burrow but I'd rather he be alive. He had plywood hides on both ends and sometimes I throw a towel in there.
> ...


AGREE WITH BOTH! it is what it is...!!!


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## Anthony (Aug 2, 2009)

now im not gona be able to sleep tonite.... if i did go to news paper would this be permanent??? could i just use the desert snow from Trex?


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## tracyanderson777 (Aug 2, 2009)

You could try using orchid bark. 

the chips are pretty big. Almost impossible to eat. just buy big chips and hope it stops.


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## Guest (Nov 22, 2010)

Well I have a similar problem except I've been feeding him in an empty tank for a long time now. I haven't actually caught him in the act but have found him in his bath in extreem distress with a 1/2 x 1/2 piece lodged in his cloaca I think its called. With some help he got it loose and everything pulled back in perfectly. I'm not sure what to do. Any advice would be appreciated.


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## DaveDragon (Nov 22, 2010)

Either finely strain the mulch or change to aspen, which isn't the greatest since you can't water it but he probably can't get impacted. 

In the past year since our male Blue has been on aspen he hasn't gotten impacted but his hydration level can't be good.


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## Guest (Nov 22, 2010)

What about pet grade vermiculite or removing substrate alltogether. I'd hate to do that but I don't want him to die


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## DaveDragon (Nov 22, 2010)

I tried removing the substrate but think he got stressed having nothing. I think a couple of inches of aspen is only slightly better, it's also dusty. I tried dirt mixed with sand but it was very messy, took it out after 2 days.


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## Guest (Nov 22, 2010)

I live several miles from vermiculite mountain.. Here in this little town they have spent millions on trying to clean it up ..Every one used it in there gardens and for insulation in their homes ... They spend forty thousand to clean the insulation out of a house that you could buy with the land for twenty thousand and you end up with the exact same dump except new insulation.. Of course the government said the stuff was safe and then when they found out it wasn`t they tried to cover it up .. They say it gets you in the lungs tho the only ones I know of that can`t breath are the ones that have smoked for forty years ... Just something to think about ....


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## DaveDragon (Nov 22, 2010)

I wouldn't want to inhale that dust.


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## Guest (Nov 22, 2010)

Mabey paper with a nice hide? Do you knoe anything about the vermiculite and tegus?


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