# Rescued Tegu Today - Some Health Issue Questions



## carcharios (May 14, 2011)

He looks to be about one years old and appears that his growth is a tad stunted. He's about 16-18'' with tail and while his head is large, his body seems a bit undersized for his head. His lower jaw has a little bit of yellow crust that is dried - it looks like there may have been an infection in the past but is now cleared up. His lower jaw is also a little bit undersized and doesn't fit neatly like my other tegus.

His movement seems ok though he doesn't really hold himself off the ground like a perfectly healthy specimen. He does the shuffle, which I've found to be indicative of MBD - something I reversed with my rescued female.

Anyway, any thoughts on the yellowish crust on the lower jaw line or the abnormally large head to body ratio?


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## reptastic (May 14, 2011)

Any pics


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## Bubblz Calhoun (May 14, 2011)

_Yeah,.. pics really do help,.. I would also recommend (if you haven't already) a separate enclosure for the new tegu with some quarantine time as well. For what ever reason if you can't avoid handling both tegus on the same day tend to your other Gus' first and the new one last. 

Better to take extra precautions now with the new tegu and it's issues than to regret it later._


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## carcharios (May 14, 2011)

I'll try to get some pics tomorrow. From what I can tell, it looks like an older case of mouth rot but it doesn't seem active at the moment. His eyes are also a little more circular looking than my other specimens. I've got them all in separate cages and have made sure not to handle them at the same time. There is NO way I want to get Diego sick considering how beautiful this tegu is. He puts the new black and white to shame but hopefully with some TLC, sunlight, and chicken necks, I can get him back on track.


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## reptastic (May 14, 2011)

Im sure you can do it, how is diego btw you should show some updated pics of him


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## carcharios (May 14, 2011)

Diego is doing well. I've got him moved out now to his rabbit hutch. He was pretty active a few weeks ago but it's been cooler the last two weeks here in MD so he hasn't been coming out. He did come out once though two weeks ago to eat an egg. Soon I'll be breaking out the chicken necks - I have to wait a few more weeks for crabbing season to begin because that's when the local supermarkets start carrying them.

Frieda has also been pretty dormant since the weather turned cooler. She's nestled up in some hay I set up under a piece of plywood. I'm still missing Kimo, my big male. I really wish I knew what did him in. He was literally days away from being moved to his outdoor enclosure. Even when I looked over his carcass, I couldn't really find much wrong with him aside from a little snout trauma that looked minimal. Really frustrating!

Anyway, as soon as Diego emerges again, I'll snap up some pics along with the new guy.


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## Rhetoric (May 14, 2011)

It could be a bit of mbd, I'm not very knowledgeable but I know that (some) jaw/mouth issues are usually associated with mbd. Pics would help when you can. I'd start it on a multi vitamin, I had never used one until about a month ago and its been AMAZING. I have 2 tegus that were very underweight and its really helped to get them looking healthy again. My smaller male, Gary, has sort of a goofy mouth, it doesn't line up completely on the side but hes got no issues eating or any red flags health wise, the vet OK'ed him.
What do you mean about the larger head? Is he underweight and the head looks big or is the head just big? 

Good luck with him! Again, sorry about your previous loss. Do you think he might have just gotten too cold?


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## carcharios (May 31, 2011)

Well, the new guys is eating really well and sunning himself often outside. He even took down a mouse last week and has been eating chicken hearts and gizzards sprinkled with calcium powder. One issue still though beside the lack of extension in his hind legs when walking. His rib cage seems to extended quite a bit and it doesn't go down when he defecates, which makes me think it's a skeletal issue. Is an enlarged rib cage typical of MBD?

On another front, his head and lower jaw seem to be recovering nicely. His lower jaw no longer has the yellowish crust along the maxillary teeth. Anyway, when I get a chance, I'll try to snap some photos.


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## carcharios (Jun 8, 2011)

The newbie is still eating well - even taking down chicken necks now that I've sliced up for him. The one issue I'm still seeing though is that his rib cage seems enlarged - may be due to the MBD, he's still doing that shuffle walk that Frieda did before I treated her for MBD and his stool is really runny and not firm like my other two tegus - which is strange because he's now taking down a mouse as well as several pieces of meat and I would expect the stool to be more firm by this point. Any thoughts?


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## jerobi2k (Jun 8, 2011)

good luck with your new rescue, sometimes rescues end up being the best pets. sounds like you are giving that gU nothing but the best so far! we have a red that was really neglected and dropped of at Ben Seigels last year and she is doing great, took a couple of months for her to settle in and get on a healthy path, she turned out to be pretty awsome.


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## carcharios (Jun 9, 2011)

This little guy just shed today and his colors are really beautiful. I still notice the widened rib cage though and wonder what could have caused this. The MBD that affected his head and lips seems to have been cured with chicken necks and natural sunlight and his eyes are no longer droopy and his bottom jaw has healed tremendously. 

However, his rib cage is still much wider than my other tegus. I'm just hoping that because he's so young, this will correct itself with adequate calcium and natural light. I guess I'll have to wait and see.


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## carcharios (Jun 13, 2011)

While the new guys is looking much better and has lots of energy, I noticed something strange today when I fed him a raw egg. He would lick up the yolk, etc. and then stop and look as though he were gasping for air. He would then breathe heavily a few times and eventually, egg would emerge from his nostrils and then he'd go back to eating once more. None of my other tegus have ever done this. It happened over and over again while he was eating the egg.

I've also noticed that when he eats meat, he will only take one piece down and then kind of lower his head and rest between feedings. Any clue as to what is going on?


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