# Red tegu claws look weird!?!?!



## Th34cr0ws (Jan 5, 2019)

Hi,
I received a baby red tegu from Ty’s reptiles at the beginning of August 2018. The tegu was very active and energetic. It was eating a lot of crickets everyday and occasionally pinkies and chicken liver. Because I am located in the north eastern climate, it gets real cold around here. As expected, the tegus activity levels drastically slowed, stopped eating by the end of September. So I let him be and reduced that basking light to only two hours a day. His night light is on all the time and the uvb is on daily. I give him baths twice a week to keep up hydration levels and he would sometimes lick chicken liver blood. That’s it. I would rearely handle him bc Ik I need to let him rest. However, this wk when I took him out for his bath, his claws looked crooked, dented, dried up, and cut up. It seems that he has no individual control in each claw and he just uses his palms to get around. For example: 














Plz lmk if there is anything I can do. I do not want to lose him.


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## Griffin (Jan 5, 2019)

Yikes, that looks bad. Maybe he isn’t getting enough UVB, I had a friend who completely neglected his iguana (I ended up giving it a proper home) and had no UVB and it looked similar to that, and what are the temps in the cage, with basking light on and off? also only 2 hours seems pretty short, maybe I misinterpreted the post but are you saying 2 hours of light? Or just 2 hours of heat a day, if so I’d argue that 2 hours of heat or light, is not enough. Wait until Walter comments he’s most knowledgeable.


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## Th34cr0ws (Jan 5, 2019)

I was told to keep the heating light off during the winter so he can rest. But I just keep it on for two hours a day if he wants heat. However the uvb is on from 7 in the morning to five at night.


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## Th34cr0ws (Jan 5, 2019)

Also he is always hiding so idk how he’d be receiving the uvb rays.


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## Griffin (Jan 5, 2019)

Just looked at the images again, send that tegu to a vet ASAP! The bottom pic looks like he/she may lose a thumb. you never told me your temps either, but it looks like MBD. Bump temps back up, leave basking spot on for 7-8 hours instead of two and update once you take him to the vet.

And maybe a new UVB bulb, or another one

Best of luck, hope you take him to a vet! His life is counting on it!


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## Zyn (Jan 5, 2019)

If he’s trying to brumate then let him go down and stay down. Don’t wake him. Sev went down 2 months ago and hasn’t woken up since. The temps
are kept at 60 in my basement no light no extra heat. This is what brumtion is, in the wild he’d close his eyes and sleep in a hole for months. 

His claws look dry, with some old shed. Toes do look odd and if this is MDB it’s not new it’d take some
time to get like this. If you keep waking him up and warming him up, you’re screwing with his metabolism. It slows to a stop during proper brumation, as does growth. If he had stuck shed when he went down and stopped growing it should be fine as he’ll shed again as soon as brumation ends.


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## Th34cr0ws (Jan 5, 2019)

I read somewhere online once I noticed him not being as active to keep the temps at 69-70. Which I have been doing. Only the red light is on. No uvb or basking


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## Th34cr0ws (Jan 5, 2019)

So I have one person telling me to leave him alone but another is saying to bump the temps back up and take him to the vet. I am not sure what to do....


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## Griffin (Jan 6, 2019)

If he can’t even walk on his hands, he needs a VET asap. Those hands look extremely deformed and Im positive it’s more than stuck shed, one of the thumbs even looks like it may fall off. Zyns approach is better , so, leave the temps low, but take it to a vet. But keep that UVB bulb on all day as an option.


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## Th34cr0ws (Jan 6, 2019)

Griffin, who is Walter (you mentioned him in a previous post) and when will he respond?


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## Griffin (Jan 6, 2019)

Someone who's on this forum and is knowledgeable. I don't know, but I think the information provided to you is good enough. Go to a vet and see what they say, its not normal for it to walk on its paws like that.


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## Griffin (Jan 8, 2019)

Update? I would like to know what the vet said, if he was even taken to the vet. If not, I’m really hoping you do in the near future. If I saw my tegu looking like that, I would be freaking out pacing up and down calling every vet in my area! It’d be nice if someone else comments what they think is wrong too. The reason I said bump temps up is because I’m almost positive your tegu has MBD and needs UVB/sun and that would get him to come out of hibernation/brumation. I’m trying to give you a fair warning and be nice about it- but if it does have MBD and nothing is changed/done, it could and will be fatal to your tegu.


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## Walter1 (Jan 9, 2019)

Hey!!!

I was out of the country for past two weeks. Back now, waiting on a connecting flight.

Catch up time !!!

First, no tegu should arrive in that shape. The feet were a pre-exising cobdition. 

Take to vet who knows herps and presennt vendor with info and vet bill. Or ask for an exchange or return with refund.

Having a lizard in that shape is bad form, and selling it is worse.


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## Walter1 (Jan 9, 2019)

Ahh, he arrived good but has acquired the toe problems in your care. 

So, get to a vet. In meantime maintain active conditions= 115 f hot spot uv for 12 hrs/ day, ambient in mid 80s, and moist hide in mid-upper 70s. Lotion the toes. Make sure he is fed whole prey, even pinls, but dusted heavily in calcium.


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## nightanole (Jan 9, 2019)

As someone who rescued a red who had shed problems and lost toes, you have bigger problems than just "humidity" and stuck sheds. As others have stated, soaks and lotion is not going to fix the problem. If you dont get a vet visit soon, you will end up at the next step, which is swelling and bleeding at cracks.


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## Griffin (Jan 9, 2019)

You have been given a sufficient amount of knowledgeable information, it’s now up to you and your responsibility, to take that poor animal to a vet or the harsh consequences will be on your hands. Not being mean either, but being completely honest. I trust that you do the right thing with the animal you purchased!


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## Walter1 (Jan 9, 2019)

To us "old hands", we value the use of a qualified exotic vet on hand.


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## Griffin (Jan 17, 2019)

Kinda upsetting to not get an update, was just thinking of this post earlier. . . Hoping that gu’s situation was figured out


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## Walter1 (Jan 17, 2019)

Me, too.


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## Th34cr0ws (Jan 19, 2019)

Hey, 
I am so sorry. I thought I would get notifications but I was not. I was not ignoring you. The vet was no help, he just said to give him baths. And I looked at the vet’s reviews and they were not good. I bumped up temps and every morning I wake up he’s out basking on the rock under the UVB. He has been eating very slowly as he’s coming out of hibernation. I mix raw egg and he slurps on that. That’s it. However, when I received the tegu, it was in excellent condition, so I do not want to blame Ty. I am currently on the search for another exotic vet in my area. I am very greatful on all the info you are all giving me!


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## Th34cr0ws (Jan 19, 2019)

This is him. He basks like this every morning since I upped the temps. 



However he won’t eat anything besides egg yolk. And he has lost two claws.

Actually, take back what I said about Ty. After you guys said for me to take him to the vet, I asked Ty. He said he never dealt with this before and doesn’t know what to do, he just said to maybe change the substrate.


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## Griffin (Jan 19, 2019)

You should feed more than raw egg. My tegu eats more than 10 different food items every week ranging from grapes, blue berries, avacado, meal worms, dubias, crickets, silversides, talpia, day old qauil, hoppers, eggs, ground venison, worms and some other items.

Your post with the picture didn’t load and I just saw you said he’ll only eat egg yolk. Well , I have to ask in the picture is that cooked steak I see? I hope you know you’re not supposed to be feeding cooked items. . .


He lost 2 claws because you’re negelecting to care for him properly. What are your temps? Do you have a temp gun? That substrate looks shallow and is horrible for them to try and bury in as well. I advise you go and do more research about the pet you purchased as you’re showing signs you failed to do so.


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## Th34cr0ws (Jan 19, 2019)

Excuse me man, 
I did do my research. I am trying to feed him a variety but he’ll only eat raw egg yolk. I am not feeding him cooked foods, I called Ty and he said to feed canned puppy food. Which I read you shouldn’t, but Ty said to. However, the tegu did not even touch it. I told you my temps, I upped them up to the 100s and low 80s/high 70s at night. That substrate is not shallow, it’s only the angle of the camera.


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## Walter1 (Jan 19, 2019)

I understa d the canned puppy food reasoning. 

Something's wrong with the tegu. Kept improperly. 

I want you and this tegu to succeed. Work your damndest to find a vet that works with exotics. Review everything you're doing to see what should be corrected.


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## Griffin (Jan 20, 2019)

Th34cr0ws said:


> Excuse me man,
> I did do my research. I am trying to feed him a variety but he’ll only eat raw egg yolk. I am not feeding him cooked foods, I called Ty and he said to feed canned puppy food. Which I read you shouldn’t, but Ty said to. However, the tegu did not even touch it. I told you my temps, I upped them up to the 100s and low 80s/high 70s at night. That substrate is not shallow, it’s only the angle of the camera.



Try live insects as I stated , make sure humidity levels are at a consistent 70% , and go from there. Trying dog food , which i advise against unless you fully know whats in the food (Now a days dog food is grain filled cancer and shouldn’t even be used for dogs) , and egg yolk do not cut it at all. Thats 2 food items, 1 of which is they would never find in the wild. Your tegu has already lost 2 claws because of neglect of care, and I did predict that it would lose fingers. Now the substrate ,not appropriate for a tegu and it cannot form tunnels/burrows with that. Add another substrate to mix into that. You said you did your research but I keep pointing out red flags. . . . The tegu also looks dehydrated beyond belief, these are all things that are obvious and are all coming from 1 thing; Improper care/caging


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## Walter1 (Jan 20, 2019)

Griffin,

Partly right on egg yolk. Chicken eggs rare except for tegus near farms, but they otherwise sniff out all sorts of eggs in wild. Ground nesting birds, and, in Florida, gator nests. 

A little wet dog food more as bait to get things going on a tegu that needs to eat.

Mine are fed say 80% frozen/thawed medium-sized mice. Also get various organ meats, and occaionally Little Caesar's wet dog food. Dust with calcium.

I don't feed them large mice only because they do better in digestion with smaller meals and because large old female mice are often losing calcium in their bones. Young adults at Goldilocks optimum in size and condition.

Just to sum up, feed anything to get it started if sick.


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## Griffin (Jan 20, 2019)

Walter1 said:


> Griffin,
> 
> Partly right on egg yolk. Chicken eggs rare except for tegus near farms, but they otherwise sniff out all sorts of eggs in wild. Ground nesting birds, and, in Florida, gator nests.
> 
> ...



Right on! I was trying to stress that just raw egg can be bad as I think I remember reading that raw egg contains a chemical that is bad unless cooked? (Can’t remember the exact deatils) And if only feeding raw egg over time it can turn to bad things. But yeah you’re definitely right, feed anything to get that poor tegu atleast eating and if those 2 items don’t work run to the store and try live insects.


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## AlphaAlpha (Jan 24, 2019)

looks totally dehydrated to me and needs to be fed foods with a high amount of water in them and I would suggests plenty of bathing too.


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## EnjoysWine (Feb 8, 2019)

Just started following this thread . . . any update? In addition to what the others have said, I would try feeding raw meat (try chicken liver) and berries, and use lots of added calcium. Check that your basking spot is greater than 110 F using an infrared temperature gun, change or mix the substrate with something easier to burrow in such as coconut fiber and peat moss, and make sure it is humid (with daily spraying). With some changes I would think you can reverse most of the health issues we're seeing.


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