# Is my guy too fat???



## LGrace (Apr 27, 2021)

TY is 20 months old but is looking a little or a lot on the heavy side. What do you think??


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## LizardStudent (Apr 27, 2021)

Personally I think yes, your gu is a bit on the heavy side. They will get 'puffy' and chubby looking in the belly after a meal, but you can really see the chunk in the thigh portion of his legs in that photo. What's the diet/exercise like for him?


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## rantology (Apr 27, 2021)

Agreed, diet and exercise would do him well. judging from the pics in your other post I would say he's more than a little overweight... Males always have the cute chubby jowels, but if the spine is indented like that, and the tail looks a bit ballooned, they are probably overweight. You should also be able to see a little line/wrinkle of skin on his lateral torso area. His skin looks a bit dry as well - reds are certainly the most finnicky with their humidity requirements. Handsome fella though, good size!

What is your feeding schedule/ diet like?


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## LGrace (Apr 27, 2021)

He doesn't eat much believe it or not. His diet consists of a combination of raw meat...chicken, hamburger, turkey, and 5 veggies and 4 fruits I mix them all together and make meatballs for him. He doesn't even eat everyday!! As far as exercise he's lazy! His enclosure gets opened up around 5 everyday and he is welcomed to roam the whole house until 10 but choses to come out explore a bit and then he will find a blanket to hide under!!


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## rantology (Apr 27, 2021)

LGrace said:


> He doesn't eat much believe it or not. His diet consists of a combination of raw meat...chicken, hamburger, turkey, and 5 veggies and 4 fruits I mix them all together and make meatballs for him. He doesn't even eat everyday!! As far as exercise he's lazy! His enclosure gets opened up around 5 everyday and he is welcomed to roam the whole house until 10 but choses to come out explore a bit and then he will find a blanket to hide under!!


Oh boy! so he's a sneaky chubber.  I guess it's time to start cutting his portions down for a while - his diet sounds like it's great though! you could also try feeding once every third day if you have not tried that yet (instead of every other).


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## LGrace (Apr 27, 2021)

rantology said:


> Oh boy! so he's a sneaky chubber.  I guess it's time to start cutting his portions down for a while - his diet sounds like it's great though! you could also try feeding once every third day if you have not tried that yet (instead of every other).


I get so nervous that he will be hungry!! Also, he's been very sluggish all winter just wanting to be in the cooler side of his cage and didn't eat much so I don't understand why he is so fat!!


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## LGrace (Apr 27, 2021)

LGrace said:


> I get so nervous that he will be hungry!! Also, he's been very sluggish all winter just wanting to be in the cooler side of his cage and didn't eat much so I don't understand why he is so fat!!


I feel like he was trying to go into brumation but I didn't stop trying to feed him and kept his heat on just incase I was wrong!


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## rantology (Apr 27, 2021)

LGrace said:


> I get so nervous that he will be hungry!! Also, he's been very sluggish all winter just wanting to be in the cooler side of his cage and didn't eat much so I don't understand why he is so fat!!


He probably will get hungry, but it will be for his own good  offer a few pieces of fruit perhaps on the off days as a snack - but try to cut down on total volume of food he gets per week gradually to what you think is adequate. I'd probably start by cutting a third, and progress to half in a couple of weeks if needed


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## LizardStudent (Apr 27, 2021)

LGrace said:


> He doesn't eat much believe it or not. His diet consists of a combination of raw meat...chicken, hamburger, turkey, and 5 veggies and 4 fruits I mix them all together and make meatballs for him. He doesn't even eat everyday!! As far as exercise he's lazy! His enclosure gets opened up around 5 everyday and he is welcomed to roam the whole house until 10 but choses to come out explore a bit and then he will find a blanket to hide under!!


Personally I would try to cut out the hamburger in particular if you can as one of the fatty meats and try to feed him more whole prey like mice and chicken/quail chicks. The whole prey could also probably help the sheds be a bit smoother but yes, reds are the most finnicky with shedding. A tegu that age should not be eating every day, more like every 3rd day or so, so its good he's not eating daily but you could probably still space the meals out a bit more

As for exercise maybe you could get creative! Some people can get their tegus to chase things around, some make them work for their food (like hanging it and making them leap for it, or putting it in a Holey Roller ball and making them work it out), different things like that. Maybe some fresh scenery/items would help him want to explore more, but who knows


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## LGrace (Apr 29, 2021)

LizardStudent said:


> Personally I would try to cut out the hamburger in particular if you can as one of the fatty meats and try to feed him more whole prey like mice and chicken/quail chicks. The whole prey could also probably help the sheds be a bit smoother but yes, reds are the most finnicky with shedding. A tegu that age should not be eating every day, more like every 3rd day or so, so its good he's not eating daily but you could probably still space the meals out a bit more
> 
> As for exercise maybe you could get creative! Some people can get their tegus to chase things around, some make them work for their food (like hanging it and making them leap for it, or putting it in a Holey Roller ball and making them work it out), different things like that. Maybe some fresh scenery/items would help him want to explore more, but who knows


I can't get myself to feed whole prey. My kids have rats as pets lol


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## Allie22 (May 5, 2021)

LGrace said:


> I can't get myself to feed whole prey. My kids have rats as pets lol


My boy eats whole prey. I buy it frozen and thaw for him he eats baby chicks, quail, rats, and I do ground turkey veggies and fruit. With that being said My boys have 3 fancy rats that climb all over them and he has never tried to bite anyone since I got him. If he is handled alot they know the difference between your hand and food. My son can hold his rats then go hand feed him berries and we have never had any issues. Believe me I was worried and always tell him to wash his hands after messing with the rats. But my son Mr.fearless doesn't always listen and surprisingly me always worried about everything haven't had a single issue. But keep in mind live Rats have a different smell then the ones we feed him. So maybe that will help.


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