# Tegu Consuming Cyprus - Problem or Not?



## carcharios (Jun 15, 2010)

In the process of eating his chicken livers, Kimo has been consuming small bits of cyprus mulch here and there. Can Tegus digest cyprus mulch? I know they can break down bone and I've read stories of them purposely ingesting pea gravel. Should I be concerned about Kimo ingesting some mulch? He seems healthy but I'm worried about impaction.


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## mastroj (Jun 15, 2010)

This is one of the big reasons they say to feed tegus in a seperate enclosure. I assume impaction occurs with cypress mulch as well. It is something that happens over time though, usually not just one traumatic ingestion of mulch that causes impaction. So I would just start feeding your tegu in an empty bin, or the bathtub to stop the process before it turns into something serious.

Good luck


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## Herplings (Jun 15, 2010)

Your Tegu can not digest wood. He can become impacted and even poisoned by the wood.
Keep an eye on him and I would probably not feed him until he craps. When he does look at his poo and see if he passed the wood pieces. Also, look for signs of laziness, color and mood changes, and movement. These could be signs he is impacted.

This is the main reason I do not use wood type substrates. I am sure this is a reason why some people do not feed in their Tegus in their cage.

You have a few options here. Use I digestible substrate like dirt, or hay. 
Feed your Tegu on a plate, bowl, or dish.
Or feed your Tegu in a feeding box (as much as I hate to say it and would never do it personally).


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## carcharios (Jun 15, 2010)

Yeah, the problem I have with feeding him outside the cage is that he's a nasty SOB right now and it's potential suicide on my part to let him out of his enclosure. Sure, I might be able to get him back in but only at the risk of losing my hand, lol. I'll try a bigger plate and see what happens. I hope he's ok.


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## Herplings (Jun 15, 2010)

How large is he?


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## Jefroka (Jun 15, 2010)

Mine would eat cyprus pieces and luckily passed them but I grew concerned and went through the entire enclosure removing large pieces that he possibly could not pass.

I use a mixture of top soil, coco fiber, cypress, sphagnum moss and horse bedding which is kiln dried pine shavings.


...Jefroka


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## First Time Tegu (Jun 16, 2010)

Mine seems to eat mulch from time to time because I always see small pieces in her poop. I have always fed her in the bath, and almost always feed her everyday (I don't when she is too lazy to wake up long enough to eat). 

I have live plants in my enclosure but i'm thinking of changing the bedding to hay, its much easier to burrow in and you don't have to worry about them not being able to pass it. I will just have to go a little heavier on the topsoil to keep the shrubs going.


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## DaveDragon (Jun 16, 2010)

I always feed outside of the cage and even had to change our male Blue to aspen (cringe!) because I caught him many time eating the cypress like candy, got impacted 3 times and almost died.

Don't use hay, it molds easily.


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## carcharios (Jun 16, 2010)

Himo is about 3 feet with tail but I've been looking at those teeth recently and they look pretty large and sharp. I would not want to get bitten by that mouth.

I'm moving him to a 10x5x6 dog kennel in two weeks and I'm probably going to scrap the cyprus in favor of hay as well. I've yet to see any fragments in Kimo's feces but then again, I haven't really seen him pass much lately. He's acting normal though with no signs of illness. I'll be relieved once I see that he's passed his food.


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## Herplings (Jun 16, 2010)

I have been using hay for a year now. Mold up to this point has not been an issue.

All my cages are pretty well ventilated though.


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## Herplings (Jun 16, 2010)

carcharios said:


> Himo is about 3 feet with tail but I've been looking at those teeth recently and they look pretty large and sharp. I would not want to get bitten by that mouth.
> 
> I'm moving him to a 10x5x6 dog kennel in two weeks and I'm probably going to scrap the cyprus in favor of hay as well. I've yet to see any fragments in Kimo's feces but then again, I haven't really seen him pass much lately. He's acting normal though with no signs of illness. I'll be relieved once I see that he's passed his food.



You might be able to get him to pass his food by giving him a warm 10-20 minute soak in the tub.
That works 7 times out of 10 for us.


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## Orion (Jun 16, 2010)

My Tegu was consuming so much that she got impacted and needed surgery. She is finally on the road to recovery after almost a month. She may have even suffered some permanent damage. After my experience I am more than likely not even going to use any substrate except for newspaper.


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## isdrake (Jun 16, 2010)

It seems like many people are having problems with Tegus eating cypress. So why is this substrate so recommended? There seems to be many other substrates that is safer and looks better.


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## carcharios (Jun 16, 2010)

Yeah, no more cyprus mulch for my guys. I just hope he passes his food. I'll try the soak tonight and see how it goes. Hopefully, it goes well.

Out of curiosity, how much did the surgery, etc. run you? It wouldn't be a bad idea to get some X-rays done just to see if he is in fact impacted.


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## Orion (Jun 16, 2010)

Total with meds and follow up care it was like $1500, and we are not out of the woods yet. She has not regained her appetite yet and has some type of nerve damage possibly. She shakes when she moves and has a hard time eating because she quivers when she bites at her food and only gets about 10% of what she tries for. At first they thought her shaking was due to MBD. She has a UVB light in her tank and gets food dusted with Rep-cal and time outside. X-rays showed the impact but no MBD. After days of soaking and the shaking getting worse we decided on surgery.


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## Herplings (Jun 16, 2010)

Man I am sorry to here that.  

That is an extreme case for sure. It is nice to hear that you guys are doing what you can.

I hope for the best.


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## Jer723 (Jun 16, 2010)

isdrake said:


> It seems like many people are having problems with Tegus eating cypress. So why is this substrate so recommended? There seems to be many other substrates that is safer and looks better.



Me personally have tried alot of substrates, I currently use cypress, because it is the best, due to the fact that it holds moisture, and is great for burrowing, I have used Repti Bark, Eco Earth, and even aspen, nothing works as good as cypress, you just need to try and do your best to monitor the situation. Thats why I put my girl in a tub to eat, that way theres no risk, if your tegu is just eating cypress for no apparent reason, then I could see switching. But all around cypress is the best for them, and if you have to move your tegu, you move your tegu, because its the best for them. For Charcharios, Id switch to Eco Earth if you cant move your tegu. Hope this answers the question.

Jerry


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## isdrake (Jun 16, 2010)

Jer723 said:


> Me personally have tried alot of substrates, I currently use cypress, because it is the best, due to the fact that it holds moisture, and is great for burrowing, I have used Repti Bark, Eco Earth, and even aspen, nothing works as good as cypress, you just need to try and do your best to monitor the situation. Thats why I put my girl in a tub to eat, that way theres no risk, if your tegu is just eating cypress for no apparent reason, then I could see switching. But all around cypress is the best for them, and if you have to move your tegu, you move your tegu, because its the best for them.
> 
> Jerry



I have never tried cypress because it's not common here and very expensive. Using cypress would cost me more than the enclosure itself. XD

Right now I use a mix of soil and humus and I love it. It works very good for burrowing and I have no problem with the humidity (I'm using a normal small room humidifier).

If burrowing and keeping the humidity is the "only" reason why cypress is the best then I guess I will stick to my mix because it achieves the same criterion. Some extra advantages is that it's cheap and looks much better.


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## Jer723 (Jun 16, 2010)

Well as long as you can get the same effect with your mix go for it! yours has hummus in it? lol

Jerry


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## Herplings (Jun 16, 2010)

"Cypress is the best" is a matter of opinion.

I can understand why it is commonly used, but in my opinion it is far from the best.


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## Jer723 (Jun 16, 2010)

Well Bobby uses it and has no problems, i use it and have no problems, it just seems that you need to take caution when using it, its considered by most people to be one of the best substrates for tegus, what would you consider "the best"?

Jerry


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## mastroj (Jun 16, 2010)

I tried to find cypress for my tegu but had no luck. I did find a playground mulch that was completely organic and no additives. It looks perfect for burrowing and everything. I couldnt find the type of wood but I asked my herp specialist and he said that it is the additives in pine and cedar that cause problems not the wood itself. I will also be baking all of it before I put it in so I cant imagine what could harm my tegu. Am i missing something?


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## Jer723 (Jun 16, 2010)

I saw that too, I dont know it seems a little risky, I dont know if the harm will go away by baking it, but I know that its just pine and cedar have oils that are harmful, you shoul check what wood is in there and if its pine or cedar, try something else its not worth the risk. You just dont want a sick tegu. 

Jerry


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## mastroj (Jun 16, 2010)

What do you use for substrate?


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## mastroj (Jun 16, 2010)

Here it is online, under specifications it lists "Cypress (Chamaecyparis, Cupressus, Taxodium)" I think it should be okay.

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## themedic (Jun 16, 2010)

It could lead to impaction, i know ive been sayin this alot but why dont you do what I do, build a bench and connect it to the front of your cage so when the gus come out of their cage, they lay on the bench and eat out of a bowl, this not only helps with cage aggression, it makes it impossible for them to ingest any substrate and also helps with interaction with your tegu.


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## the enigma (Jun 16, 2010)

I guess we should all remember that while we all follow the "basic guidlines" in caring for our Tegus, I am sure we all do this slightly differently, which is why the cypress works for some and not others. An illustration of what I'm talking about would be: I mist every other day whilemastroj mists daily.


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## Herplings (Jun 16, 2010)

the enigma said:


> I guess we should all remember that while we all follow the "basic guidlines" in caring for our Tegus, I am sure we all do this slightly differently, which is why the cypress works for some and not others. An illustration of what I'm talking about would be: I mist every other day whilemastroj mists daily.



And like me.... I never mist... Ever. I run a humidifier that keep my room at or just over 65-70%

Good point. I agree with that.


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## mastroj (Jun 16, 2010)

I am going to modify a humidifier to use for my tegu's and my water dragons. I am having trouble with humidity with both so I hope it helps.


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