6 month old tegu is starving himself. Please help.

[Richard Zombo]

I have a 6 month old male from Varnyard. He was given to me as a surprise gift for Christmas, so I wasn't prepared for him.

I have been offering him ground turkey every day, as well as mealworms, crickets, and eggs. I offered him minced up liver once, but he absolutely hated even the smell of it.

I have only seen him take a total of 4 bites of food in 2 weeks (3 bites of turkey, 1 bite of egg), and he is losing weight rapidly.

Another thing, is he is very, very small for his age (apparently). I'm seeing 40'' tegus from his same clutch, whereas he is about 22''. I fell in love with this guy the minute he was given to me, and I'll do anything you guys suggest. If anyone can please give me some advice towards getting him to eat, I would appreciate it greatly. I'm worried sick about this little guy.

 

[mr.tegu]

how are your temps and enclosure set up. maybe in hibernation mode but shouldnt be droping weight super fast so who gave you this tegu for christmas? and how long did they have it?. weeks ago i wrote a topic on reptiles being given as pets on christmas and this is what i was kinda getting at. maybe post pics of the tegu and enclosure.

 

[reptastic]

i am going through the same situation i purchased a male tegu from bobby about 2-3 weeks ago ang he isnt eating well either. today i put him in a small tank(5 1/2 gal) and placed a small bowl of ground turkey/beef, beef liver, minced chicken gizzards, and minced chicken breast and what i did was dip a bit off egg yolk over it and left him in there a while came back he ate evey bit. now i have a female from bobby thats the same age and she is 3 1/2 '(42") but she never hibernated in fact she has been eating since day one,i have had her 5 months, they were however hibernating with bobby so there is a big chance they are still in that mode even if they are up basking and moving around. btw my guy is only 18". they are not small for their age the others(mines included) are just big for their age lol. during hibernation they stop eating and growing and just sleep. some go down soon after hatching. just give him time he will eat eventually. what are your temps, humidity, and what size tank/enclosure is he in?

 

[Richard Zombo]

Thanks for the quick replies, guys.

As for the enclosure, he is in a large Rubbermaid (50 gal) with fir bark substrate, a hide, and a blanket (he likes to just go into blankets / shirts and sleep). I let him bask a couple of times a day under a 160w uvb, and his humidity is always between 55-80%. I keep him and his tub in a closed bathroom with the thermostat at 80F.

Like I said, I wasn't prepared for him, so I didn't have a proper enclosure ready. Luckily I have other reptiles so I have lots of supplies and stuff on hand. I ordered him a 6' cage from Monster Cages, which I should be receiving within a week from now.

Unfortunately, I'm still really worried about him not eating. The fact that you said Bobby had all the babies in hibernation makes me feel a little bit better about him not eating.

 

[mr.tegu]

you ''let'' him bask? what do you mean by that? if your tegu is hibernating you shouldnt be feeding him/her at all. but if you do feed the lights need to stay on. also if your tegu is hibernating it shouldnt be losing weight super fast. christmas was just a week ago so if he has lost a huge amount of weight like you said in just a week something more is going on. maybe parasites or infection of some kind. how are the tegus stools (runny or cat like), eyes (clear or runny), nostrils (runny or normal), vent (clean or crusty),mouth (pink or white), lungs/breathing (clean clear breaths or weezing). with rapid weight lose it could be many things.

 

[mr.tegu]

i just want to add that nothing about your tegu really worries me to much. not eating and hiding in shirts and stuff is some what normal at times. but when you say that your tegu is losing weight rapidily, thats not good. tegus do lose some weight during hibernation but not rapidily. and not in a week either.

 

[Richard Zombo]

I should not have said he was losing weight rapidly. I have no experience with tegus, so seeing an already thin looking (lean, not skinny) animal makes me think something is wrong.

When I say I "let him bask", I mean I take the PowerSun up to his room and put it over him for several hours a day. Should I stop trying to feed him and bask him and just let him hibernate, since that's what he seems to be trying to do?

 

[reptastic]

if he is trying to hibernate let him, just turn off all the lights and let him be..

 

[Two Bananas Marinade]

I am new to tegus also, but I do lot of research. Maybe cutting his heat/light down a little bit every few days and still offer food until he will not take it at all. Eventually all light an heat off. My tegu, Blender, stopped eating in August.. I put him in a tote in the garage no heat or light just water, hide and mulch. I checked on him the other day and he looks great still has a tummy

 

[tupinambisfamiliaris]

Do you have hides for him? Is the substrate deep at all? I'm in agreement with the folks who suggest hibernation behavior. You need to encourage it if that is the case. If the animal has the chance to hide and does so most of the time, then you're probably okay. Just offer clean water for him and let nature take it's course.

If, on the other hand he's got a high level of activity and still won't eat, then I'd be concerned. Just keep up frequent observation and get a good, regular heat, light regimen going so you can provide at least a short cycle until it goes under for the winter.