Bloated tegu-

[ReptiBonezXO]

Hey guys, i have a three year old female b&w Argentine tegu.
She last had a small poop about three days ago (1/25) and i'm sure she went, because it was on my carpet....

The next day (1/26) i fed her a hard boiled egg,and a VERY small jar of organic baby food peaches. She ate nearly all of it, except a little egg. She ate very heartily, and had a lot of enthusiasm about the baby food.

This was the first time i've been able to get her to eat anything besides turkey, mice, rats, or eggs, in the 4 or five months i've had her. I'm trying to introduce some fruits and veggies in to her diet. She turned down fresh veggies, and so i decided to try the baby food.

Anyways, when i came home from work today, (around 4:00pm) she was lying out basking, and i noticed her stomach looked a bit large. I felt it gently ,and she feels bloated, but not tight like a drum.
She feels squishy with air, and palpating her belly and sides did not seem to cause her discomfort, in fact she seemed to rather enjoy it.

So she has a soft bloat, no signs of pain, ate two days ago, pooped three days ago, and is basking and burrowing as usual.

The only other abnormal thing she did, is while i was checking on her, and sitting watching her for peculiar signs, she opened her mouth like a short yawn (2x about 3 min apart). No discharge, bubbles, or abnormally thick or excessive saliva. Her mouth is clear, her breathing is normal, and no unusual sounds. This was not her "leave me alone" mouth display either, just short quick openings of the mouth. After that she went of into her hide and nestled down.

I was going to feed her before i saw that she was bloated, but i'm going to hold off until i get some opinions.

Anything helps, i've just never had this issue.

thanks!

 

[james.w]

Sounds like she is full. What are the temps in the enclosure? You could try soaking her in warm water, that often helps my Tegu move things through.

 

[BillieJeAn]

My Columbian always seemed super bloated for a couple days after extra large meals, i agree with what James said

 

[ReptiBonezXO]

So even though she feels squishy with air, you still think its just being full? She feels like a balloon with not enough air, not like a full heavy belly. I will go ahead soak her though. I tried to get her to soak after eating the other night, but she climbed right out of her bowl.

Could she possibly be bloated from the change in food after several months? Should i expect diarrhea when she does poop?

thanks for the input!
But still let me know what you think, or anything further!

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oh, and temps are about 90 in her basking spot right now, but because our heat just went out:[
its usually about 95-103.
i use a space heater at night in that room, so it doesnt get lower than about 67-72 at night.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

What did she eat prior to and how long before the egg and fruit? One egg and a little jar of peaches is a snack for a 3yr old tegu. It wouldn't take up much space unless she had a large meal prior and is still digesting it.

If her last poop was small she would still look full because her previous meal has already started moving into her intestines and causing them to expand. On top of the meal she just ate and water taking up space in her stomach.

Food in the tummy and poop in the intestines can take up space and put pressure on the diaphragm causing them to breath a little different for a while.

Since she's not showing much discomfort I wouldn't worry much about it until she poops again. If nothing changes afterwards and she still looks bloated then there might be something else going on.

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Basking temps (directly under light) don't change if your heat goes out, that sounds more like ambient temps. What kind of light are you using?

 

[ReptiBonezXO]

My temps fluctuate right now because we just built her a new cage, and its not sealed yet. (no top)
I have the probe on the rock she lays on to bask, so i can get the temp right at her level.
and she has a 120 basking (zoo med i think?), and a 10.0 exo terra repti glow.
she also has a red heat bulb in the big hide box end of her enclosure where she beds down at night.

temps were better and more consistent in her old tank, but we moved her over to a new bigger wooden enclosure
earlier this week and we have yet to put the top on it. when i turn her lamps off at night, i cover the top with blankets to keep the warmth in for a few hours. we're supposed to finish it this weekend, but have to get a new drill first, as our crapped out on us:[

Her meal previous was three mice. I offered her more food when i gave her the peaches and egg, and she didnt want it, and i took it out when she lost interest because i think baby food stinks, and the lamps make it so much worse.
I came to her tank with food today, and she is intrested, i just didnt want to feed her until i was sure she was okay.

---

On an awesome note, as i was typing that she climbed into her water bowl, and took a nice big poop, accompanied by very loud, slightly humorous gas. It sounded like someone popping balloons full of pudding. lol

her poop was solid, and normal in color. she went right back to basking.....


just like me to worry too much... too soon.

her belly has gone back to its normal self:] just needed to super fart i guess.

I feel retarded.
lol