Boyfriend is moving away for a while, and I have no clue how to take care of his tegu

[Artemis_549]

Sure, I could just ask how to take care of the tegu (his name is Achilles), however I’m not really sure even my boyfriend knows how to? He is an incredibly impulsive buyer, so I figure he got both his tegu (AND axolotls which he’s trying to get rid of) just because they looked cool. Either way, I seriously love animals and feel I should be taking care of them when he’s gone.
Achilles hasn’t been eating much lately, my bf feeds him meatballs despite his obvious distaste for them. Idk what to try to give him. I’ve tried giving fruits and veggies, all of which he won’t touch.
And aside from that, aren’t they supposed to have two lights; one for daytime and one for nighttime? And is it harmful to them to leave their cage/tank thing open all hours of the day in case he wants to explore?

 

[beardeddragon111]

Try feeding him mice/rats depending on how big he is. If he's small he might like crickets or dubai roaches. They need a light for night time if it gets really cold bit not really otherwise. Leaving his cage open? You mean like free roaming? Not advised unless you know exactly what you're doing.

 

[Artemis_549]

Try feeding him mice/rats depending on how big he is. If he's small he might like crickets or dubai roaches. They need a light for night time if it gets really cold bit not really otherwise. Leaving his cage open? You mean like free roaming? Not advised unless you know exactly what you're doing.

I have no clue what I’m doing. And he’s not that small? I guess Nate (bf) was thinking that he shouldn’t get used to live prey or whatever idk what his reason was for it. Something about not wanting him to confuse human fingers for food or something like that.
As for opening his cage; we leave it open literally all the time, but makes sure to close the door of the room. One time Nate couldn’t find him for like a day and we thought we somehow lost him in our apartment, but I looked for him and he’d somehow gotten himself stuck in a pair of sweatpants, poor thing. He doesn’t really go out of the cage anymore (aside from pooping on the floor and crawling back in immediately after), and I guess what I’m really asking is if the temperature of the room messes with the temp. of the cage making it too cold or whatever for him?

 

[beardeddragon111]

See if a pet store near you has frozen mice. And also this is around the time of year they go into hibernation, don't know how I forgot to mention that in my first post lmao. If he's hibernating, hell sleep through the winter and you can keep him around 50-60f. He won't need to be fed just misted and watered.

 

[beardeddragon111]

Oh yeah and if he's trying g to hibernate I'd advise a fecal check with a vet to see if he has parasites. If they have parasites when going into hibernation that can be very very bad.

 

[Artemis_549]

See if a pet store near you has frozen mice. And also this is around the time of year they go into hibernation, don't know how I forgot to mention that in my first post lmao. If he's hibernating, hell sleep through the winter and you can keep him around 50-60f. He won't need to be fed just misted and watered.

Alright so he doesn’t need to be fed or anything for a while? (I forgot about hibernation altogether lol so don’t worry about it)
On the other hand I still have a crap ton more questions. Likeee how do baths work? Am I even supposed to give him a bath? Do I actually need to bathe him or does he just sit there and soak for a while?
He only has a food and water bowl in his cage. And mulch. How often do I have to clean it? And when he’s not in hibernation, is there anything that I can actually do for him that will make his life a tad less bland? I don’t think they like toys or anything, right?
He’s really cute and I know nothing about him but I want him to live a happy life ya know?

 

[Artemis_549]

Oh yeah and if he's trying g to hibernate I'd advise a fecal check with a vet to see if he has parasites. If they have parasites when going into hibernation that can be very very bad.

Oh joy. I don’t think Nate has ever even took him to the vet before for just plain checkups. I’ll make sure to mention that, thank you.

 

[beardeddragon111]

You shouldn't need to bathe him if he has the proper humidity, somewhere around 60%. If he's hibernating no you dont need to feed him for a few months until he wakes up. Basically you'll just be making sure he has water and somewhere to bask if he likes. TBH it's not super difficult to get the care right you just need the right info and a large cage. Remember this guy will make moving a pain because you'll have to carry an 8x4 cage around with you.

For hibernating you won't need more than just the substrate and water dish, along with a heat source. When he wakes up add some branches and some hiding places.

 

[Artemis_549]

You shouldn't need to bathe him if he has the proper humidity, somewhere around 60%. If he's hibernating no you dont need to feed him for a few months until he wakes up. Basically you'll just be making sure he has water and somewhere to bask if he likes. TBH it's not super difficult to get the care right you just need the right info and a large cage. Remember this guy will make moving a pain because you'll have to carry an 8x4 cage around with you.

For hibernating you won't need more than just the substrate and water dish, along with a heat source. When he wakes up add some branches and some hiding places.

Cool! Thank you so much I seriously appreciate it.
One last question though; how in the world does one heat up frozen mice? Like that’s not something you put in the microwave is it? Won’t they explode???? Lmao

 

[beardeddragon111]

You can put them in a plastic bag and soak it in warm water, not super hot because it will cook them. If he's in full hibernation right now, more food will sit in his gut and rot, not really good lol. If he's only in getting into hibernation he might take a few more meals. It's hard for me to say whether to feed him or not. I guess if he starts to actually loose weight and is active feed him. If he just sleeps dont.

 

[Artemis_549]

Thank you so much! You’re a huge help.