eating problems! desperate for help!

[daretodance004]

Ok i really need help! I have had my red tegu for a year now and he did fine with eating last year but then when he went into hirbernation and came out of it he has not been eating really anything at all! All he does is sleeps and it worries me that he is not really that active! He used to want to spring for the crickets and stuff like that but now he just lays there! i dont know what to do! he ate a pink mouse like 3 weeks ago and has't since then! Last year he go to a point where he would only eat the white part of a hard boiled egg! Like i just dont know what to do anymore! Please help me with any suggestions!

 

[DaveDragon]

When did he going into hibernation and when did he come out?? Most are still hibernation. Has he visually lost weight? Try giving him a warm bath once or twice a week to hydrate him. If he is visibly thinner and has been completely awake for a couple of weeks and not eating you might want to get him to a good herp vet to be checked for parasites. It sounds like he's still hibernating but is waking up once in a while. As long as he hasn't lost much weight I'd just leave him alone other than giving him a warm bath once a week to keep him hydrated (if you'd like).

 

[Schnab]

Yeh, most of peoples' tegus are still in hibernation right now (including mine). Like Dave Dragon said, if it shows that he's loosing too much weight, then I'd get worried. But other then that, my tegu is behaving the same as yours. He'd wake up for a little bit, and reject any food I offer.

 

[daretodance004]

ok but he has been acting like this for a while! i mean sometimes he looks awake but he has always been really lazy! So i have been taking him out of the cage and stuff and messing with him a little bit is it ok if i just put him back in the cage and just leave him alone! and when he is in hibernation do i need to put the day uvb light on him! not the heat lamp one but the one i put on during the day can i just turn that off??

 

[daretodance004]

But no he has not visually lost weight! and he was only in hibernation for like a month or 2!

 

[omgtaylorg]

hibernation would be COMPLETE sleep and not coming out at all to eat or bask for 5-7 months. Brumation would be slowing down and not eating much and waking up for a bit each day to 3 days for 5-7 months. Yours is obviously not in hibernation its in brumation because he is waking up. Therefore his eating will be very slowed down almost not eating much at all, like he is. If he isnt visually loosing weight he is fine...their bodies are made this way. And for next year if you are worried about hibernation, you wont be using any light at all, most people take them out and put them in a box in a dark quiet place until they wake up...this brumation/hibernation period will be ending around march. Until you see him visually loosing weight or looking malnurished, he is fine. Trust me. Mine is doing the same thing as yours and hes still as fat as he's always been.

 

[daretodance004]

But i was told to keep his heat lamp on and thats what i have been doing! i'm scared to put him in a box . i feel like its too late now!

 

[omgtaylorg]

it probably is too late now, and i wouldnt do the box unless you know what your doing. Most people keep the light on until they know for SURE that hes down for the winter, so id wait 2-3 weeks before cutting the lights to make sure hes done for the winter. But yea its probably too late, if hes not hibernated fully he most likely wont until next year, march is only a month away