Few questions :)

[adzcarne&natz]

Hi eery1,

Im totally new here, ive just got a few questions about my tegu which you've all prob aswered a thousand time lol!!
Also im not sure how many of you are from the uk but thats where im posting from

Firstly my tegu is between 6/9mths old the shop where we bought her wasnt 100% sure.
They showed us her toungue before we bought her, the fork bit at the end is missing, it doesnt affect her eating but im not sure wether it affects her abilty to notice when food is in the viv, as she is not food oriantated at all.

I was told and have read that tegu's are like dustbins and will eat and eat but she isnt interested at all.
She eats 1 fluff every other day and eats a tiny tiny amount of fruit and veg, but the fruit and veg she only eats if hand fed she will not take it from her food bowl.
She won't eat hoppers or crickets at all.

My concerns are that she isnt eating enough fruit and veg and tips tricks or foods ne1 can recommend would be greatlyappriciated, thanks in advance.

Luv Natz x

 

[crimsonrazac]

When tegus are under a year most will not eat fruit and need protien to grow faster. After that they may be more willing to try it. Many tegus won't ever accept fruit and still seem to be very healthy, so don't worry about it to much. If you still want to try fruit try things like melon grapes and berries. If she still won't accept it you can hide it in ground turkey.

I do recomend feeding outside of the cage so they don't accidently eat the substrate as this can lead to impaction. Its also said to help keep them tame.


Can you check your cages humidity and basking temperture? If these are wrong it could lead to her eating less then she should. Do you use UVB if so what bulb do you use and how old it is? I'll try to answer more later but I have to leave now. hope this helps a little!

 

[DaveDragon]

Also, how far away is the UVB light from the Tegu? For young growing Tegu's I recommend a 100W Mercury Vapor bulb between 12" and 18" away and a separate halogen basking bulb if the temp is too low. Florescent tubes need to be 8" to 12" (max) to be effective.

Don't worry about him not eating any bugs at that age. I feed ours an appropriate sized rodent on the weekend and either raw ground turkey or tilapia every 2 or 3 days. But ours are adults and don't need to eat every day like yours should. I fed our young Tegu's rodents twice a week. I mix in some cod liver oil (1 tablespoon per 1 lb) and calcium powder with the ground turkey. Prepare it in zip lock freezer bags (about a half lb. each), squash them flat and freeze them. Then you can pull one out when you need it and it will thaw quickly. If you finely chop up some fruit (ours like strawberry & blueberry) and mix it in the turkey he might eat some but it's not that important.

The basking temp will have a lot to do with his activity and eating. 90 to 105Ã?â??Ã?°F (32-40Ã?â??Ã?°C) is best. That is the surface temp of what he lays on, not the air temp. If the air temp is 100Ã?â??Ã?°F the surface temp will be much higher.

 

[adzcarne&natz]

Hi

Thanks for your reply, i'll have to wait for my b/f to get home from work to ask about the the uvb, we do have one and its brand new but i couldnt tell you how powerful it is
I do have the uvb, and halogen bulb set at the correct heights .

The basking temp is set to 88, its hooked up to the right stat, the cool end is at 78.

With regards to the humidity, Im unsure as to how to measure the %, but i give it a good spay in the morning and in the evening, shes on reptibark which holds the moisture in and shes got a huge water bowel which she can get in which i assume adds to the moisture in the air.

As said before for some reason she doesnt have the typical tegu temp of being food oriantated, the best way ive found to feed her her fluffs is when shes out and about i show her it she smells it walks away and waits for me to leave it on her basking spot, once she knows ive shut the viv she goes up on the basking spot eats it and lays there for about an hour.
She does eat strawberrys, and bluberrys and she loves oranges
I always make sure im there when shes eating as i am aware of the problems incurred if they eat any of the substrate.

Will def try the ground up mince with the cod liver oil and calcium

So maybe i should turn up the basking temp??


Thanks again x

 

[DaveDragon]

How are you measuring the basking temp? You don't need a thermostat since the Tegu will probably dig up the substrate and move/bury the thermostat probe, resulting in less than desirable thermal results. Use a TempGun and measure the actual surface temp.

Is the mouse warm when you give it to her? That might help.

Have you had her checked for parasites at a qualified reptile vet?