HELP PLZ!!!!

[Olea]

Hi guys well we have an colombian tegu....about 4 months old and we recently notices his back legs twitch??? can anybody help us please???:huh:

 

[reptastic]

What type of uvb lamp are you providing and what type of calcium supplements are you using Tremors and twitching are the first signs of mbd but it can be reversed at this stage

 

[chelvis]

have to agree with reptastic here need to know more about set-up (lights mainly) and the diet along with supplements.

 

[Olea]

we are using reptisun 5.0 her diet is eggs with ham or turket...greens and calcium and vit

 

[james.w]

How far away is the Repti-sun and is it on the other side of a screen? Pictures would be very helpful.

 

[chelvis]

a repti sun 5.0 might not be stong enough going through a screen and if it is further than 12" its not giving your tegu any UVB. Move the light to within 8" from the surface of the tegu if possible. Try to get rid of the ham and eggs out of the diet for now. Ham is high in fat and not helping and egg can bind alot of important protines.

Keep up the calcium. By the sounds of it, it could be early stage MBD but it is very easily reversed from this stage.

 

[Olea]

ok sounds good...sorry for the delay on the reply...well the light is actually inside the cage not over the screen shes about 8 to 10 inches from it.....what will be a good diet for her?

 

[james.w]

I would stick with ground turkey, chicken gizzards and hearts all dusted with calcium. And the biggest mice/rats he can take. If he is still on pinky or fuzzy rats, try mice because they will be bigger, more developed and have more calcium.

 

[reptastic]

Reptisun 5.0 lamps arent made to produce a high amount of uvb...try going with a 10.0 or a mvb lamp. 5.0's are good for reptiles like chameleons and such reptiles who are in the shade alot and dont bask often, whearas the 10.0 is made for desert reptiles who would be out in the open more and therefore would get more sunlight.

 

[chelvis]

Agree with reptastic getting a 10.0 bulb will help and keep up with the calcium dusting.

 

[laurarfl]

And actually, don't have the light any more than 8" away, and no screen or any other kind of barrier. Put calcium with D on every meal for a while. Eggs really aren't so bad, but you want to vary the diet. There is a protein in the whites, avidin, that binds biotin, a B vitamin. Supplementing the eggs with multivitamin will help, and not overfeeding egg. But if you vary the food items and not overfeed the egg, it is OK. Also, temps need to be high enough for proper metabolism. I keep my Colombians at 100-105ish for basking, 90 for hot side and 80 for cool side with a drop to low 70's at night.

 

[Olea]

well we took out a bit of her hiding bedding through out the cage, so she's been coming out a bit more and getting more uv's. We have noticed there is NO more twitching We also gave her her first pinky; what a sight! But one more question.. How often should we be giving her mice?

 

[Rhetoric]

i do mice/rats once a week, i might do two if i run out of other meats. i think the fur is the biggest issue, it doesnt really digest. you can try talapia too! my tegu also likes little shrimps

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Keep on going with calcium sup as others have said. If you've got a tub laying around and if the weathers nice you could try letting it get some natural sunlight. I'm glad you caught it early on ope she continues to improve

 

[Olea]

ok awesome we will try that.....cooked right?

 

[james.w]

All meats should be fed raw with calcium powder. Eggs are the only thing you need to cook to prevent salomenella.

 

[Olea]

well thanks for the help. Zula seems to be doing better. no shaking of the legs or anything like that. we up the uvb to a 10 turkey instead of ham and mice twice a week