HELP!!!

[nhood97]

My tegu looks like he is bloated, or has eaten a very large meal, except for the last couple of days he doesn't seem to take interest in food at all, this has been going on for about 4 days. He will eat a small amount, then none the next day. He has been sleeping a lot too, doesn't come out to bask, eat, anything, i have to physically wake him up. 3 days ago i noticed that he had a slight tremor in his head, like he couldn't hold it up, then a minute later one of his legs was shaking for a couple of seconds. This is the first time i've seen this and not since. Also, he was eating pieces of his shed that i hadn't picked from the tank yet. He's an 8 month old columbian, 16 inches long, just finished shedding, and i have him in a 30 gallon critter cage. Dimensions are 36 by 18 by 12. Basking temp is normally between 95 or 100, sometimes higher, ambient stays around 84, cool side 75, i keep fairly high humidity. Normally i feed him feeder fish, crickets, cockroaches, and mealworms, he sometimes gets eggs or chicken, about 80 percent of it supplemented with calcium or vitamins. He usually eats voraciously, with the appetite of a bottomless pit. I'm using a 100 watt powersun for uv and daytime heat, then a nocturnal heat lamp for night. The bulbs are 10 inches from the highest point of the basking spot and about 12 from the lowest. Does anyone know what might be wrong?

 

[dragonkeeperblue]

Tremors can mean mbd especially if you are seeing the head and limbs shake. Then again your Tegu may have a blockage. Try warm baths 30 min twice a day. Its ok to stop feeding for a few days to see what happens. Always make sure however that your Tegu is full hydrated it is essential for proper organ function. I hope its not a blockage its hard on them, I just had a Tegu go through it.

 

[nhood97]

I do give him warm baths, every day. Usually only for 10 minutes or so though. Ill try longer and hold back on feeding. Ive got him on eco earth, the pet store told me it wouldn't cause impaction as easily as some of the other stuff. What are some of the signs of MBD and how can i fix it?

 

[Roadkill]

It sounds like your tegu has impaction and it is blocking nutrient uptake. Bathing is unlikely to help in such a situation, you should take your tegu ASAP to a qualified veterinarian and at the very least get an x-ray.

Impaction is rarely caused by substrate, it is typically caused by poor husbandry and the substrate is a secondary factor.

 

[dragonkeeperblue]

Ya a vet is always a good idea. If it is mbd there is a product called trex solar drops liquid uvb. I swear by this stuff and have seen it save many reptile lives from tegus to geckos it works. Costs less than 10 bucks I think. Not even sure where to find it. I was smart.enough to buy several bottles last time I did find it. That site no longer carrys it. One drop a week regaurdless of size. Signs of mbd are shaky limbs usually all limbs and sometimes the head. You can usually tell if he cant poop. Good luck.

 

[james.w]

Tremors and not eating are also signs of the enclosure being too hot. How are you measuring temps? A 100W bulb seems a bit big for a 30 gallon tank.

 

[Roadkill]

If your tegu is blocked up, oral medications are not going to accomplish much of anything at this stage. If the temperatures were too high, foaming at the mouth would be readily evident before other physical signs. The longer you play "maybe if I try this...", the greater the risk to your pet. Do the right thing, seek professional veterinary help ASAP.

 

[BatGirl1]

Do you think feeder fish could be carrying something parasitic? I was told never give fish or snails or crayfish etc from pet stores...only fish for human consumption because of high risk of parasites... i know worms etc can bloat an animal and cause such problems. Not a reprimand by any means , just a suggestion/observation. Good luck with your baby! Hope everything gets figured out!

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[chitodadon]

Never do from the stores always fresh I was told but I am ordering some fish from hare today so we will see

from Samsung Galaxy S3

 

[james.w]

If your tegu is blocked up, oral medications are not going to accomplish much of anything at this stage. If the temperatures were too high, foaming at the mouth would be readily evident before other physical signs. The longer you play "maybe if I try this...", the greater the risk to your pet. Do the right thing, seek professional veterinary help ASAP.

What makes you think foaming at the mouth would be evident prior to any other physical signs. There have been two or three other members on here who thought their tegus had MBD, but the problem was temps were too high. Symptoms were tremors and not eating.

The bloating along with other problems does point towards impaction, but temps that are too high should be addressed as well.

 

[Roadkill]

What makes you think foaming at the mouth would be evident prior to any other physical signs. There have been two or three other members on here who thought their tegus had MBD, but the problem was temps were too high. Symptoms were tremors and not eating.

A) Because I've seen it before
B) Because the area of research I was moving into next before my academic plans became derailed was thermoregulation in reptiles in times of physiological distress, so I have a little insight into the matter. Twitching is an aberrant response in reptiles (except in SEVERE conditions where the animals are basically about to die), not likely brought about solely by nominally hyperthermal conditions. It is likely these tegus were already borderline in their health and high temperatures pushed them over that edge, stressing their systems so that what was before marginally acceptable plasma calcium levels were now hypocalcemic.
C) Because reptiles have a limited amount of strategies for dealing with hyperthermia. The first response is typically behavioural - remove yourself from the high temperatures and go somewhere cooler. If this option is unavailable, the limited physiological responses are all that's left, and before conditions progress to where physiological systems start failing (ie. twitching) the typical first response is to increase evaporative cooling. Beings as reptiles cannot sweat as mammals do, that response is limited to 1) getting wet some other non-physiological means and 2) increase evaporation via the lungs through breathing modulation which typically causes foaming due to surfactants in the saliva and fluids in the lungs. Hence, foaming at the mouth (and nose).
D) Because if the reported temperatures are accurate, they are well within the safe range for this species.

nhood97 should indeed be checking the temperatures to be sure, but I'm thinking that with the evidence presented, intestinal blockage is a more likely underlying problem. And if it is a blockage that is severe enough to be hindering calcium/vit D3 uptake/regulation, then it needs to be addressed now rather than later. A blockage caught early could be treated via enemas or other fluid treatments and possible medications. Caught later, and the only option likely is surgery.

 

[james.w]

I have seen it first hand that too high of enclosure temps cause tremors, once the temps were decreased, the tremors stopped. Although I do agree this is either impaction or MBD.

Has the tegu pooped at all in the last 4-5 days?

 

[nhood97]

I just got my tegu on new years eve, so i can't tell you how well he was taken care of at before that, just that the pet store i got him from has a pretty good reputation for knowing what they're doing. James.w, a bigger bulb was needed because my room is usually quite cold, in the range of 65 to 70, so a larger wattage was neeeded to achieve the right temps. I measure the temps with a fairly basic zoo med temperature gauge. Its a little yellow oval thing that sticks to the tank with a little probe you can place as you choose. I checked the temps again, 84 and 75 as usual. Batgirl1, i didn't think the fish might have caused a problem but it's possible you're right. I normally feed him guppies, but the day before this started i got him goldfish instead, perhaps no fish for a while... he has pooped recentely, not at all on sunday, but twice yesterday and once today, also got him to eat 3 crickets today, but he refused any more. He doesn't seem as bloated anymore, a little bit still but not as much, and he went back to being his usual active self. I'm wondering if perhaps the leg shaking i saw was in fact me seeing him scratching from the wrong angle, hes been doing that a lot lately and today i noticed hes shedding again. The head tremor was no mistake, i definitely saw that, though i had both his heat lamps on at the time, in the afternoon i'll sometimes warm up the tank quite a bit more for an hour or two, could this have caused the tremor? If it did i'll stop doing it and just stick to one lamp... and I'm not going to disregard the mbd thing, it's possible that its something carrying over from the pet store. What can i do to make sure that if that is indeed what it is, it doesn't get worse?

 

[james.w]

Can you post some pics of your enclosure?

 

[nhood97]

Sorry its taken so long, the internet was down. Anyways, hes eating and pooping regularly now, i convinced him to eat some vegetables today, red bell pepper and collard greens, he seems to like the pepper better... so, here are some cage pics, first is the whole tank, then cool side and hot side with jazz on his basking log/hide.

 

[TeguBuzz]

First things first, that tank won't last you long - at all. Next and more importantly, do you have a top for that 'aquarium'? If not, it looks terribly easy for your tegu to escape out of there. While you're using this glass tank, get yourself a top of some sort to prevent any future escapes.

 

[nhood97]

Theres actually a screen on it. And i am very well aware that its easy to get out of, i was doing some work in there yesterday and he got out twice. And I'm already working on getting a custom tank built. I have two guys i know who may be able to do it cheaply and i should have it by the summer, this was just holdover till then.

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Edit: theres not a screen on it while i was taking the pics because i was changing out his water and misting the tank at the time. There is normally a screen on it though. And its not an aquarium, a critter cage i believe is what its called. Its a bigger tank than what he was in at the pet store, but i know its not gonna last but maybe 5 or 6 months more, and by then he'll have a new custom built enclosure, 12 inches of dirt at least, im debating building a large waterfall and pool to soak in, large front loading doors, and a much bigger basking spot... im so excited. But does anyone have advice materials wise? I know that cedar and pine aren't options because of toxins in them, i don't want to use oak because it's so heavy... i need something lightweight and strong. Then the glass part, i don't want to use real glass for lots of reasons, has anyone used plexiglass? Or i heard about something called lexan...?

 

[james.w]

Simple plywood works great. Tempered glass is great as it won't shatter nor scratch.

I guarantee your temps are much higher than you think in that aquarium.

 

[TeguBlake]

I just used plywood and temperd glass , nailgun, wood glue, my choice you sealant!,took me 3 hours and only 175 dollers!

 

[nhood97]

James.w, so are you saying that you think the thermometer isn't accurate...? I know that underneath the log is a few degrees warmer because the UTH is on that side, but the ambient temperature at the level of his basking spot never goes above 86. And it doesn't seem to be bothering him, he spends most of his time on the warm side anyways, if it was too hot wouldn't he be on the cool side? And thanks for the advice on materials for the new cage, i didn't even think of tempered glass. Would the higher quality plywood be better than the cheaper stuff? I'm willing to pay if it'll hold up better...