HI! Rescued baby not eating + stuck shed question.

[SquidFish66]

Hello, new to forum, joined because I'm worried and need help! I picked up a small red tegu from local pet store, they got him from a customer who couldn't take care of it, they had it for 4-5 days, and they said it has been eating crickets but i don't trust this pet store (used to work there, long story) so idk the age. He is around 9 inchs long looks fat and healthy other than the last inch of the tail is black and thin, the pet store said it is the tail growing back but looks like ether stuck shed cutting off blood flow of a normal tail or the shed got stuck on the regrown part ill try to add a picture, should I try to pick off the stuck shed ?
Today is day 3 with no eating, it has been cold in the house around 60F at night but i have a heating pad on one side of the tank but he choose to sleep on the cold side, could he have started to brumate? He is much smaller than my last tegu (a black and white) when she went down for the first time.. so I'm stressing, maybe too much lol.

Tank specs:
40 Breeder
cypress mulch 3" deep
Solar glo 125watt uvb/heat bulb
under tank heating pad

Tried feeding:
cooked eggs
crickets (might of eaten 2 i put in 3 and only see one in the tank now)
raw chicken hearts (should i cook those?)
watermelon
arugula
carrots

Behavior:
sleeping buried all day
If woken will explore for hour then back to sleep
when held he is not lethargic at all constant trying to walk away but not darting.

If this is the wrong place for these questions I'm sorry, let me know.

 

[Walter1]

Hi and welcome. Sounds like it's healthy enough and brumating. The tail is regrowing. Provide a hidecwith moist sphagnum. Fish oil in its food will help with skin and shedding. So will the moist, not soaking wrt, sphag. You can also lotion the shedding area.

 

[AlphaAlpha]

Hi and welcome ...... all sounds fine and just like the settling in period with maybe the start of brumation too.....tail just looks like regrowth.

 

[SquidFish66]

Thank you for your responses, I'm glad i found this community

 

[Tbird]

It seems that reds are more prone to shedding problems. My red has been kept in the exact same conditions (humidity, food, temp) as my black and white. It seems to have periods of flakey/partial shedding. Soaking and small amounts of baby oil have helped us out. Everything else sounds pretty normal for a baby tegu. They grow fast and sleep often.

 

[Debita]

Hello, new to forum, joined because I'm worried and need help! I picked up a small red tegu from local pet store, they got him from a customer who couldn't take care of it, they had it for 4-5 days, and they said it has been eating crickets but i don't trust this pet store (used to work there, long story) so idk the age. He is around 9 inchs long looks fat and healthy other than the last inch of the tail is black and thin, the pet store said it is the tail growing back but looks like ether stuck shed cutting off blood flow of a normal tail or the shed got stuck on the regrown part ill try to add a picture, should I try to pick off the stuck shed ?
Today is day 3 with no eating, it has been cold in the house around 60F at night but i have a heating pad on one side of the tank but he choose to sleep on the cold side, could he have started to brumate? He is much smaller than my last tegu (a black and white) when she went down for the first time.. so I'm stressing, maybe too much lol.

Tank specs:
40 Breeder
cypress mulch 3" deep
Solar glo 125watt uvb/heat bulb
under tank heating pad

Tried feeding:
cooked eggs
crickets (might of eaten 2 i put in 3 and only see one in the tank now)
raw chicken hearts (should i cook those?)
watermelon
arugula
carrots

Behavior:
sleeping buried all day
If woken will explore for hour then back to sleep
when held he is not lethargic at all constant trying to walk away but not darting.

If this is the wrong place for these questions I'm sorry, let me know.

I would introduce frozen/thawed pinkies if you haven't already. They love them. I have one Tegu that loves insects - the other adult won't touch them. I have a 2yr old and a 1 yr old - neither of which seem to desire fruit. Maybe a rare bite of banana. They don't touch greens so far. Mine both love ground raw turkey (I get the fattiest one), raw chicken gizzards/hearts, salmon when I feel like affording it, and thawed mice. This is the foundation. I make sure they get lots of water (had previous probs with that) and also calcium/vitamins mixed into their meats. My young female really loves a lively super worm, and I haven't tried crickets lately because they're a nuisance, and the rest is working well. THEY LOVE RAW EGG....as a treat - not to be abused. I prob give mine a raw egg twice a week, been doing it for almost 2 years now with my adult male. I just crack it into a bowl, without shells, and they lap it up like a dog. They do try to bite the yoke which is comical at times.

Def NOT the wrong place for questions!! The people here are partially responsible for my personal success with my animals. They've been there for me many times.

Also - after looking at your specs, I was wondering if your gradient temp gets low to like 75-ish on one side of tank? Also - the adults require hotter temps than babies/youngsters. Is he trying to get away from the heat by staying buried? Getting a temp gun is a good tool for people starting out.

Good luck!

 

[SquidFish66]

Update.
Its been like two weeks since we got him, he came out once on his own to bask so i offered simi cooked eggs and he ate one big bite then went back to sleep, I take him out to put antibiotic on his tail (looking so much better now!) and he will bask for like 5 min then go to sleep again. I haven't seen poop so i'm A little worried, do they poop while buried?
I'm gonna get a temp gun to check temp gradient.

 

[Debita]

Update.
Its been like two weeks since we got him, he came out once on his own to bask so i offered simi cooked eggs and he ate one big bite then went back to sleep, I take him out to put antibiotic on his tail (looking so much better now!) and he will bask for like 5 min then go to sleep again. I haven't seen poop so i'm A little worried, do they poop while buried?
I'm gonna get a temp gun to check temp gradient.

They don't poop like dogs. They bask to process their food after eating, then lots of sleep, then poop in 1-2 days. Yours is so young - enjoy the moment! You prob don't notice it yet (and that's not going to continue). I found myself searching around the tank many times with the same concern as yours.

I don't know what the other members will think of this, but I do think some Tegus go in and out of brumation, almost as if they're not sure it's time, or as if they don't want to miss something. My 10 month old will go hide for 5-10 days, then start clawing at the glass door as if she can't believe I let her sleep so long. I feed her, she will go right back and do it again, then wake up for a week and want to eat at a regular schedule. KIDS!! My male is 2, and he hasn't brumated yet. He never poops the day he eats, and he'll beg to get out right around the time he wants to poop. With him, it's prob next day, sometimes 2. If I was better at getting him into the tub more often, he'd never poop in his house. As for your question, I've never seen one poop when it's buried. (So it's still a maybe, but I haven't seen that with mine)

Glad the tail's doing well!!

 

[Walter1]

Brumation varies in duration and pattern for reasons not well known. Hybridizing is definitely a factor.

 

[Dylan koch]

I think your tegu is just coming in and out of brumation my baby reds do the same exact thing. Even when their room is warm enough but they can sense weather outside. Every time rain is coming they do short brumations for few days. Mine have been bru mating on and off it's odd. They'll be out a day so I'll feed them then they are out till they poop then sleep for few days or 5 n back and forth with the current weather.