hibernating a baby

[voodoochild863]

I just picked up a week old red tegu. Ive tried a few things and so far he will only eat crickets. One of my worries is that he will not get fat enough before he goes into hibernation. Does anybody have any thoughts or experience with hibernating a fussy hatchling? Am I worried about nothing?

 

[Nessie]

I wish I could help you on this but I am kind having the same problem with my Red. I have had her for 3 weeks, she was about 6-8 weeks old when I bought her and she has yet to eat for me! She has eaten a bite or so of Eggs, and about 3 butter worms but thats about it. I am 90% sure she is already in the stages of hibernation as she got a clean bill of health from the vet. She burrows 2-3 days before she will come out at all and then only bask for a few hours then she is gone. She is no skinnier then the day I brought her home though so I look forward to what people say.
A few things, how long do you leave her in the feeding bin with food?
Do you look in on her while you are waiting for her to eat?
Is the food you are offering at room Temp?

Something I did just notice with my B&W if I put the food right on the floor of the bin he will eat it within seconds, if it is in some kind of bowl he won't touch it. Might just be my guy but its worth a shot.

 

[JohnMatthew]

<!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.tegutalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1353" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1353</a><!-- l -->

Here's rather large foodlist. You should be able to find some stuff your GU likes from there. I ran out of pinkies and had a bag of hoppers(a bit large for my tegus) so I started quartering them and they go nuts for it. If you do cut up some pinkies/mice do it when they're frozen, it's much easier, then let them thaw. Also chicken, turkey and beef liver seem to be favorites of alot of tegus. If you can get fertile chicken eggs they usually go nuts for those as well, especially raw(just crack it and watch the show).

I don't have much luck feeding in separate containers with my random schedule so I leave food in a dish on a large plate in their enclosure. Sometimes they won't touch it for a few hours only to gobble every bit of it down later in the day. Maybe you're not giving your little red enough time with the food. It could be shy, not warm enough, or just not hungry at the time of offering.

 

[voodoochild863]

Thanks for the input. This is what I am doing now:I offer food in a dish in his own set-up and leave it in all day. the stuff I have tried is at room temp. I live in Tampa, FL and plan on keeping him outdoors like Burt did in Alabama. I dont know the temp range bc I dont have a theromometer yet. I have him on my porch which does not get direct sunlight in a plastic bin. I thought that would be a good idea so he could start acclimating to the climate. I have an 40w bulb on one side if he wanted to bask. I didnt want to get it too high since he is outside. I also have a deep substrate of cocofiber so he can escape the heat. I am also building him an outdoor enclosure that would allow for D3 and burrowing. He comes out everyday and stays out most of the day and eats crickets willingly so i dont think he is trying to hibernate yet. I hope that answers the questions. I will try some more foods too. Let me know if you have any more input. Thanks again!

 

[Toby_H]

Congrats on the new Tegus guys...

I whole heartedly agree with trying an array of foods to see what yours likes best. I also support the approach of offering a variety of foods to attempt to 'balance' their diet.

Outdoor enclosures are wonderful. For those living further north be cautious not to let cool autumn nights push your Tegu towards hibernation prematurely. But in Tampa that won't be a concern. Although do be cautious with overheating.

I worried a lot concerning hibernation for mine his first winter. I read all I could and had this big plan all thought out. In the end nothing happened according to my plan and everything worked marvelously.

As I noticed him eating less I offered less. On the days he didn't come out of his burrow at all I left him alone. When he stopped coming out at all I left him alone. I made sure there was fresh water, I misted the top of the mulch (but did not stir/disturb mulch), I turned off the heat lamp but left the UVB lamp on for about 3 hours during the day.

He slept solid for 5 months (Nov~May). He woke up moving really slow and his appetite took a while to perk up. But he blew up from 18" ~42" that summer.

I think every new Tegu owner should freak out a little if you've never had a hibernating pet before. Use this concern to educate yourself and think things through logically. Then realize that your animal is following it's nature and the process is simply quite natural for him.

For Nessie, whose Tegu isn't awake much and isn't eating much... review the environment. Make sure heat is in range, humidity is in range, fresh clean water is available, UVB is offered, light is timed properly and regularly. It's early for a Tegu to hibernate so you should be ensuring you are offering summer environmental reproductions.

I've heard Bobby say that Reds do everything late, including going into hibernation.

Best of luck guys!

 

[voodoochild863]

Update:
The little guy ate a little bit of scrambled egg and some strawberry this morning!

 

[Guest]

Yay!!