I NEED HELP - I've Reached out to numerous people

[matthew hughes]

Hello, I have a 5 month old B&W Argentine Tegu. I have tried so hard to keep it happy, but it never seems like its enough. I have a few problems

1. Its PICKY, it will not eat anything other than a Fuzzy every couple of days. When I first bought it three months ago, it loved Turkey, veggies, what ever you put in front of it. Now, if its not a pinky or fuzzy... forget it. It does eat insects like superworms, dubias, horned, etc...

2. its NOT growing, ive seen 5 month old tegus... and this thing is small, even my Fiance who knows nothing about reptiles makes comments about how small it is.

3. Its NOT shedding. Built up Shed all over its body, armpits, toes, etc.


To help with the GU ive done the following

4. bought a 6 ft Vision Cage
- H.O. UV on the back side and another on the left side
- day night timer with a 100watt halogen changes to nighttime red lamp
- reptibark bedding
- Vicks Humidifier with a direct feed into the cage ( via shop vac hose) I vary the amounts sometimes because it will fog out the cage, but the humidity stays above 60% usually and tops out around 85. I don'

t know if this was even a good idea, but i did it a couple weeks about because the shedding was bothering me.

 

[Cody096]

I'd upgrade to a digital hygrometer, far more accurate. A fogger is okay but sometimes it's better to spray the substrate down to the point where is isn't quite tacky but can hold burrows, which can greatly help with shedding. Though I have not personally experienced bad sheds I've read of people rubbing vaseline, olive, or coconut oil on the stuck parts to trap in moisture and assist in shedding. As far as size goes some just grow much more quickly than others, my chacon is 5 months old and is about 20 inches long. Your tegu may have lost it's appetite in preperation for brumation as well.

 

[Cody096]

Your tegu doesn't look malnourished from what I can see either.

 

[Walter1]

Basking area should be 110-115 F. Air temp should grade to a cool side with a hide that is in the mid-upper 70s.

The enclosure will be too small soon. Should be upgraded to a 8' X 4'. Height can be around 3'.

Lots of good threads on this site to check out for care, etc.

 

[Cody096]

Basking area should be 110-115 F. Air temp should grade to a cool side with a hide that is in the mid-upper 70s.

The enclosure will be too small soon. Should be upgraded to a 8' X 4'. Height can be around 3'.

Lots of good threads on this site to check out for care, etc.

Practically everything that i've so far learned about tegus, from husbandry to possible health problems, I learned on here, largey by just perusing through old theads. The amount of knoweledge available is fairly vast and most people I've talked to are quite friendly and helpful.

 

[dpjm]

Buy yourself a digital temperature reader, not a thermometer but the type that gives you an instant readout of the surface you are pointing it at. That is essential for reptile husbandry, I find stationary thermometers to be all but useless. But if you have them, they need to be hung lower to the ground where the tegu actually is, same with hygrometers. Hang the hygrometer in a place that is of mid-level temperatures, not in the hot or cold end.

Provide a humid hide area where the humidity approaches 100%.

Unfortunate things about Vision tanks:
1) The screens that the lights shine through is not open enough and most of the light is reflected away from where you want it. I'm sure that if you were to measure the UV in the tank it would not be nearly as much as you expect. Even simple widow screen can reflect half of the UV or so, Vision tank screen would reflect far more. UV lamps are best hung inside the enclosure without any screen/etc. blocking it.
2) You are very limited in you lighting placement options. Nothing you can do about this but I've cursed Vision tanks many times over this problem.

You are far better off building your own tank according to your own specifications.

I would add a lot more cage furniture, give it some fun things to explore. Add different items daily to keep things interesting.

Shedding issue: apply coconut oil after a bath. Wait 10 minutes then start peeling.

 

[Justin]

I would probably get rid of the nighttime red lamp unless the room temperature drops below 65 Fahrenheit.

 

[beardeddragon111]

I would probably get rid of the nighttime red lamp unless the room temperature drops below 65 Fahrenheit.

better yet a CHE

 

[Justin]

It depends on room temp heat pushes out moisture so if a nighttime heat source is not needed I would get rid of it.

 

[Walter1]

MatthewH- I hope that you can follow the above advice.

 

[dpjm]

It depends on room temp heat pushes out moisture so if a nighttime heat source is not needed I would get rid of it.

Nighttime heat is not usually necessary unless the room you have the enclosure in is really cold. If you need to use heat at night, you have two options. The best option is a ceramic heat emitter, which put out no light. The next option is a red heat light. Red light is still visible to most lizards (probably) so it will disrupt their sleep some, but not as badly as other colors of light. At least in people, red lights have less effect on melatonin production than other colors of light.