Injury?

[Charlie5896]

My 6 month old tegu seams very weak and lethargic. She is eating but not getting a lot of water and sleeping for most of the day and night and is not active. I think she has broken one of her left front legs but I do not know how this could of happened. I will be taking her to the vet asap. Does anybody else have any ideas of what could of happened?

 

[LizardStudent]

In order to accurately assess, more information is needed. What are you feeding her? Are you using supplements? What's the enclosure like? Is there UVB? Proper temps and humidity? How long have they been like this? What makes you think the leg is broken? Pictures will always help as well

 

[Charlie5896]

In order to accurately assess, more information is needed. What are you feeding her? Are you using supplements? What's the enclosure like? Is there UVB? Proper temps and humidity? How long have they been like this? What makes you think the leg is broken? Pictures will always help as well

She is on a diet of mario worms large locusts Salmon chicken breast and I always dust the live feeders with calcium powder it’s a 5 foot long viv with a basking bulb a uvb at the top and she had a humidity hide with spagnum moss in she always has access to clean fresh water. She has been like this for about a week and a half. I originally thought she was in semi brumation as she was refusing food and water and acting really lethargic and sleeping for most of the day. The reason I believe her leg is broken is because she is using all of her other legs fine except from the left front one. She does not use this arm at all and just drags and pushes herself to wherever she wants to go. She could not access her water dish like this so I’ve gotten a smaller dish for her to drink out of.

 

[LizardStudent]

Okay, main thing is that you should be dusting all of her food heavily with calcium powder if that is her diet. Any food item that is not whole prey or bone in meat (i.e. food that is not high in calcium) should be heavily supplemented. I would also suspect brumation, but if she's still taking food then I don't think that's it. How hot is the basking spot? It should be about 110 F for her age measured with a temperature gun, they are cheap and you really need to have one when keeping tegus, hot side in the 80s and cool side of the enclosure in the 70s. If the temps are off, like if its not warm enough, that will effect how active she is and make her more lethargic. I would definitely get her to the vet asap to check the leg out

 

[Charlie5896]

Okay, main thing is that you should be dusting all of her food heavily with calcium powder if that is her diet. Any food item that is not whole prey or bone in meat (i.e. food that is not high in calcium) should be heavily supplemented. I would also suspect brumation, but if she's still taking food then I don't think that's it. How hot is the basking spot? It should be about 110 F for her age measured with a temperature gun, they are cheap and you really need to have one when keeping tegus, hot side in the 80s and cool side of the enclosure in the 70s. If the temps are off, like if its not warm enough, that will effect how active she is and make her more lethargic. I would definitely get her to the vet asap to check the leg out

Yeah all temps are normal and I’ll be taking her to the vet as soon as I can

 

[Dinomama]

One thing that your tegu needs and I don't see mentioned is that in addition to the calcium, she needs a UVB light in her enclosure to be able to absorb the calcium. It needs to be a fixture that is 1/3 to1/2 the length of her enclosure and get the long tube fixture Not coil bulbs because those don't provide wide enough distribution of the UVB light.

 

[blake27]

My tegu recently broke her front left leg as well, she broke it by getting under a rock I had in the enclosure for basking, maybe this is how yours broke a leg? My tegu is doing good recovering now, but her leg was infected which I could tell because her forearm was swollen looking compared to the upper part of her leg, Does yours look like that?

 

[Charlie5896]

Yeah she has a uvb light

 

[Dinomama]

Yeah she has a uvb light

Great, that reminds me that it's almost time to change the UVB light in my boy Draco's enclosure. Hard to believe it's been almost a year.

 

[Shasta1979]

Great, that reminds me that it's almost time to change the UVB light in my boy Draco's enclosure. Hard to believe it's been almost a year.

Do you have a UVB meter? I'm asking because most ppl dont shell out the 220 dollars it costs to get one and believe it or not just going by the time they say it'll last for isnt accurate at all. I've tested many bulbs some give off way too much UVB wich will cause burns some not enough and with them being like that you need a meter to accurately guage the distance in wich to hang them and if they're throwing out alot more than they're supposed to at rhe high they're suppose to be at you'll need to know so you can raise or lower it. Also not all bulbs are bad in a year either so you could be spending money you don't have to earlier than need be

 

[livvsha]

My 6 month old tegu seams very weak and lethargic. She is eating but not getting a lot of water and sleeping for most of the day and night and is not active. I think she has broken one of her left front legs but I do not know how this could of happened. I will be taking her to the vet asap. Does anybody else have any ideas of what could of happened?

Is she putting any weight on her leg? My tegu recently broke her leg too. She ended up getting it amputated. If she’s not putting any weight on the leg u suspect is broken, that is a good possibility. The sooner u take her to the vet, the higher chance of saving her leg if it’s broken. Also try syringe feeding her water to get some fluids in her. Wish u both the best of luck!

 

[livvsha]

Is she putting any weight on her leg? My tegu recently broke her leg too. She ended up getting it amputated. If she’s not putting any weight on the leg u suspect is broken, that is a good possibility. The sooner u take her to the vet, the higher chance of saving her leg if it’s broken. Also try syringe feeding her water to get some fluids in her. Wish u both the best of luck!

And carnivore care is a good powder food supplement to syringe feed her. It’s on Amazon for like $20 or $30

 

[ToadHallBetty]

I

Do you have a UVB meter? I'm asking because most ppl dont shell out the 220 dollars it costs to get one and believe it or not just going by the time they say it'll last for isnt accurate at all. I've tested many bulbs some give off way too much UVB wich will cause burns some not enough and with them being like that you need a meter to accurately guage the distance in wich to hang them and if they're throwing out alot more than they're supposed to at rhe high they're suppose to be at you'll need to know so you can raise or lower it. Also not all bulbs are bad in a year either so you could be spending money you don't have to earlier than need be

I Agree, the UVB monitor provides piece of mind and all of my UVB bulbs have lasted longer then a year. I'm guessing it has paid for itself,or will soon considering the cost of UVB for a big lizard.