Is my Tegu bruminating? Also bedding question

[Knifegash]

I've had my Tegu for about a month and a half now, but his behavior has been concerning me.

For one, he's in a glass tank with a UVA and UVB light spotlighting over a half log for him to bask on, and I have a humidifier machine rigged as well. Temps during the day are about 80-85, and humidity at exactly 55%, while I'm at work, otherwise I'll turn it on a couple of times to rise it up a little more. I've been feeding him chicken hearts, shredded raw turkey, chicken livers, boiled eggs, and early on several crickets. Currently I placed a shirt of mine in because of that shirt trick, and he's always burrowed inside it when I get home. Lately however, he has not been eating. I did research and see that he's definitely exhibiting signs of bruminating. I tried getting him out of it by putting him on my bed, but he'll go under the pillows and curl up to sleep right away.

He did stop eating while emptying himself of food, which is normal. I would always offer food though. This went on for about 3 weeks, until he accepted a slice of chicken heart a few days ago, and I was glad for that, but he didn't eat anything else after that. I offered turkey a day after that, and he didn't eat any of it. Yesterday, I got him half a boiled egg, and he willingly ate some of the yolk. Today I placed a turkey heart sliced into quadrants, and he hasn't accepted any of it. I'm very attached to him, and I don't want anything to happen to him, but once signs of his brumation started ceasing, it looks like he's heading back into it? I really want him to grow larger so I can move him to a bigger enclosure, but if he's doing this, he's not growing at all. Is there anything I can do to help him out? Has anyone experienced this too? Any advice and help will be genuinely appreciated!

The other question I have is, I'd like to add some substrate that can help him have fun or something while I'm at work, maybe being more active will get him going. I have a lot of kinetic sand that was given as a gift to me, it's uncolored and everything, and it's really interesting stuff, it more or less keeps the shape it takes, and doesn't stick to anything. I was thinking of putting a bunch of it into his tank, so that he can burrow comfortably, and he can dig to his heart's content. I keep all of his food in a bowl, so he won't eat sand with food, and despite being a crazy licker as Tegu's are known to be, I don't think a lot of it will stay on his tongue to injest. It's best to ask anyway!

 

[Walter1]

How many hours each day is the light on?

 

[Knifegash]

From 6:30am to about 10pm, so about 15 hours, give or take.

 

[Walter1]

How big and old is he/she?

 

[Knifegash]

Here are a couple of images of him, at least I'm presuming it's a boy at this point. When I ordered him, he was a little larger than a hatchling, coupled with the time spent here, I'm assuming he's about 2 months old.

 

[Walter1]

Well, his tail looks round, his hips aren't shrunken, and his thighs are plump. Also, his eyes are clear. That is all very good.

I doubt he is attempting to overwinter.Could very easily be that he's bored with the food. Could also be that the hot spot isn't hot enough.To be safe, always good to have him checked out by a vet that knows exotics.

Regardless, give him a hot spot that is well over 85 F, perhaps closer to 100F. So that he can move in and out of it. He will never use the 100F but can approach it. This you shut off at night. Then, make sure that when the heat is on during the day, he can get away from the heat to a spot closer to 75-80. Mine bake then move in and out of it, often in the shade = they must have a range at hand.This way, your tegu can eat and properly digest at a pace good for him.

Tegus can be funny. I have two young adults. My male I really think would eat a piece of paper with the word FOOD written on it. My female I would consider picky with a smaller appetite even though no shortage of food or intimidation/dominance by the male.Both are healthy with male verging on slightly overweight.

Good luc. Keep in touch.

 

[Knifegash]

I tried putting the light actually into the enclosure, but he's a very clever little guy, and found a way to grab the lamp and work his way right out of the tank. The lower temperature is a result of having to put the lamps on top of a chicken-wire cover over the lid to keep him from escaping! So it's normal behavior to refuse food like this? In two days, the guy ate about one mouthful of yolk, and that's it. His belly does look pretty empty, it's not full looking like it was when he was eating normally and very healthily. I guess I just keep at it? I think this will be detrimental to his growth. Once he's big enough so that he can't slip under crevices or lose himself in the house, I want him to roam free in my room. I have an iguana that roams free too, and she's at peak health. I don't intend to introduce them until I am certain they won't have trouble together.

Any word on the sand? I'd like to add that in right away if it's not bad idea.

 

[Walter1]

That's easy. Leave the light on the top of the cage and provide him with a ramp to approach the light! If he won't leave the light, then you're not providing enough basking temp.

Can't help you with the subtrate question. Mine are on cement outside in the summer, then off to cold storage in the winter.

 

[Kamau Le Boidae]

I don't think having the sand in there would be a great idea, since they're not naturally found on it and I'm not sure what kind of harm it would do should he injest a little bit of it (sand's already pretty unforgiving, but play sand like that might have chemicals that could tear his stomach up). Aspen usually holds burrows well as well, and that's what I use for most of my herps, but it doesn't hold moisture all too well. I'd experiment with substrate combinations a little to find something he likes, can burrow in, and holds moisture well. Maybe a soil combination of sorts? I keep my water dragons on a 50/25/25 top soil, repti bark, and cypress mulch, but that's being said that they don't burrow XP