just ate, now has not come out

[wyattroa]

Ok i have a question. My gu ate 4 small mice on monday and since then has only been out of the burrow for a total of about 3 hours. they was the day following eating. Now she has been in the burrow ever since then and not come out. Im concerned because there is food in her belly and im not sure of the problems that can occur from this. Do i have a reason to be worried? Also she has not pooped since she ate
robert

 

[cornking4]

My guy's going through this same thing. A few weeks ago, he started slowing down a little, only eating about half as much as he usually would. The biggest noticeable change was his defecation schedule... he went from one bowel movement a day to one large one once or twice a week. I wouldn't worry about the poop thing, as tegus housed indoors rarely slip into full-on hibernation. They'll still come out for short periods of time to poop and drink, just never really to bask.

If you really want to suck him out of his brumation, put a heating pad under the hide that he sleeps in (under the enclosure, of course) and keep it on 24/7. Since nighttime drops are one of the big three contributors to brumation, eliminating it is the best way to keep your gu active. I intern in an exotic vet clinic, and we're seeing tons of this right now. The course of action is always the same: keep clean water in the cage, and, if you choose, keep a heating pad turned on LOW to reverse the brumation. If he does go completely down, try to catch him when he's out or warm him up temporarily to soak him and evacuate his bowels and urogenital tract, then put him back down to avoid aggression or infections in the bowels or cloaca.

Hope this helps

 

[rrcoolj]

I've heard even with increasing the lighting schedule some gus will still hibernate(or technically brumate) but it is worth a try. My tegu hasn't eatin in probably around a week. He is definatly sleeping alot more and I very rarely see him.