Newb questions...

[Robens]

Hey I'm a newbie at Tegu care, but not new to the world of reptiles and monitors. I made an intro thread, and I thought I'd ask my general questions here. Okay, so Arnold is a baby and he's currently residing in a 30gallon screen top until he's big enough to move in to the big house! To keep the humidity up I do have to mist several times throughout the day. Does it matter what type of water I mist with? Should it be RO, distilled, or is tap water okay? I know it makes a difference with our Chameleon and Pacman frog, but not sure about Tegus.
Also when can I expect Arnold to get on a solid eating schedule? One day he'll eat a lot and the next a little bit he's sporadic right now and it worries me. He's pooping just fine

 

[Rebecca Stout]

Mine has always been hugely sporadic about eating. In fact, I had to get over being mad about it cause so much food would be wasted lolol. Now I do something that I can't say is good... but I do it anyway. Maybe someone can comment. I leave the food in there for just a couple of hours. If its not gone, I bag it up and put it in the refridge and give it to her the next day. I figure they love rotten things, mine in particular loves to leave hers to "season" for a while anyway. But in as far as worrying about eating. From what I've learned that is just how it is. I kinda "put" mine on a schedual eventually. When I noticed she was leaving or only partially eating meals almost half the time, then I stopped feeding her so much. She was past a yearling stage when I did that. I moved mine onto eating every other day, and once a week skipping a day. So, 3x a week. She always eats now and her weight is great. But every gu is different in that they will settle into more of a pattern of eating at diff ages.

 

[Robens]

Thank you, that makes me feel a lot better. We've had him for just about a week, and I thought maybe I was doing something wrong. I'm sure in time I will figure out a better system, and better be able to tell what he's in the mood for!

 

[Rebecca Stout]

Oh wow no. He is just settling in. And there is no way to be able to tell exactly how much and on what schedual he'll be eating. And there is nothing you can do about that other than offer adequate meals every day and just 'watch' to see how it goes.

 

[Robens]

Thank you! He's actually eating great all of a sudden. Pretty much everything I'm offering him except for dubia roaches... I have a feeling if I give it another few tries he will eventually go for em! I had the best day with him today too, during bathtub playtime he ran right in to my hand and snuggled for a bit, then he ran up my arm on to the top of my head and just chilled for a while! He's getting more and more comfortable with me each day. Placing your worn t-shirt in the tank really helps with taming as well as the bath tub play time. I'm so happy we finally got our Tegu!

 

[Walter1]

A healthy tegu, or for that matter any pet, will not starve itself.so, you're right not to worry about food. Just follow its schedule, not our own.

 

[Robens]

Thanks, that is a great point to remember. He ate a lot yesterday, so today he just ate a little bit, but you could tell he wasn't starving! He's pooping fine too!

 

[Robens]

I have a new question... what is the consensus on reptilinks? Does anyone recommend them, or have any input?