Not eating

[Realitynh]

Hey guys, my girl's been awake for a couple weeks, still sleeping a good 12-16 hours a day though. I have raised her temps to summer-like conditions as we're not concerned with breeding & like having her around. I have been offering her a variety of foods (turkey, fruit, mice [f&t], etc.) but she isn't showing any interest. I know she won't starve herself but I'm wondering if I should be concerned about parasites or if anyone has any suggestions, I'm more than open...

 

[james.w]

I wouldn't worry about it. Mine is up at least 10 hours a day and only eats about every 4-5 days.

 

[jumper123]

some slow down going into shed or during shed? i have one that wont eat for weeks when shedding, one that slows down and one that wont stop no matter what. all tegus are different, but.. she may be trying to go back into hibernation.. unfortunately you cant really stop that they do what they want. is she drinking? active? is it too hot for her? i find that some dont like it too hot even on a basking side they refuse to bask unless its a little lower. as you know if she isnt basking she cant digest or eat or get energy.

 

[Realitynh]

some slow down going into shed or during shed? i have one that wont eat for weeks when shedding, one that slows down and one that wont stop no matter what. all tegus are different, but.. she may be trying to go back into hibernation.. unfortunately you cant really stop that they do what they want. is she drinking? active? is it too hot for her? i find that some dont like it too hot even on a basking side they refuse to bask unless its a little lower. as you know if she isnt basking she cant digest or eat or get energy.

She's basking as we chat. I was hoping to get her basking spot a little higher as it's at 82f right now. She is very active, drinking water a little...

 

[jumper123]

is she young? is she shedding? yah little higher than 82 would be good. one of mine wont tolerate anything higher than 93 degrees to be precise.. is she defecating? or has she? maybe a nice warm bath will make her want to eat.. or to run around the room? just throwing stuff out there. i would tell you not to stress but who am i to talk, they take a weird breathe and i rush them to the emergency room..

 

[Realitynh]

is she young? is she shedding? yah little higher than 82 would be good. one of mine wont tolerate anything higher than 93 degrees to be precise.. is she defecating? or has she? maybe a nice warm bath will make her want to eat.. or to run around the room? just throwing stuff out there. i would tell you not to stress but who am i to talk, they take a weird breathe and i rush them to the emergency room..

I appreciate it, that's why I posted lol. I've done all that, bath, exercise. How would u suggest getting the temp up? I'm using a 50w basking bulb about a foot & a half away from the rock... Everytime I put a plate in the tub for feeding with her, she just spends her hour in there trying to get out lol. So I try the bathroom floor with the door shut & she ends up curling up somewhere on the cold floor. I just may be paranoid, but better safe than sorry. I have not seen her sh!t since I got her (2 months ago) either.

 

[jumper123]

she may be burying it, sometimes they are like dogs.. how big is the cage? get a 75w bulb or maybe a little higher. whats her UVB your using?

 

[Realitynh]

Burying what? Got a 100w on one side (uva/b) & 50w basking.

 

[jumper123]

she may be burying her poop.

 

[Realitynh]

oh, gotcha.

 

[Realitynh]

went & bought another fixture & setup another bulb. Basking spot is at 90! Perfect!

 

[james.w]

90 is a bit low for basking. Can you post some pics of your enclosure? Have you tried offering food in the enclosure? What bulb are you using for uvb, is it a PowerSun?

 

[Realitynh]

It is a PowerSun. The last reading was 90 when i shut the top. Standby for pics... I have not offered food in the cage, I'm trying to avoid cage feeding.

 

[jumper123]

Technically 90 is still low try higher.. Some won't tolerate much higher though most like it really hot though like 100

 

[Realitynh]

[attachment=3778][attachment=3779][attachment=3780][attachment=3781]

90 is a bit low for basking. Can you post some pics of your enclosure? Have you tried offering food in the enclosure? What bulb are you using for uvb, is it a PowerSun?

Here's some pics...

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I'm pretty sure it's because I have her basking spot towards the front of her enclosure. The heat is probably escaping out of one of the doors. I'll move them to the back of the enclosure in the morning. Trial & error, wanna keep her happy, thanx for the help too.

 

[james.w]

I am gonna guess it is way too hot in the enclosure. I would recommend putting plexiglass on the doors as well. Can you lower the light fixtures to bring the bulbs down?

Why are you trying to avoid feeding in the enclosure?

 

[Realitynh]

I am gonna guess it is way too hot in the enclosure. I would recommend putting plexiglass on the doors as well. Can you lower the light fixtures to bring the bulbs down?

Why are you trying to avoid feeding in the enclosure?

Feeding them in their enclosures can cause food aggression & cause them to associate you opening their enclosures with food. I also know that good ventilation is important for tegus, hence the mesh. the gradient temp in the cage is 70-95 right now, so it's not too hot. The basking bulbs are just over a foot away from the rock, plenty close.

 

[james.w]

I am gonna guess it is way too hot in the enclosure. I would recommend putting plexiglass on the doors as well. Can you lower the light fixtures to bring the bulbs down?

Why are you trying to avoid feeding in the enclosure?

Feeding them in their enclosures can cause food aggression & cause them to associate you opening their enclosures with food.

This is true if the only time you go in the cage is to feed. I feed in the cage 95% of the time and my tegu shows no aggresion.

I also know that good ventilation is important for tegus, hence the mesh.

I don't have any vents on my tegu's cage and use glass for the doors. Being that tegus require daily maintenance, opening and closing of the doors daily allow for an adequate amount of air exchange. In a small enclosure, you would need to allow air flow, but yours looks large enough to not have to worry about this. Most of your heat/humidity is escaping out of the mesh.

the gradient temp in the cage is 70-95 right now, so it's not too hot. The basking bulbs are just over a foot away from the rock, plenty close.

The reason I asked if you could lower them was to increase the basking temp. If you don't already have one, I would get a temp gun to check temps. You have quite a bit of heat in that cage with the bulbs you are currently using. What are the dimensions of the cage and what wattage are the two basking bulbs? What are you using to measure temps and humidity?

By the way, that is an awesome looking cage. I wish I would have made mine that nice.

 

[Realitynh]

Thanx 4 the input bro. 6x3x3, 2 50w basking, 100w PowerSun & just standard thermostat for now. Getting a digital from a friend tomorrow. I am gonna measure heat with the digital therm. tomorrow & try moving the basking lamps/rock towards the back, away from the doors. Hopefully that helps cuz I'd like to be able to keep the mesh, but whatever it takes to get it perfect in there. Thanx for the credit on the cage too, made it myself. Feel like it's too small now that I added the pool for her lol.

 

[Realitynh]

Basking temps near 100 now - moved the lamps/rock.