PLEASE HELP!!

[Niexist]

Hey all I have a 3 and a half foot 8 pound tegu named Archie, and since I moved I've had major problems with him.

Well when I first moved, I put him out in the garage, he proceeds to sleep the entire time under my shirts. I've been here about a week now, and he still hasn't eaten which has me real worried.

So today I moved his enclosure out to my back porch. Well my 3 year old completely tame tegu has suddenly taken to striking at me, or anyone else that moves in his direction.

Not to mention he's still not eating. He was always a very regular eater, every other day eating a half pound of ground turkey, or a couple of small rats. I don't know what to do someone told me he might be hibernating, but it seems a strange coincidence for him to start hibernating as soon as I moved.

I'm just hoping that he hasn't become wild overnight because I don't know if I could handle taming him he's so big and I'm kind of scared of him.

As far as him not eating I've been force-feeding him fluker's repta-aid which is supposed to promote appetites with relocated carnivorous reptiles. Any advice would be greatly helpful

 

[herper9]

Anyone?

 

[Reflektr]

I bet you it's just relocation stress. Just give him some time to get into a routine at his new digs.

 

[PuffDragon]

It could be the stress from moving but then again it could be something else. What factors of your husbandry have changed, if any? Temps of the enclosure? Light cycle? Has he ever been outside before? The natural lighting and new sounds tend to send otherwise "tame" tegus into a defensive/aggressive mode. I've experienced it firsthand with my one tegu when I first put him into his outside enclosure.

 

[Niexist]

Okay, I am thinking it could be a few things if you guys could please give me any help i sure would appreciate it.

1) he is trying to go into hibernation, this is very possible but it seems a weird coincidence that it coincides with my moving him.

2) he is in an enclosed garage with litte ventilation which was stressing him out causing him not to eat which is the reason I moved him outdoors, however this seems to have caused him to become untame.

Please people I need to know if he's in normal hibernation behavior he loves to stay in his hide. I need to know if it is good to feed him fluker's repta-aid if he is going into hibernation. I bought this tegu from a pet store for nearly 400 dollars after reading this site and falling in love with these animals I'd be crushed if anything would happen to him so someone please answer this.

 

[txrepgirl]

Has he had his enclosure outside, too, at the old house ? I think that if it's his first time being outside that his natural wild instinkt is kicking in because he can smell all the wild animals out side.All off my Tegus are very tame but sometimes when I take them outside their behavior changes a bit.I would leave him alone for a while and not force feed him at all.As long as the base of the tail looks nice and thick he will be OK.Please keep us posted.But please make sure he has some water to drink.Try to put a chair next to his enclosure outside and sit in it and read a book.This will get him used to you being close to his enclosure again.Do you have any dogs in the yard that could stress him out ?