Problems with my three month old tegu

[Zefram Rinehart]

So I purchased a baby male Argentine black and white Tegu in June, and up until three weeks ago he was doing great. He had been eating every day, getting a lot of variety between meats and fruits. Along with being out basking almost all the time or at least out and roaming around his tank. However I am concerned about him. Starting about three weeks ago he practically stopped eating (I have only counted once since then he has accepted food when offered daily), and spends all his time under his waterbowl, never under his basking bulb. I also noticed he isnt growing much, as I did some research on how big a 3-4 month old b&w tegu should be, and hes tiny in comparison. Hes not skinny or frail however, just small. I have his tank humidity controlled at about 70-80% humidity and he has uva and uvb bulbs along with a ceramic basking bulb that keeps a relative temperature around 115°F on the basking area. This is the first time I've raised a baby tegu, so I'm not sure if I should be worried or not. The previous tegu I owned was a yearling when I got it, so I don't know what to expect from a baby.

The picture is of him soaking in my sink from a few days ago, so its recent.

 

[Blakkdragon]

While I don't know. I Believe this this deserves a bump

 

[Jorgo]

Hello!

If your doing everything right, than I got two guess. One is getting ready for or is Brumating - as everything you mentioned in terms of behavior sounds like it.
The other guess is the genetic lottery. You may just have a tegu who is simply smaller than the rest.

 

[Debita]

He does look pretty small - but I agree with Jorgo's guesses. One thing I noticed though, is that the basking temp is high. He's not an adult yet and his basking shouldn't be hotter than about 105 dg for his size. Only adults are at 115 dg and above. Does he have a cool side that he can escape to that's around 70 dg? I think this affects their desire to eat. Just noticed this with other posts and other animals.

 

[Blakkdragon]

He does look pretty small - but I agree with Jorgo's guesses. One thing I noticed though, is that the basking temp is high. He's not an adult yet and his basking shouldn't be hotter than about 105 dg for his size. Only adults are at 115 dg and above. Does he have a cool side that he can escape to that's around 70 dg? I think this affects their desire to eat. Just noticed this with other posts and other animals.

That's kinda funny... I've actually heard hatchlings can go up to 115 and adults should be 120-130. No one ever has a clear cut answer on temps it seems.

 

[Debita]

That's kinda funny... I've actually heard hatchlings can go up to 115 and adults should be 120-130. No one ever has a clear cut answer on temps it seems.

I could be wrong - but all I've ever seen is that adults start at 115, and sub-adults are 105-110. More importantly though, after reading a lot of posts, it seemed clear to me that if they can't escape temps that are too warm for them, they hide in the coolest place - even though it's not cool enough. Why would they want to come out into an area that's even hotter? Pure observation/speculation on my part.

 

[Zefram Rinehart]

He does look pretty small - but I agree with Jorgo's guesses. One thing I noticed though, is that the basking temp is high. He's not an adult yet and his basking shouldn't be hotter than about 105 dg for his size. Only adults are at 115 dg and above. Does he have a cool side that he can escape to that's around 70 dg? I think this affects their desire to eat. Just noticed this with other posts and other animals.

The cool side of his tank stays around 70, and he can dig underground as well. He spends all his time under his water bowl. The basking temperature I set based on research online, but I'll raise the lamp up a bit to reduce the temperature.

 

[Zefram Rinehart]

Hello!

If your doing everything right, than I got two guess. One is getting ready for or is Brumating - as everything you mentioned in terms of behavior sounds like it.
The other guess is the genetic lottery. You may just have a tegu who is simply smaller than the rest.

He's not skinny or anything, just small. And up to the point I mentioned in the first post, he had been a ravenous eater. I'm partially thinking as well that I may have gotten a "runt"

 

[Zefram Rinehart]

I try not to feed him in his tank, so he associates being out with good things. Should I just try leaving food in there for him?

 

[Member1421]

I'm new to tegus, but I feel like if you think he's not eating enough outside the enclosure, but will eat inside, then I would do a combination until you can get him/her to eat outside if that is your end goal. Just be consistent.

 

[Debita]

Feeding him outside the tank is a good way to potty train if you don't want the mess in the tank. For me, that's easier, so my adult male knows the routine, and hasn't gone (pottied) in his tank for close to a year now. (He's 3) So - routine is a great tool with Tegus. They are smart and adapt quickly to whatever is going on.

As far as eating...(prob the most common question asked on this forum)....LIke Wanik4 said - be consistent. He'll figure it out. You set the rules.