Scared Little Baby

[tresh]

We got our new tegu today. After a lengthy discussion with the people at the pet store about why we needed a specific kind of bulb (Bobby recommended), we came home and finally got her tank finished with set up. The poor girl is currently intent on burying herself under the mulch, under the little hideaway log, so we're leaving her alone until tommorrow, when we'll see if she wants to come out and eat something. Right now, she seems so scared and nervous, we know better than to just stick our hand in there and try to pet her.

First time tegu owners. We've got the ground turkey, we've got the vitamins, we've got the right light and the right mulch and the thermometer and hydrometer and everything suggested, but woo, am i ever a nervous-mommy right now about this little gal. She instantly warmed our hearts when she came so slowly out of the pillowcase she was shipped in and ever so slowly crept under the mulch til only her head was still uncovered.

We know, you have to be patient with a new animal. Have to let her decide when she's ready to be social. We waited a year for her, and we're thrilled we were one of the lucky ones to get one of the varnyard black and whites.

 

[TeguLouie]

it sounds like you two are going to do great! i am a first time owner myself and having my GU for almost 3 weeks im still nervous. my little guy spends 99% of his time buried in his mulch. it sounds like she will be in a great home! just remember to not man handle her and you want to be in her cage as much as possible, spot cleaning or changing water. just ignore her until she comes to you. i know this site has a topic for just about any question you could ever have and everyone is either going through or has been through what you are now. plus someone is always willing to answer your questions. welcome to the forum and congrats and your new addition!

 

[spidersandmonsters]

I got my baby black and white a couple of weeks ago. She spent the first couple of days buried then came out to explore and now she's already almost socialized :]

 

[Dirtydmc]

That's so wired. Got mine today. Took him out of his sack and he took to me instantly. Put him in the tank and let him chill. Put my hand in and he let me pick him up and take him out again. Very mellow. Got lucky?

 

[kellen.watkins]

yeah you got lucky aint a bad thing at all though patience is the key, its kinda like soft ball the ball gets pitched and you wait, wait, and then just wait a lil while longer lol

 

[tresh]

today she's still being very shy, but we walked into the room today and she was out on her log, just sprawled out under her lamp. The moment she saw us, she scurried back under the log, but for awhile, we just watched her bask. We're going to try giving her some food in a few hours, right now we're still just patiently leaving her be.

 

[tresh]

gah! Poor tegu! My stupid cat decided to mess with the lamp (how she even got that close to it, I won't ever know), and nearly caused a fire. thankfully, I took some time off the next few days to work with the baby, or we might have had a disaster. We're headed back to the pet store to get a stand for the light, and maybe some crickets or some sort of food that will tempt her. the poor baby is burrowed under her mulch, all the way up to the last bit of her tail, I can just see it sticking out from under the mulch. She's really stressed, and right now we're just trying to get the tank to the right temp and feeling for her. She just seems to want to curl into a tegu-ball under the mulch. I thought she was dead when I checked on her a few minutes ago and found her so deep under the mulch, and all curled up like that! she does'nt want anything to do with food or any one near her, so we're just being very patient and very quiet with her...just moving the mulch every now and again.

 

[tresh]

Got a picture of my baby today. We finally got her tank set up completely, with heat rock, lamp, log, waterdish, food dish and everything. And today she finally ate on her own, without us helping her. Poor baby is finally starting to settle properly.

 

[james.w]

Get rid of the heat rock, they are known to cause burns. What are you using for a cage? What bulbs are you using? What are your temps, ambient and basking?

Any pics of the entire setup?

 

[tresh]

Yeah, we've been told about the heat rock, but for some reason, the tegu loves it and we don't have the heart right now to take it away from her. We have a 40-gallon Zilla breeder reptile tank. Sliding screen top. The lamp we got is a Zilla reflector dome with an exo-terra solar glow 125 w.

Today we added a humidifier to the tank because the humidity was staying far too low (it was at a 40-45 range, it should be at about 70).

The temps in the tank range from about 76 on the coolest side, to a bit over 90 on the hottest side.

We've finally got the knack now with what she will eat. She likes to be handfed treats, but when left alone, she loves big bugs like crickets, and she's eating mealworms now as well.

She's got us on a learning curve...every day we are learning something new about her. last night she started making a weird noise which made me rush to the forums, only to find out that tegus apparently do sneeze a fair bit? That's what led us to see how dry the mulch was, and fix that today.

so now, little baby Amy is just chilling on her rock, basking in the moisture in her cage.

 

[Jason]

if she's hanging out on the heatrock a lot; that probably means her temps are too low. you can keep the rock in there, just unplug it and cut off the cord.
I can't believe they still sell those things

 

[BillieJeAn]

my tegu loves his heat rock, it's tiny though, and hardly puts out heat, i feel it every day

 

[CrankbaitJedi]

I would ditch the heat rock. Over time they are just unreliable. Thermal burns are awful and it doesn't take long for the rock to go wrong and do some serious damage. Doesn't matter if it is big or small. Set up the basking spot and call it good. Heat rocks are gimmicky at best. Of course, this is advice only. Your call.

 

[herpgirl2510]

They should not even be sold why take the risk that there is a possibility that it could her your tegu. They depend on you to keep them as safe as possible they are a burn risk.