Taco: slight arch in back

[Blue Crab of PAIN!!!]

Hello everyone!

My baby arg. B&W tegu "Taco" is doing great! (or seems to be, that's what I'm asking you guys about). Other than the single incident I described in the "morning grouchyness?" thread I have yet to have a single negative interaction with him, or her. Taco will fall asleep when I pet him and walk onto my hand. I may have been feeding him a little to much though... so I cut back as of yesterday. He also just finished shedding.

Anyway, just now (literally 10 minutes ago) I noticed that Taco had a slight concave arch in his back when sprawled out. I sincerely hope (and believe) that this isn't any sign of MBD: he moves around just fine and was recently trying to jump to the top of his cage. I'm just... paranoid I guess is the best word. When a baby tegu sprawls out for basking is the spine supposed to be arched inward like that? Should I feed him more?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Blue Crab of PAIN!!!]

Update as of just now: A few minutes before taking this picture I let Taco explore around my room for the first time: crawling around on me, the floor, the bed, and so on. Ever since I've done that now he seems a lot more... restless. He was just looking at me and trying to claw at the glass in the same way a puppy at the pound does. So I let him crawl on my hand again. Instead of just perching on my hand and staying there, he crawled up my arm, on my shoulder, and tried to jump off. I managed to catch him. So then I let him walk around on my computer desk. He was snooping around but much more actively than he normally does anywhere else, went to the edge of the desk, and jumped off again. I think I need to get him a hamster wheel or something.

 

[Cali 202]

I am pretty sure that arch is normal. When my tegu was that small, and had an empty stomach, his back would do that too when lying down. I also was a little taken back by it, but its normal.

 

[chris allen]

Is he eating well? What does his diet consist of and how often? Where did you get him from and how long ago?

From the picture he looks to be a little thin, maybe dehydrated or hungry....just judging by the folds on his side(sometimes its tough to judge from a picture though, but just making that observation).

 

[Blue Crab of PAIN!!!]

I just got Taco on the 4th, according to Bobby he/she was born on the 6th of July. He didn't eat on his first day, but the following day he ate crickets and turkey, and I've been feeding him turkey on the 6th and 7th. Then I read in this site's care sheet that he only feeds his baby tegus twice a week, so I didn't feed him anything today. He does have a water bowl though, filled with filtered water from the fridge. Now that you guys mention that though.. I'll try feeding him now.

 

[Blue Crab of PAIN!!!]

I just offered him some more ground turkey. He ate some of it, but not all of it. After a certain point he seemed more interested in trying to climb up my arm (probably to jump off again), or sprawling on his basking log.

I do have a picture of him from his 1st day home: he has the fold down his flanks there too but now that you bring it up I'm going to keep a closer eye on it.
One thing that I did also notice was that I never observed him drinking more than 2 sips out of his water bowl: Same with this other thread:
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Although I might just be overreacting, again.

NOTE: In this picture Taco isn't actually lying down. At first I thought he looked a lot heavier in this picture than the 1st, but then I realized that he wasn't sprawled out on the log.

 

[ashesc212]

Hi there,

Congratulations on Taco. What are you using for UVB and how close can he get to it?

Mainly I'd say that he looks a little thin. I'd feed him more often. When mine was a baby I fed him everyday and he's a giant, but he might be a little too big by some people's standard (12 lb blue tegu). It really just looks like he is just fully stretched out and his stomach isn't that full.

It's good that you are paranoid though. It shows you care. :-D

 

[Blue Crab of PAIN!!!]

Lol thank you!

The light bulb I'm using now is a "Repti Glo 5.0", 26W made by Exo Terra. It is a coiled model. To my knowledge this isn't quite strong enough for adults but hopefully suitable for babies. Since it's weaker than the 10.0 model it hopefully won't hurt the animal's eyes. If he perches on his log then hes ~5-6 inches away.

The light bulb is actually something I'm a little concerned about (well, that among many things....).

 

[Nessie]

I would wait for a second opinion but I have always been told that the coil bulbs are dangerous for a reptiles eyes. I would go with a 10.0 Reptisun or a MVB. If you go with the Tube light 10.0 make sure it is no more then 10" away from the Tegu and if it is a MVB ( I use fluker's Sunspot) it must be atleast 12". As for feeding, I offer food to my Tegu every day, I find he eats the most every other day but he is starting to get more of an appetite and eat each day.

 

[Guest]

A CF is way less intense than a MVB and has less damaging UV rays. My wife works with eye doctors and that does not make much sense to them. Both of my Tegus bask with there eyes away from the light and closed. They keep the the brightest light in the center of there backs.

 

[slideaboot]

Are you leaving your tegu alone to feed? It sounds like you might be hovering around your tegu at feeding time,which can DEFINITELY discourage a young tegu from eating as voraciously as it might if it was left alone.

 

[chris allen]

I would get yourself a variety of feeders. Frozen rodents(start with pinkies or fuzzies... I think this is important), feed dubia if you can, superworms, crickets, hornworms, etc....I would offer the ground meat also but I think the key is to offer a varied diet if you don't have a successful routine yet. Also, don't think its some kind of race. Different animals grow at different paces....

Have you tried misting him at all?

Also what are your basking temps like?

In your first picture he doesn't look all that great, but in the other picture you just posted he doesnt look so bad....kind of like a normal baby that just had a big poop.

 

[chris allen]

Are you leaving your tegu alone to feed? It sounds like you might be hovering around your tegu at feeding time,which can DEFINITELY discourage a young tegu from eating as voraciously as it might if it was left alone.

I think thats a great point also.
Sometimes you just have to let them be. I suggest alot of times to new beardie owners to cover glass tanks on three sides with paper or poster board. This does two things...keeps light in and keeps distractions out.

 

[Blue Crab of PAIN!!!]

Now that you guys mention it I am around a lot of the time when he eats, although the few occasions where I left him alone he didn't eat any more than when I'm there watching him. I was about to try feeding him again but as I was reading this thread he buried himself to go to sleep.

For some reason Taco doesn't seem all too keen on live foods: he ate crickets on the second day I've had him, but hasn't touched them since and he turned down the mealworms I offered him too. Turkey, though, still seems to be a hit. I'll try getting a hold of frozen pinkies next week when I'll be in my college apartment (and thus won't be living with a bunch of squeamish family members).

I mist his cage many times each day, but I don't make the substrate get sodden wet like I did for my land crab. I just do it enough to keep it from getting dry. The ambient temperature according to the weather is usually above 70%. I'm not entirely sure what his basking temperature is though.

Since last post though he seems to have thickened up a bit. The fold of skin on his flanks isn't as pronounced and his spine stays convex when basking.

And that normally good news brings up some more placebo-effect paranoia...
I was doing a little bit of research on impaction, to make sure my substrate is safe (its that coco-fiber Eco Earth). I stumbed upon a Bearded Dragon page about the matter (stupid move: doesn't help me at all) and one of the posts mentioned that if you feel a hard lump somewhere in the dragon's gut then that might be a sign of impaction.
So a few hours ago when Taco crawled onto my hand and I was petting him I felt a hard bump in his left.. uhh... "thigh"?

I have no idea if this has been there the whole time, since I haven't checked for bumps like that before. The "hardness" extends a little bit down below him but not quite to the vent. Taco seems to get a little annoyed if I spend more than a few seconds massaging it (but calms right back down once I resume petting him). I noticed that he hadn't defecated in... about a day and a half now. That probably coincides with me not feeding him on the day about which this thread was originally written though. At the same time though, he did chomp down some of the substrate when he was lunging out at crickets on his second day home (probably only a pinch or two worth). Since then he's shed and pooped quite a few times, so that brings on another question: How long does it take for a Tegu to process its food? Could this be the consequence of events 5 days ago?

Taco doesn't eat when placed in a feeding bin: I described that in the "morning grouchyness?" thread. I do use a bowl for the turkey though so he doesn't eat more dirt. I've given him 2 warm baths since I've had him; the first time was three days ago and he went potty right away. The second time was a few minutes after I first noticed the "bump". It didn't look like he even tried to go to the bathroom (no muscle contractions), but then again the bump isn't to his vent yet anyway.

I really hope I'm just worried about nothing....

Oh, and Thank you guys SO MUCH for your help!

 

[Blue Crab of PAIN!!!]

The first picture I posted with the spine arch looks a lot worse than I thought it would. I have a feeling that part of the problem may simply have been Taco's posture on the log. Regardless, He didn't look as crap-outta shape as the picture may indicate, or at least I think/hope he didn't.

 

[VARNYARD]

You need a better light, the 5.0 coil bulbs are junk, I do not use anything less than a 7.5, and never recommend the coil bulbs at all. As for the kink, be careful with the jumping, these tegus are still very young and can get hurt if the jump and fall wrong. I will also say, a 10.0 is not too strong for a tegu, and I have never seen a 10.0 cause any problems with the eyes, the sun is much brighter and tegus can handle the light with no problems.

 

[Blue Crab of PAIN!!!]

Thank you for the advice: I will look for my aquarium light fixture and invest in a new tube bulb right away.

I am pleased to announce that the hard kink in Taco's side is now gone. I believe I rediscovered it reincarnated as a [for his size] huge pile of crap next to his hiding log. He's been eating in small amounts several times each day and he's looking much better than before.