Tegu not eating.

[SkyeYvonne]

I'm having issues getting my baby Thor to eat. I'm not sure how old he is, but I'm guessing a couple of months. I got him on March 5th. For a while he was eating really well and every day, but the last two weeks or so he's only been eating every couple of days. I offer him crickets every day, but then I also will change up what else I give him. Sometimes chicken, sometimes turkey, salmon, beef...he's had it all. I've given him two pinkies since I've had him and he went to town and never refused them. So those he'll take right away. But anything else and he doesn't eat unless it's every couple of days. It has me worried. But he's not losing any weight. I have him housed on eco-earth and sometimes he'll get some in his mouth when he hunts crickets, but he poops either every day or every other day so he's not impacted. (I've tried feeding him the crickets outside of his tank, but he gets nervous and doesn't want anything to do with them. The rats and whatever else I offer are always in a bowl.) He hides a lot and burrows a lot, but he handles great and has such a sweet temperament. I dust his food and he has a UVB. His humidity is roughly at 60%. Temps are all good. He's in a 20g tank right now but I placed an order for a 4ft x 32in x 15in PVC tank for him so I should be getting that soon. I'm not sure if the funky eating schedule is normal behavior for tegus or if something is bothering Thor. I have a herp vet I can take him to but she really only knows about more common reptiles like geckos and bearded dragons. His breeder will be at the reptile show I go to on the 31st so I'm going to speak with him as well to see if there's anything else I can do.

Here's a video of him digging a couple of days ago: http://instagram.com/p/nqqffHuz34/

Here's him crawling around on me a couple of days ago:

 

[SamBobCat]

Just wanted to point out, that is a pretty tegu. Also, the humidity should be around 70%-85%. That might be causing him to be storing the food longer so that he absorbs nutrients slower? I don't even know if that's accurate hahahaha

 

[Aardbark]

Not to worry. So long as he is eating, and its a variety of food, he is doing good. Tegus dont have to eat every day. Even a growing tegu can go a long time (like a week or two, especially when they move to a new home) without eating and be fine. If he is eating every other day, or every three days, he is doing just fine.

 

[Josh]

Any updates on how your tegu is doing, @SkyeYvonne ?

 

[SkyeYvonne]

@Aardbark @Josh @SamBobCat

Hello everyone! I am so sorry I never replied!

Thor is doing well. Not only have I discovered he is actually she, but I've discovered the trick to make her eat! It was recommended that I cover her food in egg yolk because it gives it more flavor. I tried feeding her this way, and she ate immediately! And has eaten ever since. My issue now though is that she's constantly dropping the food into the substrate of her tank (eco earth coco coir) and is still eating it. So she's getting mouth and nose fulls of dirt and its making me a tad bit concerned. I'm probably going to take all the coir out and switch to paper towels soon. I've tried feeding her out of her tank but she gets nervous and scared and doesn't eat. I did however discover that if I hold her in my lap and spoon feed her, she'll eat right away. Just not in a separate container. However I don't want her to eat rats in my lap. Haha. Also, @SamBobCat, thank you! She's a very pretty tegu and I love her to bits, haha.