Tegu Toe Twitch

[ophidia]

As far as calcium, I've discovered that the "All Living Things" brand of hermit crab calcium powder at PetSmart is just calcium carbonate, and it's super, super fine-- even finer than the Rep-Cal superfine calcium. It just cakes on the slightly damp peach fuzzies that are my girls staple (like breading chicken as noted above) with very little moisture needed.. I would also expect that it may be more easily absorbed, since it is so fine. It might be worth checking out.

 

[dpjm]

Just be careful about calcium supplements. If it not stated otherwise on the packaging, the likely source of calcium is oyster shell. Oyster shells have been shown to have a small lead contamination issue. It is not known, of course, the effect that this may have on your tegu, but I usually like to be cautious with heavy metals and avoid them as much as possible. Zoo Med calcium supplements are also very fine and are not derived from oyster shell. Widely available as well.

 

[ophidia]

It doesn't have the gray color that I've noticed in ground oyster shell based calcium supplements before, and seems to be a very fine, light, fluffy white powder. But, since it doesn't state the source on the label, there's no way to really know. I'll take your advice and order some Zoo Med calcium.

 

[Rex Taylor]

His condition has already gotten better. I fed him the whole prey that was recommended, and that seemed to help a crap-load. The twitch is almost nonexistent. It's to the point where when I watched him to make sure what his condition was he only twitched once all day, and the rest his back toes were completely still when he was resting. Thank you guys for the help, ill continue with the recommendations to make sure this doesnt happen again.

 

[dpjm]

It doesn't have the gray color that I've noticed in ground oyster shell based calcium supplements before, and seems to be a very fine, light, fluffy white powder. But, since it doesn't state the source on the label, there's no way to really know. I'll take your advice and order some Zoo Med calcium.

Yes, calcium carbonate should be white, if you look at any pictures of pure calcium carbonate online, they are all bright white, not grey. The product made by ALT that you described sounds exactly like the Zoo Med product, bright white and fluffy. I would guess then that they are similar products. Zoo Med is made by precipitation, ALT probably is too. I don't know why they wouldn't state it on the label, it's a good selling feature. The oyster shell calcium is grey like you say.

I would contact the company and they might tell you the source of the calcium. Do that before you order anything else. I bet it is fine. Even if it is sourced from oyster shells, if it is a precipitate, it should be pretty pure.

 

[Walter1]

His condition has already gotten better. I fed him the whole prey that was recommended, and that seemed to help a crap-load. The twitch is almost nonexistent. It's to the point where when I watched him to make sure what his condition was he only twitched once all day, and the rest his back toes were completely still when he was resting. Thank you guys for the help, ill continue with the recommendations to make sure this doesnt happen again.

Good job. We all aim to get better in our husbandry.

 

[dpjm]

His condition has already gotten better. I fed him the whole prey that was recommended, and that seemed to help a crap-load. The twitch is almost nonexistent. It's to the point where when I watched him to make sure what his condition was he only twitched once all day, and the rest his back toes were completely still when he was resting. Thank you guys for the help, ill continue with the recommendations to make sure this doesnt happen again.

Great to hear. The toe twitch is a muscle tremor that occurs when calcium in the blood is low. Muscles cannot operate properly when calcium is low, it is a crucial element in muscle contraction. A good dose of calcium is what they need. In more severe cases a vet might order calcium injections. At the toe twitch stage, which is relatively minor, there should not have been significant amount of calcium released from bones yet or I think you would have noticed much more obvious symptoms.

 

[Walter1]

Great to hear. The toe twitch is a muscle tremor that occurs when calcium in the blood is low. Muscles cannot operate properly when calcium is low, it is a crucial element in muscle contraction. A good dose of calcium is what they need. In more severe cases a vet might order calcium injections. At the toe twitch stage, which is relatively minor, there should not have been significant amount of calcium released from bones yet or I think you would have noticed much more obvious symptoms.

Dpjm and Ophidia- thanks for insights/knowledge.

 

[Alex_villela_83]

Hey guys, I just got my B&W Argentine Tegu about 1 month ago. He is said to be about 3 months old. The problem I am having is that he is not seeming to get tame at all. I hold every every other day if not every day and for at least 25 minutes minimum. What should I do to make him tame? When I try to get him out of the cage he will whip his tail or will just run away. He hasn't ever really tried to bite me.
When did any of your guys tegus get tame? It's obviously my first time so I don't know if he/she should be tamed by three months or not ?