Tegu won't eat!

[Guest]

I have a 4 month old Tegu that I have had for about 3 weeks. I got her from a woman on Fauna that couldn't care for her any longer. (also getting a male hatchling from Bobby this month). The woman was feeding her cat food - I'm assuming in the enclosure because she will eat a few bites of food (turkey/roaches/eggs/etc) but only if I put it in the enclosure. I have tried daily to feed her in a separate tub (to break her of this habit) but she just lays there and falls asleep. I've left her in the tub for an hour at a time hoping that once I walked away she would eat, but she refuses. Even feeding in her enclosure (nothing live) she doesn't eat as much as I would expect her to from all the research I have done prior to purchasing her. She will eat a few bites and then nothing the rest of the day, even skipping a day in between. The last few days she has done nothing but burrow and remain hidden for 90% of the day. She is tame and can be handled easily so I don't think she is hiding or trying to get accustomed to her new home. She seems very comfortable.

Also, the temp is 85 to 90 with a basking spot of 100 to 105. Humidity is at 60 to 70% consistently. Bedding is Cypress mulch, size of enclosure is a 150 gallon (for now). She is only a foot and a half long so she's got plenty of space. Large water dish always filled with fresh water. And of course has a hide, but usually burrows behind it to sleep.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks,

Jeremy

 

[laurarfl]

Hi Jeremy,

My first thought is that cat food is high in phosphorous. If the previous owner was not supplementing with additional calcium and providing a good UV bulb within range, the tegu may be feeling the effects of low calcium. Turkey, insects, and eggs are also higher in phosphorous and lower in calcium, so a good calcium supplement is a priority in a growing animal. Some natural sunlight for at least an hour a day would do wonders to boost Vit D production and stimulate appetite. But Vit D alone won't work without adding calcium to the diet. Right now I would be adding calcium to every meal, daily, checking my UVB, and getting him/her out in the sun.

That's what pops in my mind, maybe someone else has another line of thinking.

You didn't say if it was an Arg or Colombian tegu. I keep my Colombians at a basking temp of 105-ish but my ARgs go up to 115. Cool end stays around 80.

 

[Guest]

She's an Argentine. I do have brand new UVB lighting in her enclosure along with a 160 watt basking bulb. I will start the calcium supplement with every meal. I usually only add a calcium supplement every other day but I will increase that and see what happens.

Thank you for your suggestions.

 

[Riplee]

"calcium supplement with every meal" is too much.

u can feed a little bit often but 3 times a week is enough.

Later u need change to once a week and the quantity is equal the size of tegu's eye.

BTW what's ur location in michigan?

 

[tora]

I've never heard of any bad things happening due to too much Cal though, but lots of bad happens if there isn't enough..
I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

[reptastic]

personally, i supplemented all my tegus non-whole prey food items almost everyday as they are growing and i havnt seen any ill effects, i would also in conjunction to what laura said, start soaking her in warm water before feeding, i have seen that my tegus are more readily hungry after a warm soak and when they relieved themselves. also hydration is a key part of their diet, if a tegu isnt getting enough fluids they wont eat much!

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the suggestions! I will try the warm bath before feeding today.

and Riplee, I am south of Detroit. About 40 minutes from the Ohio border.

 

[laurarfl]

I used to be wary of calcium supplements, too. They can be hard on the kidney if overdone. However, most calcium supplements aren't readily absorbed by the body. Plus, the diet being fed today is so high in phosphorous and low in calcium. Instead of a 2:1 ratio, some food items have a 28:1 ration of Ca: P. If a growing tegu is low in calcium, daily oral supplements would definitely be recommended, and then you can back off later. The incidence of MBD in lizards is just unnecessarily high.

 

[Guest]

I think I may have figured this out. After reading other posts here, I realize that it is possible that she is an import and could be going into hibernation. The woman I got her from bought her at a reptile store in Florida. I'm going to try the suggestions in the other thread along with the suggestions from here and see what happens.

Thanks much!

 

[Guest]

Well, it seems that she only likes pinky mice and will only eat them in her enclosure. At least she ate! She ate 3 of them tonight!

 

[Guest]

Well, that was strange. Juliet was out basking so I decided to put a small plate of tuna in there. She immediately perked up and her tongue started going a million miles a minute. I thought, "good, she's interested." So she follows the scent until she gets there, figured out where it was coming from and what it was, then walked away. Silly girl.

 

[laurarfl]

Do you have a close up picture of Juliet to post? There's something about her avatar and the pics on your blog that just make her look older than 4 mos. I wonder if she's older and a bit stunted. Just wondering if it could be a previous calcium issue that is related to her appetite issue now.

 

[Guest]

I don't have any pictures that you haven't seen on my blog, I don't believe. This is what I have. I can take more later today though and post them here.



Here she is when we unpacked her:

and outside basking:

 

[laurarfl]

Actually, they come across bigger here and the green shows up better. Maybe it's the black background.

At first I thought the nose looked foreshortened (a sign of MBD) and she looked older without the green, but it the pictures look much different here. Just curious is all.

 

[Guest]

No worries. Thank you for the concern. I'm actually thinking she is hibernating now. She hasn't come out in two days. I spoke to Bobby on the phone the other day and he agreed that it's possible she is a WC import since she was originally purchased from a reptile/pet store. We'll see what happens. I'll keep everyone posted.

Thanks again!