Tegu won't stand up and walk...

[Luvmytegu]

Hi guys just a quick question for you all....Soapie will not stand upright off of her belly to walk....Is this normal? She gets around fine using her legs but like I said really won't pick herself up off the floor to do so. She has been in and out of hibernation since November and really hasn't eaten much, I am worried she is not getting enough vitamins due to the fact that won't eat. Her eyes look good...just had her in the tub...Boy she had a ball swimming around. She sneezed a little and sounded a little gurgly but I think it was due to the fact she was under water. Today I gave her carnivore care mixed with water and some Reptaid XL and she ate quite a bit of it....any feedback on how to encourage her to "get" up and walk, and even how to kick start her appetite would be welcome! Thanks

 

[mis jaksin]

what kind of uvb bulb are you using?

 

[txrepgirl]

It's good to hear that she ate at least something. Yes, the sneezing and the gurgling could be form her bein under the water. But I still would keep a eye on her to make sure this is the only time she does this and that it's not a upper respiratory infection. Sometimes Tegus also sneeze when the mulch got to dry and they have been sleeping under neath it. What are your temps on the basking side ? how long ( was it in use ) have you had the UVB light ? if you want to you can try to feed her some f/t rodents and if she doesn't want to eat it you might have to force feed her. You can give her some chicken/ turkey baby food and put some calcium and vitamine powder in it. I also would make sure that she drinks enough water to make sure she isn't dehydrated. You can give her some gator aid ( I recommend the light colord one because I have noticed they don't have so much acid in it ) or some pedia light ( you can get that in the baby section ). All those things were recommended by my vet.

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[Luvmytegu]

what kind of uvb bulb are you using?

Exo Terra Repti Glo 10.0 tube light...Just replaced Late October '09
Basking spot is @ *95 ...she rarely lays on her basking rock...(she usually lays off to the side of it so I thought It was too hot for her so I got a little smaller wattage bulb to keep at *95) Should I bump it up again?
She does only have the gurgly sound after tubby time...now I know that it is from the tub...It clears up after she sneezes. I did give her some more carnivore care today with vitamin powder added also...she ate that. I am struggling with what to do to get her to eat food. I am going to get some fuzzies and try them...I will keep you all posted.....Any more input you guys can think of I welcome!!! Thanks guys...you're the best!

 

[Mark R.]

The crawling around on the belly unless they are in shed, is not normal. Tegus will lose strength in their back legs due to lack of calcium. Their rear legs become too weak to support their weight. It can also be the beginning stages of mbd.
Don't freak out! You can fix it if it is. Try this, get about a dozen adult mice. And for the next week, if it will take it, feed two mice a day. Remember,if the food has no bones, you MUST supplement calcium! By power feeding the mice to your gu, you will be boosting it's calcium intake, and the liver of the mice should be enough to help digest it. you can try seeded grapes also as a treat. i know this to be a true fix, because i had to do it myself a few months back when Bowser was little. he was up and walking around normal in no time! Lack of appetite is another side affect of calcium loss.
Also make sure your gu has good uvb and a nice hot spot to bask. I wouldn't worry so much about it getting too hot, that's why they self-regulate and move around. good Luck!!

 

[TE GU-RU]

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You can give her some gator aid ( I recommend the light colord one because I have noticed they don't have so much acid in it ) or some pedia light ( you can get that in the baby section ). All those things were recommended by my vet.

I suggest Smart water or electrolyte enhanced water. I havent used it on my tegu but my snakes drink it and it seems to give them some extra energy

 

[chelvis]

First off how old is your tegu and what was she eatting before she started to sleep all the time?

Also you may want to take her to the vet before you force feed, i never recomend people force feed an animal before figuring out what is wrong. the reason why is you can be aggitating a problem, such as if the animal has an obstruction in the GI tract it will not eat becuase it can not pass food through, by force feeding it you'd put presure on this obstruction. I have no objections though to keeping her hydrated, pedilite or smart water over gatorade, the sugar in gatorade will actully cause diarehea in most animals. Best recomendation would be take her to a vet and get a full body x-ray, this will tell you alot. It can show the starts of MBD which could cause the abnormal walk, it can show intestinal issues that maybe coming up, or even any limb brakage. Also the vet can give her a good look over.

If your tegu was trying to hibernate i know when i woke my tegu up he did a belly crawl around the cage untill he re dug his hole. he didnt eat or drink for 5 months but when he did wake up he ate everything i would give him and his crawl was gone.

 

[Luvmytegu]

First off how old is your tegu and what was she eatting before she started to sleep all the time?

Also you may want to take her to the vet before you force feed, i never recomend people force feed an animal before figuring out what is wrong. the reason why is you can be aggitating a problem, such as if the animal has an obstruction in the GI tract it will not eat becuase it can not pass food through, by force feeding it you'd put presure on this obstruction. I have no objections though to keeping her hydrated, pedilite or smart water over gatorade, the sugar in gatorade will actully cause diarehea in most animals. Best recomendation would be take her to a vet and get a full body x-ray, this will tell you alot. It can show the starts of MBD which could cause the abnormal walk, it can show intestinal issues that maybe coming up, or even any limb brakage. Also the vet can give her a good look over.

If your tegu was trying to hibernate i know when i woke my tegu up he did a belly crawl around the cage untill he re dug his hole. he didnt eat or drink for 5 months but when he did wake up he ate everything i would give him and his crawl was gone.

She was 1 yr in July...Before she went down for hibernation, she was eating everything....ground turkey ,raw chicken ,scallops, hb eggs, etc. Her stools where fine...I really feel that her crawling and behavior are all due to the fact we keep waking her up to offer food and bathe and she really just wants to sleep. I noticed each time we took her out this weekend, she just sits there for a bit and then crawls around looking for a place hide and sleep...I guess I just need to hear that her behavior is normal for a tegu wanting to hibernate!

 

[Luvmytegu]

we tried fuzzies over the weekend, she wasn't interested at all...she licked them and then walked away. :bang She is so stubborn...I am going to get some beef and chicken organic baby food and offer it in a syringe along with calcium powder..I am sure she will chow that down as she eats the carnivore care. I will also get the water with the electrolytes and give it a try...Thanks :lol: