Help me; my tegu wont eat!!

[GunnasGal]

hi im new here
i have a female black and white tegu she is lovely natured however i cant get her to eat ANY fruit or veg! i have resorted to force feeding her, we had a male who died about 5 months ago, and since she hasnt eaten properly she will however eat 1 mouse a week on thursdays and 1 egg a monthas a treat.
she has started to look realy thin and im worried i might be doing something wrong. she has a big enclosure with 3 different levels a water area and peat area, i offer her hoppers, crickets, mealworms etc but she just isnt interested. i have started to force feed her, her fruit and veg as i dont want her to starve (that may sound dumb :drool but im worried)
if anyone has any advice or anything to say please dont hold back i need as much advice as possible
does she need a new mate have i done something wrong
she isnt ill her health is fine she just wont eat :cry:

 

[homer]

what are the cages temps at? basking spot? using the right UVB lighting too? also tegus dont need 3 different levels in an enclosure, just a basking spot and a cooling spot is recommended

 

[GunnasGal]

she has a uv light the levels are only shelves really and she rarley uses them, the temp is at 24 at night and 30-34 during the day

 

[crimsonrazac]

If you can post pictures it would be nice. How long has it been sence your tegu ate? force feeding can actualy cause more harm than good if you don't know what you doing. You could try putting egg yoke on the food, you said she ate eggs right? Maybe take her to a vet and check for parasites. Keep us updated.

 

[GunnasGal]

she has been checked and the vet said she seems fine in herself. i havent force fed her as such just getting the food in her mouth and letting her chew and swallow it but she wont eat by herself, she used to so im not sure whats happening if shes stressed or lonely maybe? she does eat eggs but someone told me not to feed her them too often as they can become bad for them or somthing?

 

[akward_silence91]

mine was doing the same thing after hibernation. just make sure she is warm enough so that her digestive system works and that she can thermoregulate well. i fixed these problems in my cage and he is eating a lot now.

 

[argus333]

i would stop force feeding asap that is a last resort and even then it is real risky, id get the basking spot up to 100 degrees celsius maybe even 110. if still eating mice i wouldnt worry to much about the fruit till later.

 

[crimsonrazac]

i would stop force feeding asap that is a last resort and even then it is real risky, id get the basking spot up to 100 degrees celsius maybe even 110. if still eating mice i wouldnt worry to much about the fruit till later.

I really do hope you mean fahrenheit... the temps you said are 210-230 fahrenheit lol... Don't wanna boil the tegu :| Try 37-43 celcius basking spot (surface temp)

 

[argus333]

woops sorry Fahrenheit

 

[crimsonrazac]

woops sorry Fahrenheit

thought so :lol:

 

[ashesc212]

Tegus are more carnivorous than anything else in my opinion. My blue doesn't eat veggies and will only eat grapes for fruit.

Try raw ground turkey, cooked scrambled eggs, chicken hearts (cut up), stuff like that.

 

[DaveDragon]

How old is she?? She sounds young. She definitely should eat more than 1 mouse per week. Do you warm the mouse in hot water? You could try putting some egg on it. Also try raw ground turkey. If she is under 1 year old she should eat every day, as much as she wants. Fruit is mostly water, I definitely wouldn't force fruit. She needs protein to grow. When she starts to eat better you can finely chop up some fruit and mix it in her turkey.

 

[GunnasGal]

shes about 3 now so shes not a baby (i got her from a college who couldn't keep her anymore not 100% sure of her age), she eats the mice fine its just the veg but i will try feeding her others like the turkey and chicken stuff i'll keep you posted cheers. i have lost the cable to put pics on my computer but will try to get some up lol

 

[DaveDragon]

How long/heavy is she?? At 3 she should be at least 3.5 feet long and 5 lbs. She should be able to eat a small rat at that size (once a week) and then raw ground turkey, tilapia (fish) with some fruit, fed every other day. Ours like strawberries & blueberries.

 

[GunnasGal]

shes only about 2 and a half feet long i gave her corn and raspberry last night and she ate the raspberry yay i finally found something she eat on her own! she didn't really like the corn she tried it but spat it out but at least she ate something. i turned her temp up a bit during the day too so she is at max temp wich is 38c that may have helped so cheers and ill keep u posted still havent found my cable to put pics up tho lol

 

[DaveDragon]

2.5 feet is very small for an adult Tegu. Don't push the fruit much, it's good that she'll eat some, but she needs protein, especially if she's underweight. Mice, turkey, etc. Add 1 tablespoon of cod liver out to 1 pound of raw ground turkey in a zip lock bag and moosh it around to mix it. That add some calcium & vitamins. You can finely chop the fruit and add it to the turkey when you serve it. Mice are still a better choice, it's a complete food package.

 

[ashesc212]

shes only about 2 and a half feet long i gave her corn and raspberry last night and she ate the raspberry yay i finally found something she eat on her own! she didn't really like the corn she tried it but spat it out but at least she ate something. i turned her temp up a bit during the day too so she is at max temp wich is 38c that may have helped so cheers and ill keep u posted still havent found my cable to put pics up tho lol

hey there,

not to be harsh but corn really doesn't have much nutritional value for even humans, let alone tegus. You really need to feed a carnivore's protein diet. That is their primary need. Dave has provided you with good advice; you should try that stuff too.

 

[GunnasGal]

i no shes small i thought that and also said that when i took her from the college a few months ago she has a dodgy tail as a result of being with the college but other than that she is good in herself i have had her checked over by a vet and he seems to think she is fine, its just the fact she want eating properly and looks to me like she was under weight especially seeings as i have seen pics of others and they seems much bigger and fatter than her. i will try her on more meat im going to try her on the turkey and cod liver tonight i think.. rather than her mouse but if shes not interested then the mouse is ready and waiting.

 

[GunnasGal]

hey there,

not to be harsh but corn really doesn't have much nutritional value for even humans, let alone tegus. You really need to feed a carnivore's protein diet. That is their primary need. Dave has provided you with good advice; you should try that stuff too.[/quote]

i dont think thats a harsh thing to point out actually, i didnt really think that there wasn't much nutritional value in corn :doh but hey i've learnt something new cheers for pointing that out not that i'll try it again seeings as she spat it out and didnt eat it any more :lol:

 

[one f]

I have a B&w argentine tegu about 9 months olds that ate very well up until 3 days ago. Just wondering if anyone thinks he is starting hibernation? I do keep him warm temp in cage is constant at 90-97 degrees ang at night 80-85. He burries himself everyday but than comes out so I'm not sure. I'm new to the site so I didn't mean to but in someones topic. Thanks