7 month old issues

[Dazed and Confused]

Hi,

We got our tegu (Monster) at 8 weeks old. At 6 months old he was at the stage of enjoying attention but not begging for it, learning to not squirm when handled, potty trained and eating crickets, turkey and eggs.

At 7 months now, he refuses to sit with us, won't eat anything but turkey and won't sleep in his enclosure.

We just moved and I don't know if anyone has done this with a tegu this age but it seems like it's brought us back to square one.

He's in a 50 gal tank, basking 110, cool 80, ambient warm side 90, borrows on warm side no matter where I move light.

All I can do is set him up in a bedroom, he sleeps over a vent with a pillow ontop of him because I have a kitten he likes to wrestle with and wake him up in the morning, put him in his tank and he sleeps in his tank during the day.

Obviously we didnt let him hibernate so I don't know how long their brumation lasts but he's more inactive now since moving than he was in december, I have to make him get up to eat.

Anyways after that novel my question is, is he ok? Is he just being a drama queen or is something else going on?

Any tips to get him to enjoy coming out again? He has a beardie friend but even she doesn't seem to cut it for him right now. He used to love laying with her on heating pad on the couch but he doesn't seem to care anymore.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. If all we need is persiverence then it is what it is.

Thanks

 

[Rebecca Stout]

I think it's a combination of three things. First is the move. Who knows what is going on there. Other members might help. Second is tegus grow insanely fast. Especially at this age. And if you are not prepared for the next step and type of enclosure you are not going to like it. But it will be something you have to do asap and it is a necessity if you want him to be healthy. Other members will chime in because I'm not experienced enough to guide you through without freaking you out. 3rd is, humidity. What is his humidity? These animals must stay in a humid environment most of the day (and night I believe). Their bodies grow and function well at 70+. After those three major things, there is a host of other things to check... that other members will go over with you. But know that you have a whole array of things that are far off, and so the good news is with some adjustments you should have a whole new tegu.

 

[marydd]

I agree with what Rebecca said. I think there are some things that need to be changed. Bigger set up. Are you saying that the gu sleeps on a heater vent at night? If so that is something that needs to change. Please disregard if I misunderstood. But if that is the case, that is dry air coming out and it is not giving enough humidity. The gu should sleep in the enclosure at the correct humidity. Free roaming for long periods sounds good but it is not healthy. Moving is stressful on gu's dso that may take time.
Regarding the bearded dragon, you may not agree but they should not be allowed to interact. It is cute I must say, however the gu is bigger, it will only get bigger and the bearded will get hurt if the gu decided to be unfriendly. Just my advise. Hope your gu perks up. Keep us updated!

 

[Jackie & Hellboy]

I agree with above, and would like to add that I wouldn't let my cat near my gu's or vice versa, way too many things can go wrong. Same with the bearded dragon, no matter how social of creatures we are, tegus and bearded dragons are solitary and keeping them together will only stress them out as the best case scenario, worst case is you "lose" the beardie one day when the tegu is large enough to consume him.

With the cage you will need to build something along the lines of 8foot by 4foot by 3 foot, the idea isto have a basking spot up to 135-140, cool side no lower than 72-75, over 50% humidity on the HOT side (there will be a gradient of high to low humidity based on the hot or cool side of the cage), the best way to keep humidity correct is a deep soil based substrate, when I say deep I mean at lease 1.5 feet deep after it's been firmly packed down. Once these conditions are proper, feeding and everything else are cake walks. Also look up "bio active substrate" for monitor lizards and similar animals, it helps keep the smell neutral and uneaten food items are consumed before you notice them, poop is eaten before it dries (at least in my cage it does), the idea is that good bugs and bacteria live in the dirt and process nasty stuff out as naturally as possible. Now having said that you will need to remember that your cage must be well sealed to keep humidity and heat from escaping, many people use very small vents for air exchange but I dont, I just open the cages several times a day for air exchange.

It may seem like a ton of stuff but this is what these animals require and once you have everything set up properly it basically runs itself to an extent, you just add water if the soil dries up a bit as you don't want it dusty in there. I hope this helps.

 

[Rebecca Stout]

I dont want to freak you out. At the same time, I dont want you to be totally sucker punched with what is needed. Everyone here was helpful. They held my hand while I stressed uneccessarily so. But they also made sure I didnt mess up either.

 

[Rebecca Stout]

May I say once you set something up properly there is zero maintanaince other than adding moisture/water once in a while? I mean Its awesome. My lights are on a timer. Everything is self contained. There is nothing to do other than use a paper towel to pick up a poop here and there. Easiest dang pet Ive ever had. Hands down.