B/W Tegu Cod Liver Oil Questions-New Tegu Owner

[timmah]

First off I want to say hello, I just got my B/W Arg Tegu today and I went to Walmart to get Cod Liver Oil and this is all they have: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10423738#ProductDetail" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... ductDetail</a><!-- m -->

Everything looks right, but it has orange flavoring, would it still be safe or should I just order some 100% natural stuff off Ebay?

The Tegu is not very old, so how much of this should I give him. I read on another post that a tablespoon for large ones but I never seen anything on babies.

The humidity is really low around here(30-40) so I keep the cage sprayed frequenly and I covererd the top with platic to keep whatever I can in. That raised it to around 60%, but I think I still need more. I am going to put some reptile moss in his hide to provide even more. I have a wood step-up to get close to the Solar Glo bulb if he wishes. The top of the step-up gets about 105-110, the rest of the cage stays at around 80.

Does that sound good? any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Zilch]

I can't say 100%, I doubt the orange flavoring would be harmful (though I've heard citrus fruits should be avoided due to the acid content), but I'd keep looking for real unflavored cod liver oil, who knows what goes into the artificial flavoring and it might over-time have an undesired effect.

As for the humidity and lighting, keep up the spraying to keep the humidity up, and just as a warning I've heard less than awesome things about Solar-Glo bulbs, I'd switch to a Powersun or MegaRay ASAP.

 

[obsessedwithserpents]

i wouldnt know but would like to see the lil guy and the cage

 

[timmah]

Oh that really sucks, I have 5 beareded dragons and I use solar glo's for all of them. Never had a problem with them to be honest. I am using the professional series line.

 

[timmah]

Just so were on the same page this is what I have, only mines Professional Series

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Exo-Terra-Solar-Glo-125w-Mercury-Vapor-Bulb-UVB-HEAT_W0QQitemZ300352958274QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45ee6e6f42&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://cgi.ebay.com/Exo-Terra-Solar-Glo ... .m20.l1116</a><!-- m -->

 

[Zilch]

I'm not sure what the difference is between the normal and the pro series, but I've read a number of things (on these forums actually) about tegus developing the leg twitch under Solar Glo lights. This doesn't mean they're all bad, they might have just had a poorly manufactured one, but Powersun and MegaRay are highly regarded as the best in MVB bulbs.

 

[timmah]

Hmm, well thats interesting. not sure how they would get a leg twitch from that, but im not an expert at this stuff.

Here are some pics

I took the plastic I had on there off and I am going to redo it some.

 

[Zilch]

The leg twitch is the first sign tegus exhibit of MBD.

 

[timmah]

Well i might just invest in a powersun then, I see two different kinds on ebay one that has heat added and one that just says UV vapor bulb. Which one is preferable?

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Zoo-Med-Powersun-UV-Vapor-Lamp-160W_W0QQitemZ180411980201QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a016459a9&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://cgi.ebay.com/Zoo-Med-Powersun-UV ... .m20.l1116</a><!-- m -->


<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Zoo-Med-Powersun-UV-Lamp-160w_W0QQitemZ170374246738QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item27ab18b152&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Zoo-Med-Powersu ... .m20.l1116</a><!-- m -->

 

[chuckwalla]

I use a Rep Pro 60 watt UVB right now, when it get cooler, I plan on switching to a 100 watt. Has anyone heard anything about this brand? Thanks.

 

[kschlunegger]

I thought mine had a leg twitch too. However, I see you have the same bricks that I have in my cage. Does the "twitch" only happen when he is on the bricks? Mine did, and I found out that it is his little toe nails getting stuck in the pores of the brick. So he "twitches" it a little to break loose and get his leg forward. It is funny now that I know what it is. Put him on some tile and see if it happens then.

Just a thought, Kyle

 

[timmah]

OK, what if I just keep the Solar Glo and add a Zoomed 5.0 uvb strip florescent light. Will that be fine? I am moving him to a 50 gallon long when I move to my other house in November.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Zoo-Med-Reptisun-UVB-5-0-Light-18in_W0QQitemZ200387719044QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2ea809ef84&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://cgi.ebay.com/Zoo-Med-Reptisun-UV ... .m20.l1116</a><!-- m -->

 

[timmah]

anyone? input?

 

[PuffDragon]

My first suggestion is don't buy any lights off ebay. While you may get a better price you don't know the quality or burn time of the lights. They may have been used before and lost beneficial UVB production.

I recommend a 10.0 bulb over 5.0 secondly.

While, I have never used a solar glo, in my opinion they just seem like poor quality. However, I have looked them over in person but never plugged one in.

I recommend reptileuv.com for mercury vapor bulbs hands down. If you need the convenience of shipping to your door these guys the the way to go.

As far as the enclosure, 50 gallon will only cut it for about 2 months tops. If you plan to hibernate your tegu you might be able to get away with it but if not you need to upgrade big and fast.

 

[timmah]

Should I just go with the 160 watters then since he grows so fast, and If i get this should I still go with the 10.0 strip?

 

[Zilch]

If you go with a MegaRay from reptileuv.com you won't need a strip light, as the MVB bulb provides all the necessary UV light. As for wattage it depends on the size of your enclosure, if your current bulb wattage is close to the 160w you should go for the 160w and recheck your temps, you might have to adjust basking heights if it's too high or too low.

 

[Quijibo]

I use this:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.walgreens.com/store/catalog/Supplements/Cod-Liver-Oil/ID=prod3017160&navCount=0&navAction=push-product" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.walgreens.com/store/catalog/ ... sh-product</a><!-- m -->

A megaray, and Zoo Med no D3.

Jango's growing like a weed.

 

[timmah]

Any chance you could post a pic of Jangos enclosure. I am really debaiting where to place this stuff. I posted my setup, does that look ok? I am using a Solor Glo 125 Watt atm. It just frustrates me that I have the same type of bulb as megaray, but people say its such less of quality.

 

[Quijibo]

I started with 2 hides. One on the warm end with an undertank heater under part of the hide, the other on the cool end. While I would see him in the cool end of his enclosure (75-80 deg), he never used the hide. He would sleep in the cooler end of his warm hide so I took the cool hide out. Right now, his hide is a litter box with 1" thick concrete squares on top. His basking light is on part of the squares but doesn't really heat his hide. His cage is never below 70 deg, even at night. His warm end is usually 80-85, his basking area is much warmer. When the warm end of his cage gets above 85, he tends to spend more time in the cool end so I try to keep it about 80.

His permanent enclosure is being built as we speak, so I get to start experimenting all over. Yay.

 

[timmah]

Can anyone explain exactly what this whole D3 situation is, i have read so many post thats says with, without, with, with , without, it is really fun reading but I need a sensable answer