Did I push him too far?

[Matt0925]

Since the day I received my Extreme last year, he has been very skittish. After coming out of hibernation about a month or so ago, I really have been working on calming him down around me. He was to the point that I could put my hand in, he would look at it for a second and then climb onto my hand, never me scooping him up though, that he did not like. We did this for a few days, then I decided this past Sunday it was time to start taking him out and feeding in a bin. So, early afternoon I take him out of the cage since the first day I had him. I put him in the bin, carried him to the bathroom and let him explore for a bit. He really just sat there, I imagin he was pretty nervous.

I brought him back to his cage after that and put him back. He went to his hide and hung out there for a while. Later on that day I figured I would go ahead and feed him. So while he was basking I reached in and he climbed right onto my hand. I pu him in the bin with the food and let him just hang out for about 20 minutes. He never ate, but seemed to just walk around, looking for a way out. I put him back in his cage, then he dug under the mulch. As of last night, he was still in the same spot, 100% burried. As of tonight he has moved, but is burried again. He now has not eaten since Saturday night.

I'm not too worried about the food part, but the fact that he has not come out in three days has me a bit worried. Am I overly worried? The past few days I have gone ahead and fed him in his cage, just to try and coax him out, but it has not worked. Any thoughts for me? Do I just wait it out? Once he does come back out, should I wait a while before trying the bin feeding again? Thanks for any help!

 

[tommyboy]

I think you are just being an overly concerned perent. I've been there many times myself. They can definitely have erratic behavior especially just after hibernation. I don't think you did anything to push him too far. How are the temps in his enclosure?
I have an extreme from last year also. How big is your guy now? have any pictures you can post for us?

 

[Matt0925]

Tommyboy, thank you for the reply. Thats what I'm really hoping it is, just me being overly worried. As for temps, the cool side tends to be about 75* to 80*, depending on room temp. The warm side the past couple days has been reaching about 95*. He has dug out under his hide, which holds up his basking rock so everything has sunk down. I need to add a bit more mulch under it to raise it up again so the temp gets a bit higher. Once he is in his final cage the plan is to make it so the basking rock will not be able to move around much. Everything considered, until Sunday he was eating like a champ. I cant believe how much food this guy can eat. And the rate he is growing!

He is about 2' long now and growing quick. I haven't gotten a tape measure up to him, but he is about half as long as his cage now, which is a standard 75 gal. How big is your guy?

I have attached some pics that I have taken over the last couple of weeks. They are cell pics, but I think they turned out ok. I love the colors his is developing. Each shed he gets whiter and whiter.

Edit- Is there a way to make the pics visable without clicking them? I know I can use photobucket, but I was hoping just to attach them here.

 

[tommyboy]

Wow he looks amazing! The 5th picks awesome, I love the white. Mine is right about the same size and eating like crazy also. Getting whiter and whiter with every shed. It seems like he has doubled his size since waking from a long hibernation. it sounds like you might be needing at larger enclosure pretty soon if he keeps eating like that! Did your guy hibernate this year?
I'm not 100% on making he pics visible. There are threads on here about it...try searching. When I post pics they show up small at the bottom but still need to be "clicked" to enlarge them.

 

[m3s4]

That's a dope looking juvie...Awesome coloration.

Like tommyboy mentioned, that 5th pic really shows off his colors.

He looks a little plump, and I mean that in a good way haha.

 

[Matt0925]

Wow he looks amazing! The 5th picks awesome, I love the white. Mine is right about the same size and eating like crazy also. Getting whiter and whiter with every shed. It seems like he has doubled his size since waking from a long hibernation. it sounds like you might be needing at larger enclosure pretty soon if he keeps eating like that! Did your guy hibernate this year?
I'm not 100% on making he pics visible. There are threads on here about it...try searching. When I post pics they show up small at the bottom but still need to be "clicked" to enlarge them.

Tommyboy, thanks for the compliments! He is very white in that last pic. In person he is close to that color, but I dont think he is quite that white. The way he is going however he will be there soon enough. My fiance and I really wanted a bright, white tegu, so he is working out perfectly for us.

Yes, he is outgrowing this cage very quick. What are you keeping your little one in? We are in the process of buying a house at the moment. I am really hoping to have a house before I have to upgrade his cage, but at this point I'm not sure if we will make it or not. It would stink to have to make (and pay for) another temporary cage, just to have to build his full size one a couple months down the road. If it comes to that, the horse trough idea seems pretty good. He did hibernate, he went down pretty early, begining of September if I remember correctly. One day he went down and that was it. I didnt see him until about a month ago. As a first time owner I was very relieved to see him basking one day after work. How about yours?

That's a dope looking juvie...Awesome coloration.

Like tommyboy mentioned, that 5th pic really shows off his colors.

He looks a little plump, and I mean that in a good way haha.

Thanks! I am very happy with him. He is a little fat boy right now. I figure at the rate he is growing he needs it lol.



Some good news for tonight. One of two things lured him out. It was either me digging around in his mulch on the other side of his cage to raise up his basking rock (Got his temps up some, so thats good), or it was the smell of hard boiled eggs. In any case, he came out, basked for a few and then ate a bit of egg. Now he is acting like nothing has happened. Crazy little criter, giving me a heart attack for now reason. Thank you for the imput, seems I was just being overly worried.

 

[tommyboy]

Mine went down mid September and was up at the same time as yours. I definitely missed him, but I do have 2 others that didn't go down this year to keep my mind off of it.
I was lucky enough to pick up a 6x3 enclosure from a friend that he just loves and spends countless hours exploring. He was in a 40 gallon breeder during his down time, and since he has been in the larger enclosure his personality has gotten even better than it was. He really seems to enjoy having all that space.
Best of luck with the house search. When I bought my first house, I was always looking for one with that "extra" room for the animals. Now I might need a few extra rooms!

 

[Matt0925]

Yeah, the house search has turned into a pain in the butt. There is not much on the market right now in our price range that is in decent shape. On top of the need for a giant tegu cage, I also have a 330 gallon fish tank I plan to set up, so I really need a basement lol.


Good news tonight however. He crawled right up onto my hand tonight. When I tried to lower him into the bin, I could tell that he didnt want to. After about 5 minutes of walking around, looking a bit scared he decided to eat a bit. Few bites later he decided it was time to poo. After that I brought him back to his cage to avoid him crawling though it. I see why people give their tegus a soak before letting them roam.