Hello!

[ccole93]

Hi! My name is Cate and I'm the proud mama of a baby Argentine B&W. I just got him in the mail yesterday. He's really docile; not particularly friendly, but he doesn't hiss or snap.

He was really dehydrated out of the box so I soaked him, sprayed him with some water and gave him a bowl to drink from. He still looks a bit thirsty so I'm soaking him again in a bit. He also looks really freaking thin. I don't know if it's me, but his spine stands out a bit when he's on his feet. I gave him a ton of food today which he was more than happy to eat and he looks a little pudgier. Should I keep fattening him up?

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

Welcome to the site and congrats on the new addition.

It's definitely under weight and dehydrated. Who or where did you get it from? With proper care and nutrition if there's nothing else going on health wise it should recover and begin to put on weight.
But a vet check and fecals would help rule out any other possible causes for it's condition.

Check out the Tegu Articles section of the forum, there's lot of need to know info over there starting with this food thread.

http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=6452

 

[KABIKANO]

Here's an good saying monitor owners go by that kan pertain to tegus as well;
"KEEP 'EM HOT, FEED 'EM A LOT!"

 

[ccole93]

Thank you! I got it from a woman off Fauna and I'm guessing she got rid of him because she was ignoring him. I'll keep fattening him up. I thought he looked thin but I didn't want to make him fat by accident. I'm gonna call the vet Monday morning and see if anything's wrong.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

Did you see pics before you got it and were they recent?

 

[ccole93]

She had a video of him when he had lost his tail, which was a few weeks prior. I'm not mad or anything; he was cheap, so I wasn't expecting perfection, but I'm glad I know to feed him a lot.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

For animals that are emaciated (under weight and dehydrated) to that extent small meals more often are recommended over letting them gorge themselves. So that you don't send them into shock plus it gives you time to make sure they're digesting properly and no organs are shutting down. Instead of pumping alot of food into them at once with out knowing if they're able to break it down or pass it.

For now ground meaty meals would work best unless you don't mind mincing up some pinkies. Nothing too heavy that would take more time, energy and fluids from the body for it to break down and digest.

 

[ccole93]

Gotcha. I rolled some ground turkey with minced parsley and peppers-- should those be okay? They're like little meatballs. I took him out again and he explored a bit before curling up next to me. I'm hoping this means he's just sleepy and not feeling ill...

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

Right now it'll do more sleeping and basking than anything else just to conserve energy and process what it just ate. I would skip the peppers and go with some thing more basic for now. Something more along the lines of a little ground meat or pinkie slurry mixed with baby food and plain pedialyte.

After the crash course I had with my first tegu, when she went down hill after I got her I also keep Fluckers Reptaid Boost around now. Just recently Korben wasn't eating much or that active when I got him, but not under weight or anything like some imports can be. But for my own piece of mind I added some of the fluckers to his first few meals until he perked up.

http://www.amazon.com/Fluker%60s-Repta-Insectivore-Carnivore-Emergency/sim/B001EUI246/2

 

[ccole93]

Alright, thanks a lot! It's nice having forums like these to get advice from experienced people. I hope the little guy is gonna be okay.

---

Sorry to DP but I emailed the original breeder. The tegu was purchased August 2nd so it's definitely captive bred (thank god) and the guy is appalled at how thin he's gotten. I know he's a good guy with healthy reptiles. It must be awful to know people aren't caring for your animals properly. :/

 

[Rodney]

Sounds like your doing a good job fixing other owners mistakes though, keep it up!