my first tegu and he won't eat...

[Guest]

Hi my name is Ellen and im new on this forum (im dutch.. so my english isnt great)

about 2 week ago i bought my first tegu, he has a big terra als lots of space. in my terra is a uv bulb and a spot.
the guy i bought him from said my tegu had to eat the day after i got him. when i tried to feed him he didn't eat a thing. in the last two week he has eaten half a egg and a small mouse (the is about 1.5 years old)..
i dont think he is going in hibernation, because he is very active and running around all day. what can it be? can it be he is stressed out?
he is also a very tame animal, i can just pick him up and pet him.. and then he goes walking around..
in really need some help

Gr Ellen

 

[Guest]

Dont worry this time of year they slow down[ brumate] Keep offering food when shes out .. I make my turkey look like pinkies he seems to pick them up better ..

 

[Guest]

I make my turkey look like pinkies he seems to pick them up better .

so do you sculpt them into little pinkie turkey sculptures? :chin

 

[Guest]

but she isnt going in hibernation?
i just got her.. i dont want her to go in to hibernation:S

 

[Guest]

try lots of different food (fish/meat/veggies/fruit! sometimes they just need a kick start, then they dont stop eating

 

[Guest]

Thanks!
ill just try everything i can find

 

[Guest]

Im getting al little stressed out...
i have tried everything.. and he smells and turns his head away..
is he really not going in to hibernation? or something else?

 

[Guest]

Ahhh you can lead a lizard to water but you cant make him drink . This is a bad time of year for new tegu owners as by all rights you think your tegu is dieing . Just keep the temps up and the humidity up and offer food . They seem to like pinkies best from what I can tell .. Dont put the calcium on the food till hes eating good ....And don`t sweat it .. We need to make little rubber molds that look like pinkies [Like wedding mint molds ] stuff your turkey and liver in them ...

 

[Orion]

Also you may want to try some live foods such as crickets,roaches, and super worms. One of my Tegus love to chase the bugs down and chomp them. It seems like hes get excited when things are moving.

 

[Guest]

:-D :-D :-D :-D
He ate two mice today.. im so Happy

 

[txrepgirl]

Hi Ellen. Congratulation on him eating the mice today . Since he is already that old he might not eat the crickets and worms. Are you feeding the food at room temps or right out of the fridge ( like the ground turkey, fruits ) ? Since you mentioned that he is walking around a lot he might not get enough UVA/UVB and heat from the basking light to get hungry. I would make him bask for a while and then feed him. If you want to try that I recommend giving him a bath after he ate. Most Tegus poop when they are in the water. This way you will not get a stinky surprise somewhere in your house .

 

[eddyjack]

txrepgirl you have got my attention with your question about food temperature! Do you feed at room temp. or right out of the fridge? For example, I got two mice yesterday and want to feed her one now, she got up a couple of hours ago, I let her bask then put her in the tub (where she loves to be) she pooped as usual and now I want her to eat a mouse that is just out of the fridge. My Tegu has completely changed her habits as of late. She is coming out much later in the day (if at all) and eating very little. She is however, still very chubby and acts very healthy.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Guest]

Hi txrepgirl!
Thanks for youre congrats!!
I always feed al kinds of food at room temp, he really hates cold food. I gave him a new warmer basking light, and it worked. I think that was the problem, i hope he will keep op eating with this new lamp.
thanks for the bathing tip, im really going to try that;-)

ps. everyone is talking about ground turkey, but they dont sell ground turkey in hollandxD

 

[Guest]

Chicken what ever .. Ground turkey is just extremely available over here and cheap .. It dosn`t have to be ground just cut it up real small .. Or buy a small cheap grinder. Look under home meat grinder .. I wonder what they think of tulip bulbs ??

 

[Guest]

haha i can always try the tulip bulbs.. loads of them over here
but turkey is very expensive over here, id rather try the ground bovine.

 

[Guest]

Well if that`s any thing like a cow it should work ... How about fish ??? liver ??

 

[Guest]

Bovine = cow.

 

[Guest]

Cowboys =bovine boys ??

 

[eddyjack]

HEY NOW! Easy on the "Cowboy's" or "Bovine Male's"!

 

[Guest]

Hey hey hey, I got nothin' but love for cowboys... *puurrrrrr*