New baby tegu won't come out of hide and has covered up entrance of burrow

Talon1992 · Dec 4, 2016

Hello everyone, I'm new here and I have a few questions about my baby tegu. He arrived four days ago from Florida, and I live in Southern California. He was happy and healthy when he got here, and seems to really enjoy his new accommodations. The next morning though I saw that he had covered the entrance of his hide, and I haven't seen himsince. Nighttime temperatures don't get below 80, and he has a basking area of about 110. he hasn't eaten yet and that concerns me. Although I have a read that it's normal for new tegu to stay hidden away for a few days, I'm still worried. I also read that it's very bad to dig them up as that causes trust issues. Any advice?

Walter1 · Dec 4, 2016

Talon1992 said:
Hello everyone, I'm new here and I have a few questions about my baby tegu. He arrive four days ago from Florida, and I live in Southern California. He was happy and healthy when he got here, and seems to really enjoy his new accommodations. The next morning though I saw that he had covered the entrance of his hide, and I haven't seen himsince. Nighttime temperatures don't get below 80, and he has a basking area of about 110. he hasn't yet and that concerns me. Although I have a read that it's normal for new tag use to stay hidden away for a few days, I'm still worried. Any advice?

Other than a hide box at mid-70s for reliefe, basking of 110-115 and ambient grading to 80s, I wouldn't worry. Might also be slowing down for thecwinter.

Talon1992 · Dec 4, 2016

Walter1 said:
Other than a hide box at mid-70s for reliefe, basking of 110-115 and ambient grading to 80s, I wouldn't worry. Might also be slowing down for thecwinter.

Thank you very much! I'm just worried that he hasn't eaten anything. It's also too warm to hibernate right?

Walter1 · Dec 4, 2016

Talon1992 said:
Thank you very much! I'm just worried that he hasn't eaten anything. It's also too warm to hibernate right?

Well, daylength dictates it generally, and temp affects it more specifically.

Talon1992 · Dec 4, 2016

Thanks again! Sounds like I'll just give him a few more days and see what happens

beantickler · Dec 4, 2016

Dont worry just yet... Mine comes and goes... If he is hungry he will come out and eat... just offer small amounts of food and water daily... Give him time to adapt to his new home and all will work out in the end...

Talon1992 · Dec 4, 2016

beantickler said:
Dont worry just yet... Mine comes and goes... If he is hungry he will come out and eat... just offer small amounts of food and water daily... Give him time to adapt to his new home and all will work out in the end...

Thanks for the advice! How do you offer yours food? I remember reading that babies should be fed in separate containers so you don't risk impaction from ingesting substrate (I actually lost a leopard gecko that way years ago). Also if you don't mind me asking after how long do you think I should be worried? Sorry about all the questions!

beantickler · Dec 4, 2016

Talon1992 said:
Thanks for the advice! How do you offer yours food? I remember reading that babies should be fed in separate containers so you don't risk impaction from ingesting substrate (I actually lost a leopard gecko that way years ago). Also if you don't mind me asking after how long do you think I should be worried? Sorry about all the questions!

I have a 10.5ft long enclosure so not all has cypress mulch... i put his food on a large plate and he eats whenever he feels like it. Also... its not just when young you have to worry about impaction... They can swallow substrate at any given time in there life... gotta just figure out the best method for your exact setup...

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

beantickler · Dec 4, 2016

Oh and length of time you asked... haha well mine just went through about a 2 month nappy with no food... He is happy and healthy now that he's awake again... they r very resilient lizards...

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Talon1992 · Dec 4, 2016

beantickler said:
Oh and length of time you asked... haha well mine just went through about a 2 month nappy with no food... He is happy and healthy now that he's awake again... they r very resilient lizards...

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Well that definitely makes me feel a lot better! I really appreciate it. If you don't mind me asking what kind of food do you leave out? Raw meat, eggs, fruit? And for how long? (Id imagine meat sitting out for a while wouldn't be good). Sorry again for all the questions!

beantickler · Dec 4, 2016

Talon1992 said:
Well that definitely makes me feel a lot better! I really appreciate it. If you don't mind me asking what kind of food do you leave out? Raw meat, eggs, fruit? And for how long? (Id imagine meat sitting out for a while wouldn't be good). Sorry again for all the questions!

Half a day... I used to put food in around 930am and remove by 8pm... I use raw ground turkey, cut up fish and a mix of berries and fruits... Calcium powder and some cod liver oil. Eggs are good but I never got around to trying them much yet.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

beantickler · Dec 4, 2016

Also a reptiles digestive system is much different than ours... they r scavengers and will eat things that have been laying around dead for a day or 2... im not saying to leave food for a week by any means but 12 or so hours isn't gonna hurt it...

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Talon1992 · Dec 4, 2016

beantickler said:
Also a reptiles digestive system is much different than ours... they r scavengers and will eat things that have been laying around dead for a day or 2... im not saying to leave food for a week by any means but 12 or so hours isn't gonna hurt it...

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Thank you again for all the help. I really appreciate it and I know my tegu does as well!

Walter1 · Dec 4, 2016

Talon1992 said:
Thank you again for all the help. I really appreciate it and I know my tegu does as well!

Maintain updates.

Talon1992 · Dec 4, 2016

Walter1 said:
Maintain updates.

How do you mean? Should I post to this thread when he comes out? Or did I misunderstand haha

Walter1 · Dec 5, 2016

Talon1992 said:
How do you mean? Should I post to this thread when he comes out? Or did I misunderstand haha

Post to this thread. Will be easier to follow how things are coming along if you'd like.

beantickler · Dec 5, 2016

Ya this is a good thread to update... I wanna see pix of the enclosure sit up too...

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Talon1992 · Dec 5, 2016

Sounds good! I'll post some pictures later tonight!

Talon1992 · Dec 6, 2016

Talon1992 · Dec 7, 2016

beantickler said:
Ya this is a good thread to update... I wanna see pix of the enclosure sit up too...

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Pics are up! sorry about the delay in posting. there is also a small heating pad on the left wall on the enclosure

New baby tegu won't come out of hide and has covered up entrance of burrow

New Member

Moderator

New Member

Moderator

New Member

Active Member

New Member

Active Member

Active Member

New Member

Active Member

Active Member

New Member

Moderator

New Member

Moderator

Active Member

New Member

New Member

New Member

Share this page

Forum statistics