New Red, Pearl

[SnakeCharmr728]

So I picked up my girl yesterday! After waiting 2 weeks.
The previous owner was keeping her in a 4x2 cage, feeding her bologna and steak and only had her with an 85 degree basking spot. They told me all about how they let her swim in their pool with their children, ugh!
I am shocked that she is in as good as condition as she is... She does have a cut toe, looks to be about 2 layers of stuck shed and some signs of MBD and her nails were no joke! like 1.5inch long,curling under I couldnt believe it. She is SEVERELY undersized for her age (roughly between 3-4yrs old) shes the size of a yearling.

Her History: Found this girl on for sale on a local reptile fb group, listed an a "golden tegu male" After speaking with her owner for over an hour trying to convince her, that it is not a golden tegu but an argentine red, I even sent her cross reference photos, articles, sent her to both tegu forums, explained how to feel for "buttons" the whole sha-bang, she was DEAD set that she was right and I was wrong and that it was "golden" and a male... Only after SEVERAL people told her the exact same thing that I had did she apologize and realize I was right. I also learned the she adopted the tegu from a local "rescue" (non-registered "flipper" type of rescue) who was the one that gave her all this info... I then spoke to the "Rescue" because I wanted more background on the tegu and indeed the lady that runs this "rescue" straight up argued with me as well.... pretty sad that a "rescue" can't bother to research an animal that they take in to at least properly identify it. So shes mine, she needs a good home.

Heres some pics of her free-roaming with my other female, they did great for the first half hour and then they got into a little spat and my bigger female grabbed her, luckily I was right there.... I would like eventually house them together but time will tell if they allow that.

 

[HeatherN]

shes beautiful for being miskept so long. hell, shes beautiful even for a well kept tegu!

 

[SnakeCharmr728]

Yes she is!!! Ive always been more of a fan of the high contrast reds but I think shes beautiful with her peachy tones! Shes very light colored! I thought the name Pearl suited her well.

 

[james.w]

No quarantine??

 

[chriswizz]

she is a gorgeous girl, shame she had a bad start in life.

 

[SnakeCharmr728]

Ive had her a week now and she is JUST now coming out to bask, shes been buried this entire time. Only time Ive been taking her out is to soak her because she has stuck sheds that are cracking in the bends of her arms and legs and leaving it raw, any suggestions as to if I should apply any silvadene cream to it or just leave it be and see how it does? I've offered her food everyday which she has refused until yesterday. She probably didn't know what real food was. I got her to take 2 f/t hopper mice but had to cut them open and make them "jump" to get her attention and then she very slowly ate them almost as if she has a stiff jaw from MBD. She definitely has MBD, she has tail kinks, very bendy/broken toes, she doesnt stand up all the way and almost drags herself when she walks, and has very bad leg twitching/flicking. Shes getting calcium with every meal (which hasnt been much yet) shes under a MVB, and now that shes coming out more, I'm going to be putting her outside for a bit during the day for some real UV. Would adding more mice to her diet be beneficial due to the calcium, if so, how much? I usually only give mice/rats sparingly. Needless to say, its a long road ahead of us....
Any suggestions are welcome!

 

[laurarfl]

I would give mice/rats up to 3-4x week if she's twitching and even dust them. You can also get liquid calcium and dose her.

It wouldn't hurt to put Silvadene in her skin cracks. It might make the skin smoother and more comfortable, you know.

---

I know quarantine is best, but I have to admit that I didn't quarantine Chester when I got him from SnakeCharmer.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

No quarantine??

My thoughts exactly, with the condition she's in, her issues and knowing she didn't come from the best situation (so to speak) that's not a chance I would have taken.

As for the calcium I would skip the processed and go straight to it's natural source. Whole prey and meat with bones in it like chicken or turkey necks, backs or what ever for meaty meals.

 

[SnakeCharmr728]

Yea, I know the rules of quarantine but I honestly don't worry about it as much with tegus as I would with boas and pythons.
But with her she is in another room right now, and she hasn't free roamed since that first night simply because shes been buried.

Thanks Laura, I'll do that.

 

[ReptileGuy]

Her face is just so precious!! Its kian from facebook

 

[TegusRawsome80]

Although quarantine is always good, they are very few if any deadly diseases that I know of that tegus can transmit to each other. With boas and pythons, there is IBD and snake mites to worry about. Although snake mites are normally not deadly, they can be and are transmitted by snakes, not lizards. I don't think that a brief introduction is going to hurt anything, although quarantine is important. I would say the risk was low.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

Just because you don't know of any, doesn't mean they don't exist so why be the first to find out. Quarantine is a preventative measure for just that, better safe than sorry. Since what may be just an infection for one animal can mean death for another depending on their health and immune system.

It's in the first post that the bigger female grabbed the new tegu, that situation in it's self could have gone all sorts of wrong luckily it didn't. But if it was the other way around and the new tegu got a hold of the other, there's no telling what she could be carrying, in her saliva from a mouth infection or what ever that could have been transmitted.

Skin and respiratory infections are easily transmitted from one to the other, with or with out contact. What may be easy for one to fight off and deal with may not be the same for the other one.

So why risk it,... quarantine new pets. It can save you a lot more money and grief in the end. At least then you only have one infected animal as opposed to how ever many it came into close proximity or contact with.

 

[SnakeCharmr728]

Ok. I didn't intend for this to be a debate about quarantine. I wanted suggestions and advice, not to be hounded about roughly 30 kind spent together. If anyone has words of encouragement or advice on getting this girl to optimal shape please share but anymore guaranteen comments please leave out. Im aware of the risk and perhaps it was a lapse in judgement but they are no where near eachother anymore.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

It's not a debate as usual I gave suggestions and advice, not just about quarantine either. But it is what it is and all too often I see old and new members on here get new pets with out quarantining them, which is their decision. I'm just adding that quarantine for new pets should be a more common practice no matter what kind of animal it is.

For those that see this and might think other wise, well some will do that anyway but at least the info is out there.

 

[SnakeCharmr728]

I do thank you for your input Bubblz