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Tegu won't eat
- Thread starter Johnny300
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Give him time its only been 3 days, if his temps, lighting and humidity is good he'll eventually start eating once he's acclimated to his surrounding
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3 days is not bad. It takes some time to get used to the new home and you. Also, if he was hibernating before you got him they take awhile to get back into the routine. Things like temps and humidity can affect appetite I believe. Niles seems to really like to warm up before he gets hungry. Make sure plenty of fresh water is available. This is more important than the food. Things you can try, which I learned from dubya on this forum, are egg yolks at first, then chicken dipped in egg yolk. Make sure to put calcium on it too. Laura, a moderator on here, has been feeding a new aquisition of hers dusted pinkies. You can try either. Also, i have noticed since niles has come out of hibernation he won't eat from his dish. I have to put the dish of yolk right under his nose and actually hand feed the dipped chicken to him with tongs. Keep trying different things. And do not worry because even before niles went down for hibernation he was averaging a good meal every third day. He just didn't feel hungry every day. And that is fine. Each animal is different. Hope this helped and good luck 
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- Central FL
Do you have some more background about age, size, when you purchased, where, etc.
psychocircus91
Member
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If it is spring where you are and you purchased him from somewhere where it is spring, then I'd imagine you'd be safe leaving the basking lights on for a full cycle (10-14 hours), but perhaps someone else will chime in.
psychocircus91
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Johnny300 said:
what makes you think he's going to die? I've had mine or eight days now and he hasn't eaten.
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Wait...that looks columbian, right? I thought columbians don't normally hibernate(?)
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- Location
- Central FL
That is a T teguixin (Colombian) and they do not hibernate. However, they are easily stressed by change. So if you just bought him, plus he was shipped because he's imported, etc, he has likely had a tough time.
He looks pretty good. I would keep his temps consistently warm = cool side of >78, warm side 85-90, and a surface basking spot of 115ish. You can put two hides, one on the cool side and one on the warm side. They like it plenty humid, so that will help, too. If he is really nervous, cover three sides of his cage with some sort of paper so he isn't overwhelmed. I like to use black construction paper. You can gutload with greens and dust crickets with a good amount of calcium and see if he will eat them. He may be coming out when you are not around. And then just sort of avoid him for about a week and let him settle in. Some tegus you can handle right away, but if you have a nervous baby like that, let him adjust.
I don't think he's hibernating, but if the temps are too cold, he will be unnaturally inactive. And he doesn't look obviously sick. Keep us updated.
He looks pretty good. I would keep his temps consistently warm = cool side of >78, warm side 85-90, and a surface basking spot of 115ish. You can put two hides, one on the cool side and one on the warm side. They like it plenty humid, so that will help, too. If he is really nervous, cover three sides of his cage with some sort of paper so he isn't overwhelmed. I like to use black construction paper. You can gutload with greens and dust crickets with a good amount of calcium and see if he will eat them. He may be coming out when you are not around. And then just sort of avoid him for about a week and let him settle in. Some tegus you can handle right away, but if you have a nervous baby like that, let him adjust.
I don't think he's hibernating, but if the temps are too cold, he will be unnaturally inactive. And he doesn't look obviously sick. Keep us updated.
BatGirl1 said:
I wish I knew what kind of tegu he was.. Still kinda new to em. Did a lot of research though
laurarfl said:That is a T teguixin (Colombian) and they do not hibernate. However, they are easily stressed by change. So if you just bought him, plus he was shipped because he's imported, etc, he has likely had a tough time.
He looks pretty good. I would keep his temps consistently warm = cool side of >78, warm side 85-90, and a surface basking spot of 115ish. You can put two hides, one on the cool side and one on the warm side. They like it plenty humid, so that will help, too. If he is really nervous, cover three sides of his cage with some sort of paper so he isn't overwhelmed. I like to use black construction paper. You can gutload with greens and dust crickets with a good amount of calcium and see if he will eat them. He may be coming out when you are not around. And then just sort of avoid him for about a week and let him settle in. Some tegus you can handle right away, but if you have a nervous baby like that, let him adjust.
I don't think he's hibernating, but if the temps are too cold, he will be unnaturally inactive. And he doesn't look obviously sick. Keep us updated.
Is it good to feed him collard greens? I haven't tried yet.. Would reall like him to eat somethin. I bought crickets las night an didn't seem interested
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Feed the greens to the crickets then dust them with calcium powder she means. And yes. It is a columbian. So just keep temps up and yes they are more skittish and like to hide, so you need to be very patient. i have an argentine and even he has been taking time to get used to his new big house. And laura is a smart girl, so everything she said...
i have an argentine and even he has been taking time to get used to his new big house. And laura is a smart girl, so everything she said...
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I kept niles in a 40gal breeder because they are wider. He was 16in at purchase and 18in when began hibernation. I had a 6ftx3ftx3ft enclosure built in the meantime. He hibernated from oct to just recently... i woke him and resumed heat/uvb. Then after he stopped being so groggy put him into his big enclosure. Yours is columbian so they are 'generally ' smaller and although this is the case I would still suggest a 40breeder because most tanks, even at larger volume, are still not wide, and this gives the animal less walking space. You 'could ' even go with a nice big plastic tub of some kind as long as you modify a secure lid for heat and uvb light placement. But again very temporary. As I said, niles is 18in and I have transferred him to a 6ft enclosure. And those dimensions are the minimum that experienced keepers advise for a tegu to live comfortably. Hope this helps.
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Yes they can climb and jump and pick locks ;p but seriously they are smart and agile and need a secure locking lid. Some larger bins have locking sides and you could cut the center and replace middle with strong screen so you can put lights on top.
