how to fix the bedding?what should I use?

squirrel

I was given a b/w i've had him a year.He has a blanket and I have carpet down.In also have some fake plants.I feed him scramled eggs,boiled and sweet potatoes baby food.He has lived like that over a year he is 17in and I would like info on what I should do to make him happy and healthy,Squirrel

Brisamen · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 9:29 am Post subject:

Dont you feed him any kind of meat?
And I hope you dont meen carpet like were having on the floor...that could cost him his toes if he ever got cought in it...
What you should do to make him happy and above all healthy..if its not to late, is to read up on tegu diet.
You dont give that kind of food as staple diet to a tegu. It needs his calcium which he gets out of bones from rodents, eggshell and a special dusting you buy in reptile shops. And B&W's if you are sure its a B&W and not a colombian black tegu which look much the same but are a completly different breed, their diets concists mostly out of meat. Some will eat fruits and vedgetables but mainly it should eat rodents or ground turkey. And like with all diets a diet with veriaty is always better then giving him the same every single day.
For bedding he should have a substrate that holds moisture like bedabeast or mulch which you buy at a reptile shop or garden materials shop.
I hope you do have the proper heating and UV lamp?
Seriously if you do not have the proper set up and proper diet for your tegu it will cost him his health and maybe even his life.

For determening if you have a colombian black or a argentine B&W go HERE
For a caresheet on your tegu go HERE
And on the last page you can also find the diet info.

Please keep us posted and feel free to ask questions!
_________________
1.0.0 T.rufescens
0.1.0 T.merianae
1.0.0 Testudo horsfieldii
1.0.0 Stenodactylus sthenodactylus
0.0.1 Ceratophrys ornata
0.0.1 Geocholone elegans
0.0.1 Python regius
2.0.0 Mustela Putorius Furo
0.1.0 Bouvier des flandres

John · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 10:15 am Post subject:

Get him on some mulch! They love it! Make sure that the tegu will be able to completely burry itself. Run to the pet store get a bunch of mice and let him go to town. Sounds like he has stunted growth as 17inches and a year is VERY small! Please do some serious reading!
_________________
John Light
http://www.jlexotics.com/

Brisamen · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 10:36 am Post subject:

Yes John is right! If its a male could be well over twice the size he is now if he had gotten the proper care and food. (had to convert inch to CM we dont use inches over here, so thats why I did not comment on that in me preveage post)
Our B&W is 12 weeks or something along that line and hes almost the same size!
I'm afraid he will be permanently behind in growth now. But the main thing is for you to know what you are doing and read read read!!
And please next feeding give him some mice!

And keep in mind with all the telling that your doing wrong and stuff; were only trying to help you take proper care of your tegu!
_________________
1.0.0 T.rufescens
0.1.0 T.merianae
1.0.0 Testudo horsfieldii
1.0.0 Stenodactylus sthenodactylus
0.0.1 Ceratophrys ornata
0.0.1 Geocholone elegans
0.0.1 Python regius
2.0.0 Mustela Putorius Furo
0.1.0 Bouvier des flandres

Rams

John · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 1:25 pm Post subject:

I'm going to have to side with Rams on this one. Whenever you get a new pet it should be researched! It doesn't matter if you pick one out of the wild or go to the pet store and or breeder to get a new pet. I'm pleased to see you are now looking for information. Better late then never!
_________________
John Light
http://www.jlexotics.com/

drfish · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 2:29 pm Post subject:

Thank goodness you've decided to come clean. That Tegu could well of died in a few months or so.

Please, please do some serious study, because it is apparent you know absolutely nothing about Tegu care.

Scrambled egg for a start is just totally wrong as a staple food source. The occassional treat maybe, but not daily.

Potatoes are ok if he eats them, baby food is possibly ok, although I have never heard of anyone feeding it to an adult. Basically, get him on some meat, and also try and introduce some fruit to his diet, banana's, kiwi fruit etc. You also made no mention of lighting and heating. Please don't tell us you don't offer either of these. TEgu's should have about 12 hours of proper UV everday, be it from the sun, or artificial lighting from a proper reptile shop. And also he should have a basking area in the region of 100 - 120 degree's F, in order to aid his food digestion.

I would also recommend taking a stool sample to a reputable vet for a check. There's no telling what damage the food and lack of digestion may have done.

Whatever you do next, just think, the animal is possibly lucky to be alive, and certainly deserves better care.

Go to google, type Tegu in the search, and hit go, there's a wealth of good information on the species, and a few hours reading could make a lot of difference to the rest of his life.

Also bear in mind, there are several different types of Tegu, identified by colour and size. You didn't mention the origin of the Tegu, so if someone gave it away, it's probably fair to assume it's a columbian, as these are obtained very cheaply.

Just one last point, try and enjoy having him as a pet, don't see it a chore. With the right care, he may well be with you for more than 10 years.

BLUETEGUS · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 6:19 pm Post subject:

Wow

. No comment except that it's lucky to be alive. And im hoping that he does have some kind of heat source and UVB light.
_________________
Kevin
1.0.0 Blue Tegu

reptilica1386 · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 8:01 pm Post subject:

well guys dont be too hard on him, of course he should have read about it .. before he even got the animal.. but they animal is still alive and so i would say yes do your research and try to get the animal eatting some meat hope you dont have any troubles you know :-S good luck everyone makes mistakes, we should learn from them
lauren

beardiedragon · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 10:44 pm Post subject:

I know there is not a wealth of good tegu info out there so read the care sheet and info on this site carefully. I also have some info on my site as well. Good luck.

http://www.beardiedragon.com/pages/Care/Tegu_Care_QA.html
_________________
Bennett

beardiedragon.com
Home of the Florida Orange

drfish · Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 8:06 am Post subject:

I've never had any problems finding anything.

http://www.agamainternational.com/

try here too, this site is packed with useful info.