EMERGENCY HELP

ALPHA · Member Joined: Nov 28, 2007 Posts: 73 Location: CT

Its been in the 40/50s outside the enclosure. Last nite the heating shorted out in my enclosure and the temps dropped into the 20s. I checked after I had fixed the problem and warmed up the enclosure...I dug him up to check but hes not moving. What can i do....is it a deep hibernation or am i in trouble. please help

meanah · Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 7:40 pm Post subject:

well is he breathing? id slowly warm him up or it could send him into shock and kill him. oh man. im wishing the best for u.
_________________
0.1.0 Colombian Tegu
1.0.0 Arg. Tegu
0.1.4 Bearded Dragon
0.1.0 Royal Python
1.0.0 Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Kingsnake
0.0.1 Painted Turtle
0.1.1 Spotted Pythons
1.2.0 Tokay Geckos
2.3.0 Leopard Geckos

ALPHA · Member Joined: Nov 28, 2007 Posts: 73 Location: CT

I have slowly warmed him up. Now I have him under the light. I cannot see breathing...does this mean he is dead or could it be i just can't see his shallow breaths. He is not stiff...i dont know what to think.. would u assume the worst?

meanah · Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 8:21 pm Post subject:

i wouldnt know what to think. that is my worst nightmare. i live in maine and it is still winter as of right now. so its really cold. i have thought what if that had happened here. i wouldnt know what to do. have u tried to wake them up?
_________________
0.1.0 Colombian Tegu
1.0.0 Arg. Tegu
0.1.4 Bearded Dragon
0.1.0 Royal Python
1.0.0 Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Kingsnake
0.0.1 Painted Turtle
0.1.1 Spotted Pythons
1.2.0 Tokay Geckos
2.3.0 Leopard Geckos

ALPHA · Member Joined: Nov 28, 2007 Posts: 73 Location: CT

I'm in CT so just a little less cold. I held him for a while but he was limp. I'm afraid I have lost him.

jose2187 · Honored Member Joined: Mar 08, 2008 Posts: 261

i lost my first tegu to the cold while shipping he wasnt stiff thtas why i thought he was in deep hibernation and i put him under the light but 2 days later he was stiff like a rock and dead. if you put him under the heat and he doesnt move and doesnt respond after a while i am sorry to tell you that you lost your tegu

txrepgirl · Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:46 pm Post subject:

I'm sooooo sorry to hear what happened.I don't know if this is going to work but what I would try is put a small mirror in front of his face.If he is breathing you should see some fog on the mirror.I wouldn't put him right under the light because I think the difference in temperature is to high.Try to put him under your shirt and let him warm up like that and once he is awake than I would put him under the light.I wish I could help you better.Good luck with him.Do you have a vet you can go to where he can check for a heart beat ? please keep us posted.Take care.

tupinambis · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:38 am Post subject:

DO NOT PUT YOUR TEGU UNDER A HEAT LAMP!!!!

I understand your wanting to warm the animal up and make sure that it's alive, but too much heat change from a cold temperature shock like that is more likely to kill the tegu than the cold exposure in the first place. If it is alive, it will be in a deeper state of hibernation and putting a mirror infront of it's nose is going to show you as much as sacrificing a chicken and burning incense for the deities. The reason a mirror works ON MAMMALS is because we have a high temperature body core, air is warmed in our lungs and increases dramatically in humidity. Upon exhalation, that hot air will hit a cold mirror, the water vapour will condense and fog up the mirror. Take an ectotherm like a tegu, chill it down so that it is likely same temperature as ambient, and there will be no temperature change to the air, no humidity change, and therefore no fog on the mirror. Secondly, at the temperatures you are talking, your tegu is likely going to put out a respiratory frequency (if alive) of around 1 or 2 breaths every 5 to 10 minutes and it will be shallow.

You WILL have to warm up your tegu, but you want to do so slowly. First, you need to get the temperature quickly up to about 50F (10C - Celsius, it's the gauge of science and the rest of the world, learn it folks). From that point, you'll only want to warm the animal up at a rate of about 7-8F (3-4C) per day. It would be advisable to take the animal to a vet to see if there is a heart beat. Chances are the EKG is very irregular, and the vet may be concerned. During hibernation, some tegus' hearts beat episodically, meaning not continuously. They even show what is called an AV block, wherein the atria contract but not the ventricle, which may alarm the veterinarian. As long as there is some activity, then you've got a good chance of recovering your tegu as long as you don't try to overcorrect the problem.

angelrose · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 2:04 pm Post subject:

[quote="tupinambis"] If it is alive, it will be in a deeper state of hibernation and putting a mirror infront of it's nose is going to show you as much as sacrificing a chicken and burning incense for the deities. /quote]

now that's irony.
thank you very much for taking the time to explain. this is extremely important to know.
_________________
0.1.0 B/W Colombian tegu
2.0.0 Gold Colombian tegus
1.0.0 B/W Argentine tegu
1.0.0 super tiger retic
0.1.0 tiger retic
0.1.0 colombian redtail boa
1.0.0 Brazillian Rainbow boa
1.1.0 Ball pythons
1.0.0 Burmese python

angelrose · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 2:49 pm Post subject:

ALPHA, I am really concerned. did you read the reply from tupinambis
_________________
0.1.0 B/W Colombian tegu
2.0.0 Gold Colombian tegus
1.0.0 B/W Argentine tegu
1.0.0 super tiger retic
0.1.0 tiger retic
0.1.0 colombian redtail boa
1.0.0 Brazillian Rainbow boa
1.1.0 Ball pythons
1.0.0 Burmese python

tupinambis · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 2:51 pm Post subject:

I should correct myself on that statement. It assumes the tegu was in hibernation in the first place. If not, your tegu is likely extremely torpid and in cold shock. Either way, warming it too much too fast is not recommended.

txrepgirl · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:27 pm Post subject:

Thank you tupinambis for explaining it.I didn't say I know everything like I mentioned in my post " I don't know if this is going to work but you can try ".Now I know.

ALPHA how is your Tegu doing ?

tupinambis · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:41 pm Post subject:

We instinctively think that if an animal has been chilled to this extent that we need to warm it up as fast as possible and to regular active temperatures. Unfortunately, this can be very hazardous if not done properly, and even then is highly risky. It is a biological fact that most animals can and do acclimate to cold temperatures more readily and faster than they do to warm temperatures. If the tegu was already hibernating, then it was basically preconditioned to deal with further declines in temperatures, and less likely to deal with warmer temperatures. Therefore, its physiological functioning would likely not be able to tolerate a drastic increase in temperature as opposed to a cooling. Furthermore, the pain sensation of warming drastically is intense. If the animal's body temperature was actually near freezing, even exposure to a luke warm bath or something similar will be immensely painful, let alone being put under hot lights or put on a heated substrate (to this I actually have first hand experience - it is much better to be warmed slowly than quickly as long as the health is not in immediate danger). Pain aside, if the animal is that chilled, its muscles and their control will not be functioning properly and if the animal feels the instinctual need to get away from the heat, it will have trouble doing so. This could lead to localized heat trauma or even death of the animal.

angelrose · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:18 pm Post subject:

makes sense to me put yourself in his place.
_________________
0.1.0 B/W Colombian tegu
2.0.0 Gold Colombian tegus
1.0.0 B/W Argentine tegu
1.0.0 super tiger retic
0.1.0 tiger retic
0.1.0 colombian redtail boa
1.0.0 Brazillian Rainbow boa
1.1.0 Ball pythons
1.0.0 Burmese python

ALPHA · Member Joined: Nov 28, 2007 Posts: 73 Location: CT

well I let the enclosure slowly warm into the 40s then 50s+ until it got around 65-70 then I put the heat lights on one at a time until it it was in the 80s. He was hibernating under a large hard plastic water dish until then. I let him sit like that for sometime and then check. I'm terribly sad to say I lost him. I have actually been avoiding the site all day until now just because it has been such a source of joy always checking and talking about him. I'm definitely feeling the loss, I've been kind of in a daze today.