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Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 8:24 pm Post subject: Tegu not eating?
Hey guys, I bought an Argentine B&W Tegu yesterday and he/she ate perfectly fine. Today however, I put a nice big plate of raw ground turkey in front of it and there didn't seem to be any interest. I was just wondering if perhaps this is just stress or something worse.
Lights, check.
Substrate to burrow in, check.
Water dish, check.
Oh, and my tegu is about 2 1/2 feet long.
Joined: Dec 18, 2007 Posts: 877 Location: Eddington, Maine
Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 8:28 pm Post subject:
what has it been feeding on before u got it? _________________ 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
I believe mice. And also, yesterday when it was eating a couple raw eggs, it would rub it's nose on the ground/the walls of the enclosure after every few mouthfulls.. is there any significance here?
Hi androidandrew and Welcome to theTegu Forum Family. glad your here. Congrats on getting a tegu ! they are large, smart, curious and can be a great lizard.
oh, I see you just got him/her yesterday. your proabably still checking each other out. take your time. the whole idea is to build trust; time and patience.
I would not panic if he does not eat for a day. he is an older tegu (not old age wise) do you have any history on him from where you bought him ?
what did you feed him yesterday ? there could be many reasons. it's just to soon. I know my argentines have slowed down recently when it comes to eating sometimes. they are also going to sleep a little earlier. could be getting ready for hibernation ?
as for rubbing his nose; this is normal. are you feeding inside the enclosure ? when it comes to eating you should really bring him out into a separate place so he does not accidentally swallow any substrate and get impacted. also, so he does not associate your hands with food. and make sure your hands don't smell like food around him.
androidandrew, Welcome Aboard ! did you see the photo gallery ? we would love to see your new tegu and any other pets you may have.
Joined: Apr 30, 2008 Posts: 393 Location: Lake Havasu City, AZ
Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 10:26 pm Post subject:
They like to clean their mouth after each meal :D Tegus know when they are full and when feeding raw eggs it can some times make your tegu bloat so try give it a hard boiled eggs or scrambled mix in the the ground turkey :D
Joined: Oct 12, 2007 Posts: 519 Location: San Diego, CA
Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 11:00 pm Post subject:
I agree with anglerose. Don't be shocked if he does not eat for a couple of days, it's a new home and it's an adjustment. I suggest you take the next couple of days to search throughout this website for the answers to most your questions. They're here.
Joined: Oct 16, 2007 Posts: 2553 Location: San Antonio,TX
Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 12:30 pm Post subject:
Hi androidandrew.Welcome.It's nice to have you as a part of our Tegu forum family .Hope you are going to enjoy this forum as much as we have.I wouldn't worry about it.I don't think it is because of stress because he ate well yesterday.Usually when some one gets a new Tegu it happens that they don't eat for up to a week.It does happen with both of my arg. b/w Tegus,too, that when they ate to much the day before they just eat a little bit the next day or not at all.Look at the base of his tail ( by the hip part ) if it looks nice and fat he is ok ( that's where they store all there fat ).Also look on the side of his stomach to see if he/she has a fold there.When there is a fold than they are usually still hungry.If is is smooth than they are full.Good luck with him/her.Here are some infos for you in case you want to check them out.Oh,I almost forgot.Try to give him/her the ground turkey at room temps.My Tegus like to eat things that are cold.
Joined: Oct 12, 2007 Posts: 519 Location: San Diego, CA
Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 2:02 pm Post subject:
Wow, slow down txrepgirl, the folds do not indicate hunger or the possibility of hunger, don't advocate for founded belly tegus that could tend to get fat if kept that plump. The wrinkle can be a sign of health, that is a lean and active animal. Sorry if this is harsh, but your last post was a bit too absolute. _________________ 1.0.0 B&W
0.0.1 CA Horned Lizard
0.0.1 Savannah Monitors
2.0.0 Cats
0.1.0 Wife
1.0.0 Child
Joined: Oct 03, 2006 Posts: 555 Location: Central FL
Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 7:59 am Post subject:
Can I mediate?
I hear you on both sides...
My tegus have the longitudinal fold along their stomachs. When my little guy eats (and I guess my big girl, too), the fold smooths out from their full tummies. As they digest, the fold returns. They have fat tails, good reserves, and eat to their fill, so I'm not worried about them being too skinny with the fold present.
So, txrepgirl, I understand your point about the fold being a sign of an empty stomach, especially in a young tegu when their bellies seem to inflate and deflate on a daily basis.
Greentriple, I see your point because there are some obese tegus out there who will not be seeing a longitudinal fold anytime soon! You don't like to encourage anyone to overfeed their animals from a health standpoint.
Andriodandrew, I think your tegu will eat more as it settles in. My adult Arg only eats about 3 times a week right now. She just walks away from a plate of food sometimes. _________________ Laura R (FL)
0.1.0 Colombian Tegu
0.2.0 Argentine B&W Tegu
1.0.0 Red Tegu
1.0.0 Green Amevia (yet another teiid)
8 other lizards
1 little gator
13 snakes
4 frogs
some bugs
and a partridge in a pear tree
Joined: Oct 16, 2007 Posts: 2553 Location: San Antonio,TX
Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 11:56 am Post subject:
Thank you so much Laura for helping me explain it.Very well put.I wanted to reply to this post but I didn't know how to say what I meant ( that's why I pm you ).Usually I look for a link that can help me explain what I meant but I couldn't find one .Thanks again .
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.Hope you are going to enjoy this forum as much as we have.I wouldn't worry about it.I don't think it is because of stress because he ate well yesterday.Usually when some one gets a new Tegu it happens that they don't eat for up to a week.It does happen with both of my arg. b/w Tegus,too, that when they ate to much the day before they just eat a little bit the next day or not at all.Look at the base of his tail ( by the hip part ) if it looks nice and fat he is ok ( that's where they store all there fat ).Also look on the side of his stomach to see if he/she has a fold there.When there is a fold than they are usually still hungry.If is is smooth than they are full.Good luck with him/her.Here are some infos for you in case you want to check them out.Oh,I almost forgot.Try to give him/her the ground turkey at room temps.My Tegus like to eat things that are cold.
.Thanks again 