Big yucky sore!!!

Tegster · Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 4:06 pm Post subject:

CRG,

Hope everything comes out okay. Please keep us updated so us newbies will know what to be on the look out for in the future.

Tegulevi,

Maybe you could start a string on "vet issues". Not to rip them apart or anything. It's just I'd be no help to a vet if I had to bring Tegster. I would expect to vet to know more than me about big lizards.

What is the proper way to restrain an adult tegu? How does one force open the mouth to give meds? etc, etc.
_________________
Renee

CRG · Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 4:38 pm Post subject:

Tegulevi,Especially if he tries his crocodile roll.One of his favorite tricks when he's grumpy...And he is bloody strong.I have to squat down when he starts it so if I drop him he wont get hurt.

Actually I dont know that I know the proper way to hold an adult tegu.I grab the base of the tail and slide my other hand underneath him then grab around the under lower part of his neck.I cant let him climb me cause his claws are too sharp and he goes right for my head.It helps sometimes to use a towel, I think it makes him feel safer...Once he is up he generally stops struggling until he see's the bathtub.
This guy is not one of those puppy dog tame ones you hear about.He is cranky and doesnt like to be picked up.But he has never bitten me.He has chased me when he thought I was food though

BTW if you look up iguana forums you can get lots of info about handling and even health related stuff that will carry over for use with tegus.

tegulevi · Respected Member Joined: Mar 10, 2005 Posts: 489

lol. i love non tame tegus. my yearling has a food response from hell and its great.

anyway. the way you described is the best way when holding them. but most people who arent framiliar with an adult tegu cannot even imagine the power they contain. it took me my wife and the vet to hold him still so he could be cleaned and get injections. of course i got to get the business end lol (head) the best advice i can really give is to not over restrain them. if they are trying to get away let them and give them a couple minute break. you want a vet trip to be as least stressfull as possible. if an oral exam is needed he best way i have found is to grab the loose skin on the bottom of the mouth and pull down with a strong finger on the tip of the nose. some tegus dont require any effort, but some will fight it. crimsons abscess was in his lip so i had to keep an eye on it. thus getting pretty good at prying a strong mouth open. vets like to use those little plastic cards. what a joke the first vet we went to tried and failed with both my reds using one of those, and cut crimsons gum with it.

mainly the most important thing is that nobody knows how to read your animals emotions better than you. tegus dont growl like a dog. an inexperienced vet may not see the warnings signs of when to get the hell away. herps have their own ways of warning you i know that i can tell just by looking that i need to leave them alone. and these signs are different with all 5 of my tegus.

good luck

txrepgirl · Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 8:06 pm Post subject:

WOW tegulevi you have a lot of Tegus

.I thought my food bill will be a lot with just two of them.I don't want to know how much your food bill is for them

.How old are they ?

tegulevi · Respected Member Joined: Mar 10, 2005 Posts: 489

they 1.1 blues 1.0 red are all 3.5 years old
0.1 red is 4 or 5
1.0 black and white is about 18 months now

yeah my food bill sucks, but i now work 2 days a week at a rat breeders and get my food for free. this summer is gonna rock. hopefully i'll have some babies too. i screwed up the nesting last year cuz im a tard lol

EricIvins · Member Joined: Dec 08, 2007 Posts: 38

If your using a 150 watt bulb, I can almost guarantee your looking at a burn. If you use a bank ( 3-4 depending on the size of the animal ) of 30 watt indoor floods within 6-8 inches of your basking spot, you'll get the 130-140 degree basking spot you need without burning the animal. Just one mega watt bulb will focus too much energy in one spot. Unlike snakes, which can bask with a small % of their body, these big lizards need to bask with the majority of their body mass, or they'll burn. They don't understand the concept of a focused heat source.

txrepgirl · Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 2:17 am Post subject:

tegulevi don't call your self a tard just because you made a mistake

.At least you learned from it right ? good luck with having some babies this year.

txrepgirl · Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 2:23 am Post subject:

EricIvins.130-140 degrees sound a bit high.I thought the basking spot has to be 110-115 degrees.

EricIvins · Member Joined: Dec 08, 2007 Posts: 38

If you ever keep your Tegus outside, shoot their body temps with a temp. gun. They are operating and doing their daily functions at 105-115 degrees ( body temperature ). If you ever catch one basking, their body temp will be much higher. It allows them to properly metabolize anything they take in, keep their immune system going, and help cycle out parasites. This is one of the biggest misconceptions with keeping these guys. They like to bask and operate HOT. They will use cooler temperatures if they need to, but forcing them to operate cooler than normal will cause all sorts of issues. General suppression of the immune system will cause skin infection, blisters, toe and tail problems, allow parasites and different bacterias to flourish, etc.

CRG · Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 3:49 pm Post subject:

6 to 8 inches isnt very high up.I need something a bit higher then that.He gets most his heat from the Kane heatmat under him.The 150 watt is more then a foot high up to give him some heat from above..He also has a second light above his hide box.The hidebox is 2x5ft filled with cypress and topsoil.It has a section of mesh that has a redlight fixed to it on one end.It also is a 100watt.
So I started worrying and decided to check the temps.It was 89 in his hidebox under the light and 125 under the basking.BUT that was directly on the ground who knows how hot its getting on his back, he is digusted with me and didnt come out of his hidebox today so cant measure the temps on his back...I am going to figure a way to make the heat more even across his body and not so clumped up directly on his backThanks for the tip..

Tegster · Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 4:06 pm Post subject:

CRG,

As a noob I've got a question. You first post said your tegu has been hibernating on and off. Do you keep his hidebox heated so he won't hibernate? I would think with that kind of heat he couldn't hibernate.

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_________________
Renee

plizardman · Member Joined: Aug 11, 2005 Posts: 25

"tons of things can go wrong in hibernation. from the insignificant to death. i will bet money that when he went down for hibernation he had a small cut or deep scratch where this sore is located. when hibernating the body is slow and practically defenseless. this allows wounds to get infected because of the lack of anything to fight it off" - Tegulevi sounds right on target to me.
One thing I would like to add is that I was always told Polysporin was superior to Neosporin as it is more effective against the gram negative bacteria that usually are responisible for reptilian infections.
Also, maybe set him up on clean paper in a pretty sterile enclosure while treating him. I would not bathe him, instead just use a spray bottle or large syringe to rinse out the wound (assuming it is open and not puss or abcess filled) and then pat dry and apply ointment. Bet he heals up just fine.
Good luck.

CRG · Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 7:13 pm Post subject:

Tegster.His hide box is has been unheated all winter.In fact the room temps are pretty low too.His basking spot is on the other side of his pen...But this last week he has been very active and eating so I decided to add one of those red lights to his hidebox(it has a mesh top that is usually covered but can be opened to add heat)

But The vet seems to think it might be a burn

or possibly something to do with the shed getting stuck there and not coming off properly.Over the weekend it has dried up and looks really good.So she wants me to keep bathing him(he still has alot of shed to come off).Basically taking a wait and see approach over the next week or so..
If its a burn,Im so badddddd...I already changed the basking lights over to 60watts...I cant believe I did that, I should have known better but I got lazy and didnt continue to monitor the temps on the basking site..NEVER ASSUME!!!And I have no excuse I have two temp guns.

Thanks lizardman I will get some polysporin and keep that around just for my reptiles.Although this is the first time Ive had to deal with anything like this.

Tegster · Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 11:07 am Post subject:

CRG,

It sounds like your tegu is going to be fine. Don't beat yourself up too much. If there is anything I've learned from reading everything here, it's that nothing is black and white (no pun intended!) with these guys. We are all on a learning curve. And we are all going to make a mistake some time or another.

We had his UVB bulb too far away and he got a "saggy" jaw. But we fixed that and his jaw is better. We let his substrate get way too dry and he had a horrible tail shed. We fixed that and he has just completed a whole new shed - still waiting on the tail though.

Thanks for responding to my question - I am trying to understand more about hideboxes and hibernation.
_________________
Renee

txrepgirl · Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:26 pm Post subject:

CRG.Tegster is right we all make mistakes.At least you are trying to figure out what went wrong and try to fix it

.Hope all is well.Take care.Oh,is his sore better now ?