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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 11:26 pm Post subject: Black & White Tegu Has diarreah..What Can I Do For Him?
I am really worried about my big man..He is a black & white argentine tegu named King..I got him from a pet store about a year ago and all he used to eat was LIVE mice and hard boiled eggs however, he always had a HUGE appetite but, would only eat these two things..Over the past few months i have tried to offer him alot of new fruits, veggies and even dog food..He has recently started to eat cesar brand dog food and he likes a couple new fruits now too as well as grilled zuchinni LOL he wont eat it raw! The past couple of days he has been eating like a cow!! Now, today he came down with diarreah..Although he has diarreah he is still eating just fine and drinking his spring water..His belly looks skinny to me too for some reason..Im not sure if its because he has pooped all his food out but, its making me a bit worried..
I have a dog too and she only eats dog food from the vet called Hill's Science Diet ID because she has a very weak stomache..I just gave the tegu some of it because it is very bland (only turkey & rice) and I hope it will bind him up and do the trick for us..Is there anything else I can do for him?? How much should I be feeding him if he has diarreah?? He normally eats once a day and about 2 mice per week..Any information on diarreah in tegus would be very much appreaciated..Thanks Alot!!
Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 11:36 pm Post subject: Here is a picture of my guy!!
This is King Tegu..He was named after an iguana that was very loved for 11 years and past away a few years ago..I have amny more pictures if you guys would like to meet him!!
hello IzaakNlana, Welcome Aboard to both you and King awesome pic and yes, we would love to see more of King. did you see our gallery ?
as for the diarrhea, a radical change in the diet or eating a food that does not agree with the digestive system in a lizard could bring this on. I would not suggest any pasta (such as rice). dog food, once in a blue moon; maybe. if you do, I like this:
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Wysong-Au-Jus-All-Meats/101057.aspx
to counter this, you can give him some non-fat yogurt. you know with the live cultures in it. try activia yogurt.
or it could be parasite infection. but, let's see
did you try any ground turkey, chicken, chicken gizzards and hearts, beef liver, lamb, venison (all raw) how about quail hatchlings and or baby chicks, mice should be pre-killed, rats or even dubia roaches.
I had a iguana that lived for a very long time also. iggy's are great. the tegu was my very next reptile/pet.
Wow! I didnt know they can eat raw foods like ground turkey and chicken livers (I will definitly try this) as well as give him some activia yogurt when he wakes up tomorrow..When he came home to us he was very, very picky and would only eat live mice which i really didnt like at all..I always give him powder vitamins but, I feel like he needs more variety in his diet..I have since gotten him to eat pre-killed mice and crickets..He enjoys his hard boiled eggs once in a while but, I was reading alot about fruits and veggies so i tried introducing him to these and finally got him to eat some and now this diarreah bout has got me thinking about changing his diet totally..My fiance started giving him cesar dog food with fruits and veggies mixed in it thinking we could take away some of the mice from his diet for a change but, I think this is what has caused the diarreah..Im going to try the ground raw meats & dubia roaches, when his belly gets better..Are you sure feeding raw meat will not cause any bacteria infections??
I had the iguana for so long and he ate tons of different veggies and fruits but, I guess the Tegu is more of a meat eater..They are alot like iguanas in certain ways and alot different in others..If you can, give me a good list of foods to try for him..I want a well balanced diet for him but, each person seems to say something different so im a little worried about what I can and cannot feed this guy as I dont want to make him an unhealthy tegu..I will stay away from the dog food from now on LOL I learned the hard way but, at least I know now..I never gave him any sort of pasta or rice until tonight with the Hill's ID dog food thinking it will bind him up and get rid of his runs..He loved it actually!! Well, he better savor the flavor cause he will not be getting that anymore LOL
Thanks for your help..I really appreaciate everything..I got so worried when I saw that puddle of diarreah in his tank..My iguana never had diarreah and neither has he so I got worried over it but, hopefully tomorrow the yogurt will help him....Lana
the meats I mentioned should be served raw. rodents, 2 or 3 times a week.
for fruit you can try mango, papaya, cantalope, honeydew, blueberries, kiwi (tropical fruits) not too much banana. like iguanas you can try some dark leafy greens collard, mustard or turnip greens. if your going to feed fruits you should try and start and early as possible. some tegus never eat fruit tho' and they are perfectly healthy. as for the chicken gizzards and beef liver they can eat as much as they want till they are full.
oh and try some fresh fish fillets from the super market, snails (not from outside), crayfish
Joined: Oct 16, 2007 Posts: 2517 Location: San Antonio,TX
Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:18 am Post subject:
Hi IzaakNLana.Welcome ( all three of you ) to the Tegu forum family.It's nice to have you as a new addition to our forum.My vet told me before that when our Tegu ( Leonidas ) had the runs not to feed him any raw food for a few day.He recomended to feed him good dry ( not cand ) dog food.We use Nutro Max for our 3 dogs and for some treat every now and than for both of our Tegu's.I love Nutro because it doesn't have any by product in it.About the rats please make sure that you have a good UVB light ( or take him outside in the sun ) and look at his poop to see if you see any hair from the rat in it.Because if he doesn't digest the rats right he can get impacted from the hair.I also don't recomend grilling the food ( if it's over a fire ).Now if you use like a George Forman grill and no spices or oils than it's ok.You also can get some fresh fish filets from the super market.Like catfish,cod,salmon,tuna and tilapia.Ours love it.Here are some infos for you.Hope it helps.Oh,King is cute by the way .Don't worry he will be fine.Ours gets it every now and than,too.Now if it last for a while than I would get him checked out.
Wow! This site is great, It seems like there is alot of friendly people here..Im really learning alot of new things about him..I would of never thought FISH for him! It makes me upset to think at the pet store they were feeding him like garbage and then never educated me on the correct foods for him to eat before taking him home..Here in New Jersey I actually need a permit to even own this guy and no one told me he needs to be eating other things then just mice and eggs..Sick Right!
I already have the knowledge of lighting though, From being an iguana owner I have a great combo light for him, it has the long UVB light and two heat lights, one for night and one for day..I have a cage outside for him as well so, he does get natural sunlight when the weather is nice..
I was wondering if anyone out there has a tegu and a very small toy sized dog..I am afraid he is going to try to eat my dog one day so I really have to keep them away from one another when he is out of his tank..He has never given me any reason to think he would hurt the dog but, I dont put it past him, He used to really bang those rats around when he was eating live..Why not do the same to the family dog? Ya know, LOL
Anyway, I must get back to sleep its only 5am here..I woke up to check on him and make sure hes sleeping well and not pooping all over his tank again..So far so good, it was only one huge puddle of diarreah last night but, I hope today will not bring more of that..I will keep you guys posted..Thanks Again! Lana
Yogurt (being a dairy product, and tegus being reptiles which are lactose intolerant) will actually promote diarrhea, not aid it. Furthermore, despite the claims of the yogurt companies and various nutritionists, no one has actually been able to show that the bacteria cultures in these yogurts do anything positive for us (ie. people fed this stuff showed no change) let alone tegus. It would be better to avoid the yogurt entirely (for your tegu, that is).
There are actual reptile digestive aid supplements out there, it would be better to try and administer those than to go the yogurt route.
However, that being said, diarrhea is a symptom, not a disease in and of itself. You need to determine what's causing the diarrhea and correct that. Common diarrhea promotors are sudden changes in diet, too much water content in diet, poor temperatures, parasites, bacterial, fungal or viral pathogens, etc. It would be a good idea to take your tegu to the vet.
Meanwhile, although it would be a good idea to restrict foods with high water content, you still want to ensure the tegu is properly hydrated and not losing excessive electrolytes. You should be hydrating the tegu with Pedialyte or dilute Gatorade until the diarrhea clears up.
Joined: Oct 03, 2006 Posts: 538 Location: Central FL
Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 4:35 pm Post subject:
If the yogurt will not agree with him, try Benebac or Nutribac. Both are sold at pet stores. I take probiotics (beneficial bacteria) since a terrible gut-wrenching (no pun intended) Clostridium infection secondary to broad spectrum antobiotic use and will supplement my pets' diets with it as well. Whether it helps or not, I don't know, but I don't think it harms them.
I did hear of a study with iguanas that the use of probiotics reduced the amount of Salmonella they carried/passed, but I don't recall the specific study nor the location of it...sorry.
If it were my tegu, I would feed it a whole food diet of rodents, small fish, organ meats (maybe not exactly whole foods), and fibrous fruits like apples, pears, peaches and see if diet helps. Make sure it hydrated, as suggested, even soaking it daily. No canned dog food, no eggs. See if the stools firm up. If not, get a fecal sample to a vet for a parasite check.
I have one tegu that gets runny stool with eggs and another that gets really smelly stool with egg. Canned dog food is going to have fillers that won't really do much for your tegu. _________________ 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
Today he seems fine, Although he hasnt had a bowel movement yet, he has not had diarreah since last night..He woke up before and drank alot of water which I secretly added a tiny bit of pedilayte to..Im happy about that! I gave him some raw chicken hearts, gizzards and livers in his dish..He ate the entire bowl of it!! At first he was skeptical about the texture of it but, he gave in and ate it..I always strayed from raw meats because im a little afraid of bacteria in his tank and even on him..He really enjoyed eating it though, Tomorrow I will give him 2 small mice..Im thinking the hair will most likely bind him up if he decides to do anymore diarreah..Thanks everyone who helped me..I really appreaciate everything )
Joined: Oct 16, 2007 Posts: 2517 Location: San Antonio,TX
Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 10:46 pm Post subject:
Your welcome .I'm glad that we could help.That's what we are here for.If you are ever curious on how his poop is you can put him in the bathtub with some warm ( not hot ) water up to his chest.It usually doesn't take long for them to poop .I'm happy to hear that he is doing better now.Thanks for keeping us posted.Oh,I'm also glad that you like this forum .
man tupinambis, i love your posts, hard science. you're a valuable asset to these boards. _________________ 1.1.0 Arg B/W Tegu Joker n Groxy
1.0.0 Australian Water Dragon "Spyro"
1.0.0 Red Eared Slider "Turdy"
0.1.0 White Dwarf Hamster "MiMi"
1.1.0 Black&Albino Kingsnakes "Pearl & Hannibal"
Hello IzaakNLana......Well, speaking as someone who had to bring there Tegu to the vet a few months back for runny stool.. I can offer you this advice.
In my tegu's case, it appeared to be a bacteria. My tegu was tested for parasites and it came up negative. His protozoa level was also good. The vet though it may have been a bacteria. He gave me an anti biotic and another medication to counter act the effects of the anti biotic. The vet said you will know in 4-5 days if it is working. Sure enough, in 5 days, his stool became solid again.
The best thing to do, if there is one near you, is to get him to a vet. It is extremely important that if an animal has diarehha for more than a few 2-3 days, that he see a vet immediately.
Joined: Oct 12, 2007 Posts: 507 Location: San Diego, CA
Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 12:20 am Post subject:
One thing I learned from these posts is that it's important for us not to make feeding suggestions without knowing what we're suggesting, for example;"I heard this or that is good," rather than from a medical or hard science background. Just a thought.
I would also say it's not the responsibility of the store that sell the animal to educate us, but rather our responsibility to educate ourselves before going to the store to buy the animal. After all, if something goes wrong and the animal dies it's not like we can hold the store responsible. _________________ 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
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awesome pic and yes, we would love to see more of King. did you see our gallery ?
.Don't worry he will be fine.Ours gets it every now and than,too.Now if it last for a while than I would get him checked out.
)
.I'm glad that we could help.That's what we are here for.If you are ever curious on how his poop is you can put him in the bathtub with some warm ( not hot ) water up to his chest.It usually doesn't take long for them to poop 
.I'm happy to hear that he is doing better now.Thanks for keeping us posted.Oh,I'm also glad that you like this forum 
