sleeping alot and eating not alot

[bubbasmithson]

i just got my black and white tegu bout 2 weeks ago i thought i would give him time to adjust but he still seems to have the same routine. he sleeps alot if i wake him up and bring him out he is really friendly but im worried bout why he is sleeping so much and not eating that much?

could it be the time of the year im really stuck

someone please help me out

[tupinambis]

First, tegus naturally spend most of their time resting. Secondly, it is wintertime in the northern hemisphere, so your tegu is likely trying to hibernate.
You could try upping the temperatures and humidity to see if this will "inspire" it to be more active.

[Alli]

My tegu was doing the same thing... He had about 6 inches of substrate, and when I cleaned out his cage I lessened that to about 2 inches - and got another heating pad. He now comes out every day to eat/bask... I assume that hes coming out more because hes being kept warmer but Im no expert :wink:

[bubbasmithson]

ya over the past couple days he has been out alot more and i see him eating now which is good i had dumped the full bag of substrate in because they like to dig but i took bout half out so i hope its ok now

[drfish]

My tegu was doing the same thing... He had about 6 inches of substrate, and when I cleaned out his cage I lessened that to about 2 inches - and got another heating pad. He now comes out every day to eat/bask... I assume that hes coming out more because hes being kept warmer but Im no expert :wink:

Just one point on this, 2" of substrate is not nearly enough for a Tegu. I know we all like to be able to see them out as much as possible, but if the only reason he's out and about is because he has no-where to dig, then thats the wrong way of going about it. They like to dig, and feel most secure and confortable when buried in an enclosure. To take away their security could affect his personality. It would be far better to use some sort of heat bulb to create the ambient temperature, rather than a heating pad. Also, I don't want to sound like i'm preaching, but heat pads, and Tegu claws don't mix all that well, so please make sure it is not in the enclosure with him, or if so, is covered by a sheet of glass or perspex.

[bubbasmithson]

he goes under a log is that ok

[yeaitsdave]

Yea, its the closest place he can find to being secure, what are the temps in your cage? what are you feeding him? do you have a UVB light in there? There are a lot of things that could influence him into being less active, my tegu is less active when mice aren't an integral part of his diet, for instance. More details on your setup would help determine the problem

[bubbasmithson]

i was told to start out feeding her crickets and she has about 3 or 4 pinkes every 2 weeks she also eats meal worms but not from the bowl only from the ground which i thought was kinda weird cause they hide themselves most of the time. here is my setup any input would be nice!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v354/bubbasmithson/tegu4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v354/bubbasmithson/tegu3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v354/bubbasmithson/tegu2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v354/bubbasmithson/tegu1.jpg[/img]

[Art360]

In my opinion it's backwards. The red lamp should be on at night to keep the temps up, but the lamp is on the opposite side of the cage from where the tegu sleeps.

The uv bulb has a limited range and it's positioned away from where bubba jr is likely to bask so he's probably not getting the benefit. I would also recommend posistioning the uv so it runs lengthwise with the tank to maximize exposure.

Nice dog.

[bubbasmithson]

the red light is always on it just didnt seem that hot in there the white light has to settings i put it on low at night should i put the white light on the other side?

[bubbasmithson]

also it sleeps under the piece of wood on the far right and basks right under the white light

[Teiidae]

The uva/uvb "white light" only needs to be on 10-12 hours per day - My heat lamps stay on 24/7 as they are my only heat source. I would agree the white light should be positioned length wise on the tank - Heat lamp to one side of the tank so he has a hot/basking side and cool side...

[Johelian]

Teiidae, does your heat lamp give out light or does it just emit heat?

[Teiidae]

Teiidae, does your heat lamp give out light or does it just emit heat?

Nocturnal red...