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toxicogenic
08-22-2006, 08:03 PM
i got my tegu at the daytona show. he is in a 40 gal. breeder tank with cypress mulch, zoomed basking bulb, UV light, big soaking dish, and a chunk of grapevine for him to bask on. the first day (sunday) he was out and about all day...ate crickets like a pig and was just hanging out all day. i cant find my hygrometer but i would say its around 70%, basking is 109-110, ambient is 80, and cool side is around 77. yesterday he didnt come out while i was home in the morning but i noticed he soaked and was burrowed when i came home. i noticed last night though that he sneezed. this morning i turned on the lights and changed his water and he came out so i fed him crickets in the cage (stupid of me i feed him in a sep. container) and some boiled egg. he ate both. i noticed him sneeze still and had mucous on one nostril. i made an appt. for the vet tom. morning. im not taking chances on a resp. infection. now my question is do you think its too cold at night for him? its about 72 at night. should i get a UTH? everyone is telling me NO it will be too hot and he will burn. please help me out. :(

Diegar
08-22-2006, 08:12 PM
I am not a vet, so it is good that you are taking him to one, but typically, reptiles don't show symtoms of being sick until they are pretty sick. This doens't mean that the vet will not be able to help him, but what it does mean is that in the temps you described, this most likely isn't something you caused, and the Tegu was probably already sick when you got him.

I hope everything turns out well for your little guy. Tegus are pretty tough!

tupinambis
08-22-2006, 08:34 PM
However, 72-77F is the temperature range at which hibernation starts to be induced, so you may wish to increase ambient levels of temperature to at least 80F.

toxicogenic
08-22-2006, 08:44 PM
ambient is 80.....its the nighttime temps. im worried about which are still not that low. did you mean 80 at night? should i get a heating pad? i got him from bert so i sent him an email to see what he says. :? i have been reading about tegus for a long time now and i cant figure it out. im always reading about any animal for that matter...lol. im not sure about this one...he doesnt seem to be falling into hibernation though. he is active and still eating. i dont take him out of his burrow to feed because i dont want him to feel insecure.

tupinambis
08-22-2006, 09:06 PM
Ambient means general environmental temperatures. You say the ambient is 80 but the night time is 72. I take this to mean the ambient during the day is 80, during the night is 72. 72 is pretty low for an active animal. I don't have concrete proof, but from looking at my data, 73-75 seems to be a "turning point" in their physiology. Active animals in the wild do not voluntarily let their body temperatures drop that low; when it does happen, it drastically alters their behaviour and they start preparing for hibernation. In captivity, exposure to temperatures that low can lower their immune system's ability to cope with invasive agents, which can lead to illness. It sounds like your tegu may have the beginings of an upper respiratory tract infection, and for the benefit of not only common health but also fighting the infection, it would probably be best to raise the entire ambient temperature, day and night, to well over 80.

toxicogenic
08-23-2006, 01:07 AM
im going to get a 150 watt basking spot light tom. morning and a red heat bulb for the night time. i just got a heating pad but i cant put it because of the stand...and i cant lift up the tank. 8O i think this will help. thank you for the help...i really appreciate it.

toxicogenic
09-02-2006, 01:43 PM
quick question. how should i raise the night time ambient temps. to 80? (what kind of heat source should i use?) thanks.

Ezekiel
09-02-2006, 02:00 PM
id use a heat mat if your keeping them indoors

toxicogenic
09-02-2006, 02:57 PM
i had gotten a heat mat but i returned it because it got so hot and i didnt have a thermostat. and it was an exoterra heat mat....like those that are like giant stickers. they get way too hot. ive read people use the T-Rex mats and that they keep a constant 100 degrees. i would still have to use a thermostat right? for some reason the heat mat scares me because Achilles burrows and i dont want him to get burnt. i prefer to get some sort of overhead source of heat. maybe a CHE or red heat bulb? what do you guys think? i imagine the lowest wattage i can get right? thanks for any help and sorry if it was repetative.

teguboy77
09-03-2006, 03:17 AM
toxicogenic,See at night i turn my lights of on all my tegu's and run a heat mat.But what i do is get like shelf liner and duck tape it over the heat mat this way my tegu can't get burnt and it works fine for me and keeps the temperature 80f at night :)