Fungal/Bacterial Infection

[tupinambis]

Try to remember, tegus are just like people - they aren't all the same. Some people prefer hot and dry, some prefer cool and dry, some prefer hot and moist, and even within these groups, you will find individuals who have allergies or particular sensitivities. I'm not saying all reds are sensitive, I'm saying there's a possibility YOURS is sensitive. So yes, the aftercare may be different from the general population. One of the things about our hobby that I've always disliked is everyone's keenness for care sheets. They think it's some sort of recipe that absolutely must be followed or failure will result (even though most of the time the original authors are not that knowledgeable and are typically just parrotting something they heard from someone else, who's likely also parrotting....). They can be good guidelines, but really, if you find your tegu does much better with a different care regime than what's in a caresheet.....then go with what works. Ultimately your goal should be the health of your tegu, not whether you follow the instructions that someone else has laid out.

What you have to say about the temperatures doesn't surprise me in the least. These guys come from the southern end of the South American continent: basically sort of the equivalent of Canada in North America. Overall slightly cooler than other areas, which would explain a preference for a cooler climate preference than their counterparts.

[Dana C]

As a matter of fact, I have a 9 month old male import that prefers the cool end of his enclosure. Yes, he will use the basking end but moves to the other end or in between where the temperature is 80-90. He is doing great so why not go with what he likes.

I also have a Black Throat and while I have a 135f basking area, the only time you will find him there is right after he eats. Otherwise he prefers 85-90F. The care sheets only worked partially for me and I have been trying to listen to him. He tells me what he wants for the most part. He has grown from 32" to 44+" since March 7 so I have to think that I am doing something right.

[laurarfl]

Absolutely they are all individuals. Mine all seem to do well at 110-115 which is why I use that range. Husbandry always requires some tweaking and very rarely do care sheets all share the same information anyway.

[bubblz]

If he does better with less humidity or moisture in the substrate then go with what works for him. Also glad to hear you switched suppliers.

[txrepgirl]

How is he doing now ? Hope all is well.

I think it's more important that the Tegus get a proper diet then the humidity. There a alot of people and a few breeders who ceep their Tegus in outside enclosures. I'm sure they don't go outside every day and mist down the enclosures or have some sprinklers going. It also doesn't rain every day. I don't think their Tegus have any shedding problems.

[lilwyhunter]

Update! Thank you for all of your input. He's been in a 0 humidity enclosure and chapsticked for 'sensitive skin' and is now doing wonderful. We got a couple chunks of shed off today and it's amazing, he's red again! There's no way we're putting humidity back into that tank :P He's a special individual. I've uploaded some pictures of the progress as well as a photo of the sheds we got off, it was literally yellow, poor guy :(

tegushed.jpgDSCN2763.jpgDSCN2764.jpg

This guy has never been red since we got him in. It's great to finally see color on him! TxRepGirl - diet is nothing for this guy, he pounds food including crickets, superworms, chicken, turkey, rodents, Mazuri, and cockroaches Dana - I'll get back to you about Tanin our Black Throat She's amazing!

Thank you all again!

[laurarfl]

I don't have any shedding problems and mine have an outdoor-ish environment. Sometimes it is only 40% humidity during the day, but often 80%-90% humidity at night. So it varies quite a bit. But I don't mist the cage at all, maybe just a soaking in the winter here and there before they hibernate. Maybe some tegus end up being too wet in an attempt to get higher humidity .

[laurarfl]

And I'm so glad that your little guy looks so much better!

[txrepgirl]

Your welcome. I'm so happy to hear that it worked for your Tegu, too. I'm glad we could help.