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Thread: Columbian Tegu Vomited Turkey

  1. #1

    Default Columbian Tegu Vomited Turkey

    Okay, so I got a Columbian tegu at a reptile show and he's the sweetest thing ever. All I had on hand was turkey so I fed him some straight turkey on sunday. Yesterday (Wednesday) while I was holding him as he slept, he jumped off me and ran to the corner of the room and wretched some of the most disgusting pink vomit I have ever smelled. My immediate response was to get him back in his cage. When I tried to pick him up, he flailed like a fish (which he has never done before). I put him back down and he went and hid for a few minutes. He huffed at me but I picked him up, he was calm again, and put him back in his tank. A lot of what I've received in the way of answers has been that he was too cold or new home stress. He just seemed so calm and loving and he mostly just slept while on me that I thought it would be okay to hold him this soon. Was this the fault of my snuggles? He's on dirt, 83 degrees F on the cold side and UVA UVB spotlights. He's moving around and everything just fine today. Though he has been lifting a leg and tasting his toes for some reason.. should I try to feed him today? The original owner had him on rats, should I move him back to that? I'm really scared of seeing vomited rat O.o But mostly, I want him to be healthy. Thoughts?

    Elan

    Columbian Tegu
    Savannah Monitor
    Soft-shell Turtle
    Salcata Tortoise
    African Fat-tail
    3 Leopard geckos

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Manchester, NH
    Posts
    238

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    Generally vomiting will be the result of cold or excessive handling. Does he have a heat pad within his tank? As burrowers tegus need to have the belly heat to properly digest their food and to have heat at night.

    I would also look into getting some pro-biotics. Vomiting can be stressful on the system, especially if you're working with a new move and new environments too.
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  3. #3

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    I can handle too much? They said I should handle him as much as possible to keep him tame. I guess I did it too quickly. I didn't have an undertank because I was afraid he'd dig to where he was on the glass and get burnt. Where could I get tegu-safe probiotics? Thanks for answering btw

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    San Antonio,TX
    Posts
    9,505

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    Hi DeathByLol. Welcome to our tegu forum family. I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your Tegu. I don't wan to be rude but I disagree with lilwyhunter. You are correct. I don't recommend using a heat pad. Tegus get their heat from above. I don't think it's because he was to cold or to stressed out. I had a frilled dragon from someone who wasn't taking very good care of him. He was very thin. So I fed him until he was full. Well the next day he got sick like your Tegu did. He was fine after that. We have five Tegus ( used to have six ) since they were hatchlings. I handled them from day one. The only time I didn't hold them is when some of them were hibernatiing. Since your Tegu just got sick I recommend giving him some stage one ( it's like a puree and no solid pieced in there ) chicken baby food. This will give him some protein for strength to get better. I would wate one day to give him some solid food. I also would give him some pedialyte. This will help him get hydrated again. It has electrolytes in it. Just let him lick up the baby food. Did you feed him by any chance the turkey right out of the fridge ? Or did you warm it up in some warm/hot tap water first ( if it's solid ). Or if it's ground turkey warmed up for just a few seconds in the microwave but not cooked ? There are allot of Tegu breeders out there who keep their Tegus in outside enclosures and don't have any heat pads . I do would higher up the temps. The basking temps should be 110-115. What kind of dirt are you using ? Where did you get it from ? If your Tegu is a baby then you could try my shirt trick. This will make him feel safe and be warm.

    Tegu Caresheet:


    http://www.thetegu.com/showthread.ph...Tegu-Caresheet

    Shirt trick:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVyU44yDH4E

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