Swollen lips and bad shed

[trombleymat]

I use to give him a pinkie once a week but ran out recently. I use ro let it thaw n fridge and then thaw at room temp. I feed him in the cage in an area that's free of substrate. He won't acknowledge food when he is out. I plan on getting more rodents here soon and will try the syrengine tip. I've tried giving him eggs, fish, ground turkey but has no interest in them.

[txrepgirl]

I know some people think this is mean. But don't give him any food that he likes for right now. Keep trying to give him the food he doesn't like ( but needs ) in small portions ( in case he doesn't eat it ). If he is hungry enough he will eat it. Try to put some frozen rodents ( when you have some again ) into some warm tap water to thaw out. Before feeding it to him squeeze the rodent to make sure it's all the way thawed out. He might go for this more if the rodent is a bit warm. You can do the same fish the fish or solid meats.

[trombleymat]

I've tried this a few times with ground turkey but all he does is take a couple licks. I think I'll buy some cod or something for him to try after his vet visit tomorrow. I'll get more rodents at the next reptile expo. Missed it last weekend. Just have to wait till January 4th here so I'll get rodents then. I know he will get the rodent as soon as he seems it so I'm not too concerned about that. Just worries me that I've read everywhere that they eat a ton when they r young and yet mine doesn't even come close.

[txrepgirl]

I wouldn't worry to much. A lot of Tegus slow down in eating in the fall and the winter time. In the spring is when they eat like pigs. Some Tegus never slow down. I can't wait to see what the vet says. Good luck.

[trombleymat]

Okay. I can't wait till spring. Lol. But thanks. I'll post as soon as I hear what the vet says.

[trombleymat]

so we just got back from the vet. Either he is wrong or from what everyone else is telling me they're wrong. He was telling me the temperature should be from 85 to 95 no Mulch at all and no water in enclosure. Just something small to drink from. Also told me they he is supposed to eat a all meat diet, no veggies or fruit and no ground turkey. He said ground turkey is bad for them. Anyways his lip wasn't swollen, always happens. U think something is wrong but ur better the next day. Anyways he did say that argo is malnurished , swollen in his legs, tail, and body. He said he was scabbed up? Can he be if he is shedding??? He gave argo a injection of vitamin A-D3. And told me to force feed him something called insectivore-fare. According to him Argo doesnt have mbd but looks like its getting close. Told me to get a new fixure and get a new bulb liek what they use at greenhouses for plants to give him more ultra violet rays. He wants a stool sample to check for parasites when Argo goes. I think that's about it. I might have missed something. I told him that I also had a bearded dragon and started telling me stuff about them that I know he is wrong. So I'm highly doubtful in this guys credability. Going to see if I can find anything about him online.

[trombleymat]

Ohh and he also said Tegus are suppose to be very visious and if they aren't then they aren't healthy. Even though a lot of people say that theirs is the complete opposite. So I'm taking the mulch out (was planning on it anyways until he got bigger) and going to attempt to feed him this insectivore stuff. Let me know what u guys think. Can't wait to hear your comments.

[txrepgirl]

OMG. I wish you could see my face right now . I know I'm not a vet. But we have Tegus for many years right now and they all are very healthy. Our Vet is awesome and does a checkup on them once a year. He is happy to see on how they are doing. Well for except our Leonidas has a broken foot ( I already took him to the vet ). I can't believe what your vet told you. Tegus are tropical animals and they need the humidity in the enclosure. It's very hard to keep the humidity right if there isn't any mulch in there. If the temps are to low they don't digest the food properly. If you want to you can try this. The next time you get some rodents lower the temps. When your Tegu is going to poop them out you will see some fur in the poop. Then the next time feed him the rodents and higher the temps to the proper temps. When he is going to poop them out the poop with look normal. Also the stuff he told you to give to your Tegu I wouldn't recommend it ( I just read about it http://www.zoofood.com/insectivore.html ). My vet gave told me to give the carnivore care to my Tegu when she was impacted one time and it worked well. Some other members here on the forum tried it, too, and liked it. The only thing I agree on what he sad is to put a new bulb in. I recommend getting the one in the link below. Since Tegus bask a lot they benefit more from this bulb because it's all in one ( heat, UVA/UVB ). I forgot to ask you. I'll post a video on how to force feed a Tegu in case you don't know. You can get some stage one chicken baby food mixed with some calcium and vitamin powder. Or you can put different foods into the blender and then put it into the syringe.

Carnivore care: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...057-006T-00003 . It's cheaper on ebay and you get more. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carnivore-Ca...item19cc77713b .

Zoomed powersun. For a smaller enclosure you can get the 100W. For a bigger one the 160W. You can shop around and see who has the cheaper one.

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product...roducts_id=340


You can see that Tegus can be very tame ( you also can see it in our videos on youtube ). The link is in my signature.

[hillmans]

anapsid.org, i have very respect for that website. The website has helped me with my reptiles to become stronger and healthy in ways i didnt know about.

Regards!

[trombleymat]

Thank you so much. I knew as soon as he started talking I shouldn't listen to him. I am going g to replace the bedding with something that holds humidity better. I can't even remember what I had :-\ I am Aldo going to get a new fixture asap. Might have to go shopping today. I have the next 5 days off so y not. Woot woot. I will also tried all that you told me. This is the reason I hate having to go to doctors or vets. They usually just want your money. If anyone knows of any good respectable reptile vets in Ohio let me know. I'm looking for one. Haha. I'll try everything and let you know how everything is coming along. Thanks again for the advice and confirming that I shouldn't really listen to him.