Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I aquired two argentine black and white tegus today... Sadly, the former owner did not take proper care of the animals. They were deprived of food for weeks at a time, and not exposed to full spec light. My smallest, there both juveniles, worries me...she has not eaten, and has difficulty moving. She has drank large amounts of water though. I'm worried about metabolic bone disease... Any suggestions on what I can do for the poor little girl?? I'm willing to try anything to save her.

There should be a LAW against not caring for Reptiles properly! Ignorance is one thing, but when you keep several animals, and you don't work to the fullest to care for them, thats when its just plain wrong...

God I hate previous neglectful owners!!!!

Mine had a lung infection and permanent scaring to his eyelids thanks to someone.

Sorry, dont know anything about treating bone disease.

Best of luck though!

I know its a LONG recovery time, a Lepard Gecko came through the North Bay Herps a few months ago, his legs were horribly disfigured, and he had trouble eating, the last owners got him, and just left him alone, I mean, really? Why would you buy a pet, and not pay any attention to it? The next meeting is on the 26th, I'll ask around and see if I can get any info on treating your Tegu.

These two tegus aren't the only mistreated animals I've adopted....I have a beautiful ball python with a terrible heat pad burn on her belly. She got burned twice while living with the same owner...you'd think they'd learn! She's doing much better now though. I'm thinking of making a liquid food slurry to feed my sick tegu..she will drink water, and I have some syringes...

Drinking water is a good sign, so hang in there! It sounds as if dehydration is a culprit as well. Keep fresh water in with them at all times. If overly dehydrated, they tend not to eat.
Another aspect is to double check their temps. Make sure they have a basking spot around 110 degrees. Increasing this to 115 would not be a bad idea either for a few weeks. Asl omake sure their nightime temp does not fall below 85 for about a week.
Typically the night temps should not fall below 75, but since they are not eating and are youngsters, keep the temps up for a bit. Tegus are pretty hardy herps and can bounce back quickly. Also check for any mucus or drainage from their nostrils. This is a sign of respiratory infection/problems. The increased temps should also help this out. I would also suggest seeing an herp vet within the next 2 days if no improvements are seen.
About eating, try mealworms, crickets and also boiled/cooked chicken pieces.......all dusted w/ a calcium D3 supplement of course.

Greg

Thanks for the advice, I'll be sure to keep the heat high for them. I have had some success though!! I've gotten them to eat...I took beef and strawberry bannana baby food, and mixed it with water and mineral supplement... They love it! even the weak little one will eat it, out of a plastic syringe. I hope the baby food is ok? I'm going to try feeding them other varieties, and add small pieces of solid foods as she gets stronger...the male is doing well, chasing crickets all over the place, but he likes it to. Perhaps I should try pedialite? I know several reptiles who my herpetologist friend has saved from dehydration that way... thanks again for your help, and let me know if you have any more suggestions!

Greg's advice is excellent, as always. I think pedialyte would certainly help with electrolytes. You can mix it with the baby food. I don't know if Calcionate would help if you suspect MBD, but many uro people use it for a calcium supplement. Hope your little guys recover quickly. It makes me so angry that people abuse animals like they do and think nothing of it. Wish you the best, keep us posted.

Pam

Keep at it! The babyfood is a good idea and some even feed this a few times a week to their tegus as babies. The pedialyte is also a good idea to re-hydrate them. Pam also noted below another nice option as well.

Greg

I feed baby food sometimes as a treat and Pedialyte is a great supplement for electrolytes. Try some soaks as well as it sounds like the prior owner did not put much thought into anything (like hydration). As far as MBD the treatment usually includes Ca injections, super UV lighting (powersuns), and supplementation.
For more info on treatment and illness, you can go to the waterdragon forum and ask "H2ODragons" about what the vet is doing to treat her dragons for MBD.

Good Luck
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Yours,

NiCoLE

"Trying to save someone from their own stupidity is like trying to teach a pig how to dance: it wastes your time, and annoys the pig."

- Robert
Heinlein

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