Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm sorry to come here with a non-monitor question, but actually my argentine B&W tegu started to progress since I followed the advices read here. I have this animal for the 3rd year now, and yes, I started with screen top and 150W infra-red. He had serious health issues then, but after I improved husbandary, they disappeared.
My current problem is: He has twitching toes in the hands.
He came out of hibernation in 1th May, and he doubled his food intake. Now he tripled it. He grows and gaining weight. He only willing to take mice and rats (F/T), no supers, crickets and fruits any more. I provide him a basking temp of 176 F, and another with retes stack from 105-125 F, but he almost always use the 176 F. Humidity is 65-80 %. I switch on UV bulb every now and then, and let him bask in real sun for some hours every week. The thing I changed from last year, I don't supplement every day, only once a week. Do you think, this is the problem?
What do I make wrong?

First, why 176F???????????? what the heck, and 65 to 80% humidity? are you trying to boil the poor thing. Chill out, I mean, chill down. Try a basking area of 135F to 150F, no need for more, it only complicates things. If your good(experienced) you can make it work. But it appears your not. Also, air does not have to be all that humid, it only needs humid shelters. Actually, do not go above 135F until YOU gain experience.

A tegu is not a monitor. They are two base types of lizards, with many similar, AND many different behaviors. Retes boards for tegus, how about foliage piles and the ability to burrow.

Remember, RETES boards and deep dirt, are species specific tools. They work well or poorly, depending on what they are used with and how they are applied. They are tools, and not a tool to be used with every species. Retes boards is a specific tool for crevice dwellers, not so good with obligate burrowers. Us a different tool here.

ALso, when heavy problems are experienced, such as you mentioned when you first got your tegu. Sometimes they never completely recover. They often have all sorts of problems in later life. Particularly when asked(forced, by high temps) to perform at a high level. So off to the vet and find out whats wrong with it.(very important suggestion) After all, are you sure of the specific problem? Or do you only feel there is a problem?

ALso, twitching is not just from MBD, but also occurs with many other problems. MBD is most often seen with the swelling of the limbs and softening of the bones, drooping jaws, etc.

Lastly, lack of calicum can be a use dependant malady. That is, your diet cannot keep up with the monitor at very high metabolism rates. Simply solution, slow it down. As I mentioned above, chill it out. Think of this as a car motor. If the motor is running faster then the fuel pump can supply fuel. IT will stop running. Even thought both the fuel pump and motor are working fine. This is what I mean when I said, with experience you can use super high temps. You have to understand these things. Best slow the motor down and learn. Cheers

An argentine B&W tegu, it was twitching, and shaking when it showed up. The animal was raised on catfood, fruits, veggies, insects, ground turkey diet (the SD zoo diet according to the original owner), and never rodents.
The animal was very hard to get to eat anything else, but it started to eat rodents, and peeps, and other whole animals. The twitching stopped after giving it a better diet as a basis. Then it started to return a bit at a time and the animal died regardless of their efforts.
They had a few others recover from this same problem (owners that used UVB bulbs, and the typical recommended tegu diet of fuits, etc.), but they were saved with liquid calcium when caught early enough, or with a natural source of liquid calcium such as pinky or fuzzy mice provided. I think too many think whole animals wont work as a basis with them, unfortunately the animals suffer.
Yes, common sense would say that if you warm them too much they would burn off their food faster, therefore requiring alot more, so recovery could be tougher if too warm.

Thank you very much for the answeres. I understand, that he metabolised in a high speed. I wonder that the calcium and vit D in rodents was not enough. As I told you, he has access to cooler basking spots also, but he choosed the hottest.
He is acting normal, only the fingers on the front hands twitching, but only, when he is hot enough. No other symptoms. He had MBD, when young, then the rear legs were twitching, and swollen.
I called his doctor, who told me, it is most likely MBD. Weather he can give a D vit shot, or I can start to give him vitamins (Korvimin - European mix for reptiles) daily, but then it is minimum 2 weeks, before it improves.
Now I have given him vits for a week, and how I see, it is slightly better. I will lower the temps, and take him to the vet as you suggested.