Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a problem but first a little back ground. I have a blue tegu that is just over a year old and is eating the sdz diet and she is 2 1/2' long and wonderfull, I have a columbian that is 7 months old and also on sdz he is almost 2'. Here is the problem I get a phone call about two tegus who need a home since the owner works too much. when I got to her house these two are just ovewr a year old the lady bought them at the same time I got my blue. I get to the house and theses twoa re 10 and 11 inches long thier legs look so atrophied they can not walk on them some of thier toes are just laying limp. she did not have any uv lighting and the tank was in the low 70's temp wise she was feeding them the can o crickets stuff they sell for turtles and such. any way I brought them home and went into debt. I am feeding them the sdz and they have an 8.0 florescent uv bulb as well as a basking bulb bringing the basking site to a nice 95 and the cool side to around 80. I also started them on the liquid d3 vitamins as well as reptical and reptivite. If anyone can think of anything I am missing please let me know I really want to save these little guys and I am just afraid I am overlooking something that I take forgranted since my other two tegus are healthy. Sorry this is so long but its a lot to explain
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Beau W.

Care for them like you care for your Tegus and keep them warm, maybe a warm swim will help them and let them work their lims out, Good luck
How are they eating?

Almost as soon as I got done feeding them I gave them a nice warm bath and then took them outside for some real sunshine. They are only eating small amounts but we fed them twice today and they seem to be fat and happy at the moment. The lady we got them from admitted she did not know how to take care of them. She was only feeding them once every three days. I feed mine every day. I am hopefull they will snap out of this I am taking some pictures so I will post them soon. The little female her lower jaw is receeding back and now she has an overbite but I am hoping with the sdz this will not be a problem. Thank you.
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Beau W.

I "rescued" a red tegu in a similar condition in early August. He was over a year old and about five inches, snout to vent. One of his front paws is completely curled under and crippled, his other front paw is weak (but appears to be getting stronger), and some of the toes on his hind paws appear not to have feeling or be under his motor control, but otherwise, he's doing very well. He's voracious and is growing and gaining weight like crazy. His coordination, which was almost too poor to allow him to catch crickets before, has improved tremendously. I have had to soak him quite a bit, as he had a lot of shed built up, but his sheds lately have been good, with problems only in the indented areas where he had serious constrictions before. It sounds like you're doing a fine job. I just wanted to give you some encouragement!

Oh, forgot to mention: It sounds like your basking spot temps are a little low. It's my understanding that basking temps should be 100-110 degrees F.

Thank you all for the words of encouragement and wisdom. Sadly, when my family and I got home from church this afternoon the little boy had passed away. The little girl ate very well today though and we have hope that she will make it. I will keep you all posted and thatnk you again.
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Beau W.