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Another Tegu in a very sad state.

kit1970 Sep 29, 2003 08:45 PM

Well yesterday a Female Gold Tegu came into my possession, however, she appears to be in horrid shape.
Her tail is bent and constricted as a result of poor shedding, she is skinny, and to make matters worse she is missing several nails from both her sets of legs.
In truth, I have seen much worse, she has an appetite and despite her obvious poor state of health she is not indicating the usual types of stress behaviors.
Although I could get no clear idea of her past, (a dealer gave this Tegu to me), she looks as though she did not hold up during the rigors of importation.
My hope is a little TLC, good nourishment and a good environment will turn this girl around.
As soon as I can get a snapshot of her I'll share it.
Of course this does give me an opportunity to see the extent of Columbian Tegu social interaction, (this female is sharing her enclosure with my sub-adult male Columbian B&W) and I have a hunch they are in fact very social with each other.
There is no real point to this post, except to let everyone know that yet another Tegu has come into my life.

Regards,

-Kit

Replies (3)

BillyBoy Sep 30, 2003 06:42 AM

At least she's in a good environment now Kit. I know you'll bring her back. How big is she? Any signs of MBD or anything? Overall, it sounds like she should make a full recovery. Good luck and keep us posted on her progress.

Billy

>>Well yesterday a Female Gold Tegu came into my possession, however, she appears to be in horrid shape.
>>Her tail is bent and constricted as a result of poor shedding, she is skinny, and to make matters worse she is missing several nails from both her sets of legs.
>>In truth, I have seen much worse, she has an appetite and despite her obvious poor state of health she is not indicating the usual types of stress behaviors.
>>Although I could get no clear idea of her past, (a dealer gave this Tegu to me), she looks as though she did not hold up during the rigors of importation.
>>My hope is a little TLC, good nourishment and a good environment will turn this girl around.
>>As soon as I can get a snapshot of her I'll share it.
>>Of course this does give me an opportunity to see the extent of Columbian Tegu social interaction, (this female is sharing her enclosure with my sub-adult male Columbian B&W) and I have a hunch they are in fact very social with each other.
>>There is no real point to this post, except to let everyone know that yet another Tegu has come into my life.
>>
>>Regards,
>>
>>-Kit

kit1970 Sep 30, 2003 11:59 AM

Thank you Billy Boy.

I personally can't see any symptoms of MBD as of now, she looked more dehydrated than anything else and clearly underfed.
This morning she came out to bask, she is already starting to fill out in her midsection, of course her appearences are few and far between right now.
My male Tegu finally took some interest in her, he gave her a good sniff with his tounge, and proceeded to share the basking spot. Interesting, the female did not close her eyes or stiffen her posture nor did she gape, and mind you this male is easily twice her size, and this male is extremely aggressive toward humans yet he appears to be quite gentle with her.
I also discovered she has dug out her own burrow, another thing I'm going to take as a good sign toward her making a long-term recovery.
Now if I can remember to keep my camera at hand when these "Kodak" moments occur I'll be thrilled.

-Kit

kit1970 Sep 30, 2003 07:24 PM

Unfortunately this was the best I could do, she darted away before I could get a better photo of her.

-Kit

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