Reptile & Amphibian Forums

He's shaking alot and he's breathing through his mouth. He's been healthy eating(15-20 crickets) and he almost a year old.I use both a sixty watt heat lamp and a heat rock and a florecent light(5.0 zoo med).m One thing I haven't done is veriy his diet just crickets. Please someone help my little lizard!!!!

Bill Russo

Have you been dusting the crickets with calcium and D3 every day? That shaking comment makes me think metabolic bone disease (MBD). A condition that results from lack of calcium and or D3. You should bring him into a vet in any case, that doesn't sound good!

Please do the best you can to get him to a vet. As Russ stated, and I have to agree, it sounds like MBD and maybe even a respitory infection may be setting in. Is there any clear discharge from his nose?

In my opinion crickets are really not enough to feed a big ol Tegu. They need meat too and calcium is important. Depending on the type of Tegu fruit may be in order as well. If you post the exact species I am sure someone could offer you a healty diet. I sure hope he gets better, best of luck. If there is anything I can do.....
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Peace!
KofSeattle
Reptile-Like
Here lizard lizard.........

Get him to a vet ASAP. I agree with the others that it sounds as if MBD is a possibility. I'm also a little shocked that he only eats a dozen or so crickets a day! My black and white tegu was eating more than that as a green-headed juvenile. I've only had tegus a few months, so perhaps someone with more experience could comment on this, but at his age and size, I can't imagine he's getting enough nutrition from only a dozen crickets a day. My 5-month old B&W and 15-month-old Red both eat many times the weight of a dozen crickets a day. Can you work some whole food such as mice and fruit into his diet? Perhaps some ground turkey (with bone meal and vitamins per the SZD), too? Good luck with him! Let us know what the vet says. My red tegu came to me as a grossly undersized one-year-old with MBD. His paws will always be crippled by it, but he's making a remarkable recovery otherwise.

Thanks for all the replys I going to take him too the doctor tomarrow(monday) but today I'm going to start an aggressive D-3 treatments with fruit and some ground meats (lean). I will post his progress.
Thanks for the help,this is a great forum!!!!

When my blue came to me he had a lung infection, and once we began treatment one of the things the vet told me to watch out for was if he started breathing through his mouth...In other words, yours may have a lung infection as well, just something to remind the vet to take a look at. Try to check yourself and see if his breathing is at regular intervals and not sporadic, but you're best off having the vet check him.

good luck
chris

Mine acts like it is tegu candy.

Mike B.