Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone,
Well, I’m having problems with my Tegu n. So here’s a little background info first: I own a one year old Argentine Black and white Tegu named Tatoo (misspelled, I know). He is kept in a large (7’ X 4’) enclosure with temps in the mid-upper 90’s and a basking spot near 105. His humidity levels are around 70-90% via one fogger and one mister. Lighting consists of 1 150 watt basking lamp, 1 20” 7.0 UVB florescent light and 1 250 watt ceramic heat emitter. He had a small mite problem a few weeks back that after much cleaning we are finally rid of. His diet consists of 1 medium sized gut loaded rat every other day and he weight’s about 9lbs.
For about the past month and a half he has had major shedding problems. He has completely missed sheds; his tail is riddled with areas of shed and unshed spots. We’ve seen a vet and he recommended either olive-oil or mineral oil treatments a couple times a week with frequent bathing. We’ve tried this and some of the commercially available shed-aid products and we try to keep up with the manual removal of loose shedding skin. All of this is to no avail. Now a new skin problem seems to be arising. About a month ago we noticed a small pale white discoloration on his side. It looks kind of like the way a dried water spot on a table would look like. It’s not dries water however cause it definitely will not wipe off. Now, it’s gotten bigger and another area is experiencing the same phenomena. This worries me greatly. Can anyone explain to me what this is? Also, does anyone have any suggestions as to how to better maintain his skin health in general including how to get his shed back in order? Please help, I’m beyond frustrated. Thanks.

My blue now has some small white areas on his legs as well along with old shed that didnt come off. I have no idea why his sheds should be anything less than perfect like his last sheds were, since now he's got a mr. moisture misting system that I'm running every half hour in a desperate attempt to constantly keep humidity levels very high. He's also getting plenty of fruits and vitamins, as well as drinking enough water. Lately, I've seen some small pieces of skin come off, just a little at a time. I suppose that's a good sign. Oh one and those white, almost scar tissue looking like spots did come off partly yesterday, but he still has other skin that needs to come off. I'm debating taking mine to the vet as well if I don't see improvement soon. I'll try and take some pics of the skin and post them for tatoo and i.

I had a 250 watt ceramic heater but had to stop using it when after it fully warmed up I noticed the temps directly beneath it were 140 F. A little too hot and probably dangerous for my tegu. Just wondering how it's working for you.

my cage is a little on the taller side and underneth the bhulb maxes out at about 110 but i could see how that could get things to hot. i burned myself bad by touching it for a split second!

Too high of Humidity will do the same thing . They will develope skin problems like, Fungus . This happend to Santiago. Every thing is fine now because I dont Spray the main cage . Were I live it never goes under 50%. The hid box Is moist , not wet . The ground is 75-85% humidity in the hide box. Im taking a air humidity as we speak. I dont spray the hide box . I find dumping water in the substrate , wich is a bark ,coco bark mixture.This works better for me.They also need to have a place were they can dry out also. Thanks Russ

You made no mention of substrate. I know that has been discussed endlessly. Use Russ' idea with cypress or a good bark and you will see improvement. They need damp areas and drier areas. Hope this helps.

Mike B