Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got my tegu 2 days ago. Today, i got him to eat a pinkie, but he only ate one. He is 14" long, how many 1 day olds should he eat? Also when i put him in his tank, all he wants to do is burrow and sleep.
Thanks

Is he 14 inches SVL? or 14 inchces total? What kinda Tegu are we talking about here? I'll assume its an Argentine of some sort, considering that is what most people here keep.

Well I can tell you this, I forgot to feed my Tegu yesterday, and he ate five large pinks (3-4day old) and four fuzzies, so they can eat quite a bit.

How are you feeding your Tegu, are you feeding it in a seperate container? Mig will only eat if the food is on his dish, in his enclosure...so you may try leaving the food in there for him to eat it.

He's burrowing and sleeping because that is his natural instinct, it's brumation time for the herp world ...Mig usually basks for a few hours and then burrows in and sleeps the rest of the day, so I wouldn't worry about it...
Also where did you buy him from? Was he brumating before you got him? Most places like Agama International have their Tegus in hibernation now, so that could be the case for your guy too..

Hope that helps a bit! If you answer my questions I and others will be able to help you out better

Later,
Ralph

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0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu
0.0.1 Baby Aru Green Tree Python
2.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.4 Hatchling Bearded Dragons
1.1 Honduran Milksnake
1.0 Florida Brooksi Kingsnake
1.0 Blood Red Cornsnake
1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Desert Kingsnake
1.0 Western Hognose Snake
1.0 Bull Mastiff

Hello,
My tegu is 14" total, argentine. Bought him from a local pet shop in florida. I bought 3 1 day olds and he only ate one, because i put a little ground beef scent on it. The other 2 are just squirming around in his dish. He eats in his tank, but should i feed him out of it?
Thanks in advance

You probably shouldn't have to scent the pinkies, especially if they are live. Most Tegus will eat Frozen/Thawed unscented with no problem.

Just a word of advice, if you want to save some money with your Tegu, invest in some Frozen Rodents, you can get them from such places as Roden Pro (www.rodentpro.com) thats where I get mine from, the pinkies you probably paid around $1.00 each, right? At roden pro, you get 'em for 17 cents! It's really the only way to have a Tegu and not go broke, unless you breed your own rodents, which is another option.

As for feeding him in his own enclosure, It depends on the Tegu in my opinion, I'm mostly a snake guy, and when you feed snakes in their enclosures their instinct becomes to bite you when you go to pick them up because they think you are offering them food, if this happens with your Tegu, where he thinks you are giving him food everytime you go in his enclosure and goes to bite you, then i would feed him outside of it, to break that habit. One way to avoid this is to sort of "sneak" the food into his enclosure without him seeing you do this, what I like to to is take Mig out and handle him, and while he's playing I put the mice in his dish, then when he's done playing he goes inside and eats .

You might try this method or the feeding in a seperate enclosure, it is up to you...

Good Luck and post some pics, I would love to see your Tegu!
-----
0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu
0.0.1 Baby Aru Green Tree Python
2.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.4 Hatchling Bearded Dragons
1.1 Honduran Milksnake
1.0 Florida Brooksi Kingsnake
1.0 Blood Red Cornsnake
1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Desert Kingsnake
1.0 Western Hognose Snake
1.0 Bull Mastiff

That should read "Rodent Pro", just got a new comp and I have to get used to the new keyboard, hehe!

Later!
-----
0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu
0.0.1 Baby Aru Green Tree Python
2.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.4 Hatchling Bearded Dragons
1.1 Honduran Milksnake
1.0 Florida Brooksi Kingsnake
1.0 Blood Red Cornsnake
1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Desert Kingsnake
1.0 Western Hognose Snake
1.0 Bull Mastiff

All this little guy likes to do is sleep all day and night. By the picture, do you think he can eat 2 pinkies?
Thanks

http://www.[bleep]/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=15782

http://www.[bleep]/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=15783

my tegu did the same--your tegu might be trying to hibernate--it's that time of year--brian

Wohoo! Got it working!

3

NICE looking Tegu!!

If I was a betting man, I would bet that he could eat two pinkies, probably more...Mig ate 9 mice today! and he isn't too big, a fuzzie is a little smaller than his head, and he took down four of them, plus 5 pinks, I would say a 1 day old pink should be smaller than the head of your Tegu, so yeah, I think he can eat two.

Good Luck and don't be a stranger to the forum!

You can get an idea of how big Mig is in this picture, the enclosure is about 15 inches deep and 10 inches high.

-----
0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu
0.0.1 Baby Aru Green Tree Python
2.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.4 Hatchling Bearded Dragons
1.1 Honduran Milksnake
1.0 Florida Brooksi Kingsnake
1.0 Blood Red Cornsnake
1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Desert Kingsnake
1.0 Western Hognose Snake
1.0 Bull Mastiff

Before he lost his tail, my tegu was 15 1/4th inches (total). It hasn't been TOO long (A month or so) so I'd guess he's still pretty close to the same size.

Anyway, mine is a cow. The other day, I gave him two fuzzies (Because they have more nutrients to them than pinkies.) and when he was finished, he STILL downed around 18 crickets.

On an average day, when I don't have fuzzies, he'll take about 2 dozen crickets. Or more, if I feed him more than once per day, which I don't usually do.

The only reason I let him eat so many is because of the growth spurt they go through at this age/size. When he gets done with it, I'm sure he'll be less hungry and get fed a couple mice/fruits every other day.

Wow,
How do you guys get your tegu's appetite so good? I live in south florida, and right now its pretty hot during the day. His tank maintains a steady 82 degrees, its a 20 gallon long, he has a 50W basking light and a florecent uv light. Should i put a undertank heater in?
Also, i put the pinkies in his face, but he just goes under his log to sleep.
Hopefully he will eat the others tomorrow. Thanks for the quick responses!

i'm in south florida also----you don't have to worry about your tegu's appetite--mine (1.1)went into hibernation as soon as i got them home-mine didn't eat for approx. one month--then the male ate 16 crickets his first time and now he is a machine--my female just came out of hibernation--skipped crickets went for a rat pup--take forums advice and buy bulk frozen--that 20 is a good start but he will need something bigger---basking side of tank needs to be 110--120 with other side of tank shady and cool-good luck-brian

Hi loyski, well if you only got him 2 days ago that sounds pretty normal. Sometimes they take a while to settle in. I know it's hard to do but it'd probably help if you let him be as much as possible. Tegus feel security from their home and it takes awhile for them to adjust. He'll be a little nervous about it for awhile. You might want to try some other kinds of food like dusted superworms in a dish and dusted turkey. He looks cool, congrats on your new tegu.

Thanks Rollin,
Hopefully he becomes as big as your tegu. I tried crickets today, but no luck. I probably should leave him alone for a week or so. I've been uncovering him from his burrow, and he hasnt shown any sign of aggression. He looks like he doesnt even care.
Thanks