Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This saturday i noticed my baby arg woke up and was basking. Sunday he didn't come out at all. Today he came out around 3-4 pm, and about 7 pm i saw him eating! This goes against everything i have been reading, both about when they wake up from hibernation and that they usually wait a month before eating again. Maybe he has been coming out before this weekend i just have never seen him till now. Anyway, im taking this as a good sign. Yesterday I started leaving little balls of ground turkey mixed with strawberries in the feeding dish, and i saw him chowing down just earlier. For his size, he ate a pretty good chunk. Now he is just fat and sleeping over in the warm spot! I added diced kiwi and some chicken cold cuts to the menu to give him some variety. I plan on leaving him food overnight for the next couple of days and closely monitor what and how much he eats. I hope to get him adjusted to a feeding schedule of about 6-7 pm, because that is when i get home. I am so excited! I have been waiting for this day since I got him in december. I look forward to getting to know my little buddy and welcoming him into the family!

Thats good to hear. I recently acquired a new chacoan tegu youngster. So far he has been the sweetest and calmest reptile I have ever ownded. I was noticing that he was sleeping quite a bit. A couple of days went by when I didnt see him at all. I started to think that the only reason why he was so calm was because he was actually trying to hibernate and didnt have the energy to act any different. Well.. the last few days I have been sick and have been able to monitor him. He seems to wake up at around 10am every day and stay active until around 2 or 3pm. In this time he will eat any turkey that I leave out for him. I have yet to really find him chowing down on crickets yet but I do notice when there are less in the enclosure than there were whenI added them. It seems that it is quite possible that the little guy may have been coming out while you were at work. How does your tegu respond to being handled? I have only had mine for a very short time and he already comes to my hand freely when it enters his space. Im really excited about this guy and am very happy to have acquired a tegu

Vin

I have my roommate check on him every day anywhere from 9-10 am to 2-4 pm since he works 2nd shift, and he has never seen him roaming about. Anyway, it is still possible that he has been active for some time now. Whenever i reach in for him, he pumps the hydraulics, raises up, and huffs a little, but when I pick him up, he is just really chill. I also do not know if this is because of his lethargic state right now due to hibernation, or if he really is that easy going. They're supposed to be really jumpy when they are this young. Oh well, I guess I'll know for sure in a week or two.