Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It's official, my little guy has woken up from hibernation! He shed any dead skin, but I'm a little concerned since his legs are a bit thin. Can anyone recommend a post hibernation diet? He's been taking plenty of wax worms, but I'm wondering if there's anything specific that would be extra good for him right now. I'd like to get him back to his normal size soon. Thanks!

Mine just woke up recently also, about 2 weeks ago. Where did you get him from? Did he look thin when you got him or just when he woke up? My little guy has been eating more and more each day. I think it may take him a while to develop that legendary appetite. I guess they have to recondition their stomachs or something. Just feed like you normally would, with a large variety, and he'll perk up soon hopefully. I leave some kind of food in the cage 24/7 right now. I feed crickets, ground turkey, pinkies, and eggs. I will introduce fruits once the appetite gets a little better. Good luck.

I would stay away from eggs ,and only feed pinkies that are just removed from the mother with milk in there bellies. I would feed 85% gut loaded dusted insectes till he could eat a hopper size mouse. Thanks Russ

I got him from Reptile Kingdom at the Reptile Expo in White Plains, NY this past August. He was a good sized hatchling when I got him, and was also a good size when going to sleep. He's about 17 inches total now and 6 months old. He doesn't like ground turkey or fruit yet, any time those go in the home it is left untouched. I haven't tried giving him pinkies yet mainly because I'm a bit squeamish about feeding him something that I've also had as a pet, I also wasn't sure if he was big enough. I know he doesn't have an eating problem because he just ate a big bunch of wax worms and still looked hungry but I ran out of stuff for him to eat. Do pinkies come frozen? Or do they have do be fed alive?

Also thank you for the quick responses. : )

I think you could put off feeding him mice for awhile still. Insects are such a good diet for young and growing tegus. Wax worms are a little high in fat though so you might want to substitute crickets instead along with turkey or chicken would be good. Have you tried cooking the turkey first or strips of turkey instead of ground? It shouldn't take long for him to fatten back up even on a lower fat diet if you feed him often and with variety. My tegus love variety and will often stop eating one thing then chow down when I offer something else. That’s why I try to have 2 different things for each feeding session (when they were still growing).

It is generally recommended to feed frozen thawed rodents. I don't think a mouse could do any serious damage to a tegu because of their thick skin, but why risk it. Also since you have a soft spot for rodents it seems, humanely killed frozen mice may be your best bet. You can buy them in bulk for cheap online, check on Kingsnake's main page. The posting above made a good point about pinkies. They are still ok I would think as long as you dust them and only feed them as part of the diet. The older the mouse the more nutritious because of the more developed bones and muscles. Anyway, go with forzen thawed. They're convenient, cheap, easy to store, and humanely killed. Hope this helps.

np
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Bennett

www.beardiedragon.com

How big and old is he?Russ

when mine came out of hibernation i fed them large crickets dusted with "miner-all i " (indoor formula)---also ground turkey and pinkies(dusted),fuzzies (not dusted)---mine like diced up oranges also---i also put aside things from my dinner table for them (strips of chicken breast,fish,mashed potatoes etc)--try buying a 3 or 4 dollar chicken--bake it--take all usable meat off it--store in tupperware and supplement diet with that --it is economical and healthy--hope this helps-good luck--brian