Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I work part time at a local pet shop, and they've had a captive bred Argentine for about a year now. I've been working there for 7 or 8 months, and usually only worked the reptile area on weekends. Now don't get me wrong, the shop is generally known for it's healthy, well-kept animals, but this one appears to be an exception. The main reptile guy left about a month or so ago and I've been working in reptiles a lot more often now, and had finally discovered the shape this tegu was in...
He had no UV and he'd been living strictly off of crickets and pinkies. He was on nature bark (a VERY dusty and splintery substrate that I absolutely despise) and was constantly buried. After a while we noticed he had been increasingly lethargic, and took a closer look at him to see that his bottom jaw was swollen, mostly (I suspect) because of splinters from his constant burrowing. I could also see where he had broken toes and had them heal, some at very odd angles. We moved him into his own tank with aspen bedding (still not perfect, but a LOT better) and his mouth looks just fine now. He's not nearly as lethargic as he used to be. He's under UV and I've been giving him apples and strawberries, though I've only caught him eating them once.
However about a week or two ago I noticed that he was having trouble shedding, and that it was constricting his tail and toes. I soak him every chance I get, and have spent hours upon hours "picking" at him to get the worst of it off. His tail is fine, but I just can't help his front toes. Some are missing and most of the rest appear dead, which is probably a result of the damage done earlier. Here's the kicker, he's about a year old, and he's about 6 inches svl. I kid you not. I don't know if he'll ever be able to catch up or if his growth is permanently stunted.
My main question is what else can I do for him? If I caught it early enough is MBD reversible even in the slightest? I don't even know if the shop takes its animals to a vet, and I don't know if they could do anything for the toes except amputate. I'm eventually going to move him into a bigger tank and add a humid box, since his humidity is still pretty low. How can I improve his diet? I'm probably going to go out and buy some more fruit on my own... like kiwi, bananas, canteloupe etc... What are some of the healthiest things for them, so I can get him back on the right path quickest? I also read that shedding problems are caused by a vitamin C deficiency... Can tegus eat oranges? I know that the acid is bad for uromastyx.. I'd appreciate any advice you could give me. I was practically in tears trying to do what I could for his toes, but I'm at the end of my rope.
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1.0 RES, Spunky
0.0.1 Mali Uro, Guban (Goober)
0.0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
3.1 Cats
0.1/2 rabbit (friend and I went 50/50)
0.2 Gerbils
1.0 Betta, Nigel

I'm not an expert, but this is how we feed our columbian tegu.

When we bought our columbian, which was suppossed to be an argentine he was fed only a live mouse or cat food. My wife and I switched him to ground turkey which we add bone meal, reptivite vitamins, phosphorus free calcium with D3 added, sometimes brewers yeast and now we will be adding a raw egg into the mixture once in a while for variety. Fruits and veggies and frozen thawed mice.

His sleeping quarters is a 40 gal tank but during the day he has his 4' X 4' playpen enclosure he moves around in. To me the sooner he see's a vet the better, but sometimes pet shops just won't take the time or expense to take care of their animals.

Good luck

check it out
http://stano40.tripod.com/thelizardcorral/

The best thing you can do is call some "nutty" animal rights group to help you take legal action against this situation.

For the time being, have you told your boss an animal is looking neglected & probably isn't selling due to its condition?

Dust all crix, maybe even 1/2 a pinky. just dont dust TOO much or u could cause liver damage. replace his uv light every 6 months (u guys have lots of bulbs right?)

because adult mice have more balanced nutrition than pinkies, take a big knife & cut a frozen adult mouse in quarters. defrost and feed.

Whatever u do, don't buy him. This will be supporting his condition and before u know it, another poor lizard will have to take his place. since u work there, you can do your best to take care of him.
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Zsa-Zsu and Corny the Corn Snake
and Monaco the Argentine B&W Tegu
and Meanie the Black Throat Monitor

Get the little sick Tegu some good UV (reptisun 8.0 and/or Powersun Bulb), bring the temps up about 5 degrees more than the norm and soak him regularly in warm water for 20-30 minutes twice a week to help with the skin situation. Also keep the enclosure, moist not wet. Cypress mulch is the best if you can get it. If you are on the west coast like me you will need an alternate, conact me for more info if this is true. The most important thing is to use fully developed mice or rats for food. Do what must be done to make them appropriate size but that will help. If it will eat fruit great but don;t be suprised if it isn't interested in fruit right now. If the toes and/or feet are showing any signs of infection you MUST take it to a vet and get them properly treated. There are a few salves and ointments if it is not severe. It will be necessary to keep the cage really clean and the feet disinfected until the problem clears up. Best of luck and be sure to keep us posted on the progress. I don't post often but I do keep an eye on the forum. If I can assist in any way let me know. IF you are in the Seattle area I may be able to help further. Thanks for taking care of the Tegu friend
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Peace!
KofSeattle
Reptile-Like
Here lizard lizard.........

Hey, I'm sorry to hear about the tegu. It's too bad when pet shop owners are that irresponsible. Anyway, you're right about the shedding possibly being due to vit c deficiency. I have a b&w argentine about a year old. He won't accept all fruits but there are a couple he really likes. The best one so far that he will eat that has the highest vitamin c content is a persimmon and if they are available in your area that is what I would recommend. Also good for high vit c are mango and papaya. Mine also eats most berries and grapes. If it is reluctant to eat fruit sometimes you can add mealworms or drizzle a bit of egg yolk on the fruit, that worked for me a few times. Another shedding problem, especially around the toes is sometimes if the substate is too fine it might stick between its toes and hinder the shed. If you are using fine substate then try not to let it get very wet, this is what will make it sticky. Congratulations on your dedication to this animal, your pet store owner owes you big time! If you have any pics of your brazilian rainbow boa I would love to see them. My friend has one about 1 1/2 years old, 4 ft long, and it is beautiful. If you don't have pics could you at least send me an email with his age and length, my friend would be interested. My email is dave.mcdonald@mcdcon.ca.
Good luck with that tegu.