Reptile & Amphibian Forums

He came from a batch of agama international, and started out healthy enough. some punk bought him from the pet store i used to work at, didn't care for him, and now that i have recued him he is not eating. he is only about 12 inches long, and the vet said he doesn't look un healthy....i am new to lizards, as for the past five years i have only been keeping boas. is my tegu trying to hybernate? if so, how can i pull him out and get him eating and thriveing. he is in a four foot neodesha cage, with a uvb light, has a basking sopt of 100, with a cool side at 80(day time tempd). has nice substrate to dig in. i am confused, because i am pretty sure the cages settings are all accurate. please give me some advice! thank you so much.

From what I understand Agama Tegus are raised outside and will hibernate, young and older. If your Tegu is hibernating you should not try to pull him out of it. Plus it might be stress and take a few days for him to adjust. Try offering him some hard boiled egg whites.

Hope your Tegu is ok

ok, i know they hybernate their tegus, but he was a hatchling when he got to the pet store, and grew to about 12 inches. i have known a lot of customers who never hybernated thier argentines and they kept eating and growing. but ok, i think he is just shutting down to hybernate, so how do i care for him during that time? can i handle him? can i leave the cage settings they same?
thanks!
dan

I found this post I hope this helps. I have Columbian B/Ws so I dot have to deal with hibernation.

Posted by: Bill S. at Sat Oct 22 15:35:57 2005 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

October is the time many Argentine tegus are going down for hibernation. They go off-feed, spend more time hidden, and eventually hide completely for the winter. Babies to adults will do this. Bert's tegus are kept outdoors so the parents hibernated every year.

I had an Arg B&W many years ago that was Agama stock. A really robust tegu. But he went down completely for hibernation (filling up the access hole in his hidebox with mulch) and remained there, sight unseen, until May. Yes, that's correct. From November until May I never saw him. I knew he wasn't dead because I didn't smell anything bad.

I did not disturb him physically, but the cage remained at warm temperatures (like those you are using) all the time he was down, so temperature had nothing to do with his decision to hibernate. Nor did lighting -- the cage was getting 12 hours of light each day. Tegus know what they're doing. They can sense seasonal changes and it's really annoying when people don't understand that and keep digging them up while they're trying to hibernate (they don't eat while they hibernate and their metabolism slows way down). Anyway, when he finally emerged in May he drank like there was no tomorrow. Then he started eating and growing like nothing I've ever seen before. Really amazing!

Just give Bert a call if you're concerned, but expect him to go off-feed. Keep offering food, though. Let him make the decision. Know that if your tegu wants to hibernate he is going to hibernate, whether you agree with his decision or not.

As for taming, babies are skittish and many do not like being handled. But as they grow and you continue to interact with them they will usually calm down and trust you. Be patient.

Bill

Nice Post^^

it is just weird because they other ones from the same clutch are still eating and growing....and i have this medication i am supposed to give him to get rid of any internal parasites. guess i will keep trying.

Did the vet do a stool test? Or are the meds just a precaution?
IMO I would have the test done so I would not have to give meds if not needed.

yes we did a stool test. he told me that the stool tests are not fool proof, and the deworming meds would not harm the tegu. from what i know, most lizards harbor internal parasites. anyhow, my tegu decided to wake up, ate a few crickets, and gobled down some turkey and ham....hmmmmm...maybe he just went down for an abbrievated hybernation....weird..

Thats great news!

Have fun with your new Tegu!!

I had this same problem with my blue tegu, blues dot hibernate he wasnt eating and sleeping alot,i thought his temps were good but it turns out his night temps were to low soo i wen out and bought a ceramic heat emitter,night light, and a heat pad for his hide. He started eating again. Hopefully he keeps eating. Good luck with your tegu i know how stresful it is.