Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I work at a small zoo. About 5 weeks ago, someone dropped off a Colombian(?) B&W Tegu. Now, I know nothing about tegus. I know nothing about how it was kept at work, other than what the cage was like. I'm new there, and only saw it in its cage a couple times. The cage was OK, except for the fact that it was mulch bedding, instead of something it could burrow on.
For about a month, it was fed only raw chicken. Before that, the previous owner fed it dog food, chicken & beef; whatever was available. No fruits or veggies ever, no vitamins of any kind.

The tegu was deemed "sick", pulled off display & was put in a 20 gallon aquarium, where it would be kept until it died. I adopted it, and am trying to nurse it back to health. I have it in a 40 breeder, because it's the biggest cage I have. I know it's nowhere near big enough, but it has to be OK until this thing's better & I can pass it on to a better home.

So, can anyone tell me what's wrong with this lizard, and how to fix it? For the past couple days, I've been giving it ground turkey, grapes, and melon. I'm trying canned dog food today as well, but it's not interested at all. It's not eating much of anything, except a bite or two of turkey each day. I'm also soaking, to help it shed. What else can I do to help this guy?

I have no exp. with tegus but once had a monitor. The lizard does look sick and I suggest you take it to a vet if possible if not make sure you have the needed uvb lights and heat lamps. Maybe someone near you can adopt it and give it the proper care if your not able to everyday you wait could be a day closer to its death.

That animal needs veterinary care. You're not going to make him better by just changing his diet at this point.

first take him/her to the vet. it needs treatment for its eyes and face. colombian b/w tegus are primarily carnivourous. they will eat mice/rodents. is there a way you can get any frozen or atleast prekilled. try not to feed it live in case the mouse/rat decides to fight back and can give added stress and maybe even more wounds if it bites. lean ground raw turkey is good too if it eats it. they wont really eat veggies or fruit. try to keep him/her as warm as possible. cypress mulch works well and he/she can burrow in it. i recommen maybe use towels for now because you might not want its face and eyes to come in contact with the wood/particles/mulch. get a basking lamp for heat or atleast an undertank heater.you can set up the basking light at one end of the cage so it has a temp. gradient. 100-110 degrees is good. try to soak him/her everyday and use some betadine for any lacerations or what not that it has anywhere else. dont use it on the eyes or mouth. the tegu is not going to die (i dont think) because it is not skin and bones or anything. he just has developed an infection of some sort. cant your zoo staff vet provide care. that seems wierd they gave up on it like that and put it in a cage to die. do not give it dog or cat food. too much unneeded stuff in that. its meant for cats and dogs. you can try some sort of irrigation solution to flush out its eyes. if you need more help keep posting and i'll try to help out as much as possible. good luck.
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0.0.1 frilled dragon- monster
1.1.0 white's tree frog- popeye, jack
0.1.0 southern painted turtle- ms.tortle
0.1.0 crested gecko- crimson
1.0.0 pinto hedgehog- dante

The vet really isn't an option. It's 45 minutes to my closest reptile vet, and I don't have the money to take it. The staff vet doesn't have any experience with reptiles at all. I say small zoo, and that's pretty much an overstatement. While they claim "hundreds of friendly animals," they in reality have less than 80, including the 30 goats. It's a petting zoo, with a handful of exotics. Check out www.ltanimalpark.com. They over-exaggerate everything they say on the site. He doesn't want to take frozen at all. I'm trying. I'm hoping to get some live rat pups. Anything unweaned, that couldn't put up a fight, and doesn't have teeth anyway.
I have him on newspaper, because I thought it would be better for a quarantine cage. He has some loose crumpled newspaper on top that he "burrows" down under. He has a 75 watt heat lamp during the day, and a heat pad 24/7, reaching around 115 in the hot spot, and keeping it about 80 directly over the heat pad at night.
I was told that the mouth is probably mouthrot. That sounds like a possibility to me. The eye.. I'm still not sure about. That white stuff isn't pus. It's more like skin, with no scales on it.
The dog food didn't sound too apealing to me, but that's what it was eating when it was donated to the park, so I thought that it might eat that, when it's not eating anything else.
I'm soaking it, and it seems like it's perked up a bit from the soaking. Last night, it REALLY enjoyed the soak, and was really active after. He swam around in the tub, and actually climbed up the sides, in and out a couple times.
As you said.. He doesn't look like he's in danger of dieing any day. If I can get him to start eating again, I have frozen rodents for it, and I've got mice starting to breed again, so at that point, he'll get live(or rather, prekilled).

I found out today that the tegu is 11 years old. The man who gave it to the park kept it in a 20 gallon aquarium its entire life, and he had it for 11 years. He got rid of it because it bit his 9 year old child. For 11 years, it ate ONE brand of dog food, and that's all the guy ever fed it. It's a miracle it's even lived this long.

since the vet is not open and money is a slight issue lets try to see what we can do safely at home. dont worry i feel you on the money thing. the temps seem ok considering he is a good size already. is it possible you can measure him? if you can lower to 110 it will be better but if not its ok. just keep an eye on his activity level which seems to me to be alright for his condition. yes that can be mouthrot but im not 100% sure. here is a link about mouthrot. also i will show you another link to the same site where you can read about treating other things that might be helpful to you.

http://www.anapsid.org/stomatitis.html

http://www.anapsid.org/mainhealth.html#inte

you tried giving it mice completely thawed out and wiggling it with some tongs or something? another idea which seems odd but i have read about it is sometimes it wont take a mouse but will take a rat...! try that then...and nothing to big in case he gets intimidated. try something a size smaller than what you would normally give him. it is completely a miracle that he has survived for 11 years on only dog food. but how long is he from tip of nose to tip of tail? (stl) he seems kinda small to be 11 years old. maybe his growth was stunted from the dog food. anyways read around that website and see what you can use as far as treatment. i hope this helps..again keep posting and ill check back to see. good luck =)
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0.0.1 frilled dragon- monster
1.1.0 white's tree frog- popeye, jack
0.1.0 southern painted turtle- ms.tortle
0.1.0 crested gecko- crimson
1.0.0 pinto hedgehog- dante

another thing. for feeding..if he doesnt want then dont bother him to much for it. just try again in a day or two. let him get hungry and maybe he'll take it. also im sure his mouth is in pain or discomfort so that might be another reason why. i have to drive about 35 min. to my reptile vet but i do it anyway if i need meds. and somehow i come up with the money even if borrowed. keep soaking him with water as it will keep him hydrated and it is also relaxing. when was the last time he defecated? was he fed since? keep a water bowl in the cage in case he gets thirsty and wants to drink on his own. give him soemthing to hide under or burrow for security...it will help with stress. im not sure about the newspaper. can you but cheap paper towel? maybe the dollar store? well keep us informed.
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0.0.1 frilled dragon- monster
1.1.0 white's tree frog- popeye, jack
0.1.0 southern painted turtle- ms.tortle
0.1.0 crested gecko- crimson
1.0.0 pinto hedgehog- dante

How is this fella doing?? He such a looker, it would be a shame to lose him.
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2.1 Albino BP
0.4 100% Het Albino
2.1 100% het Caramel Albino BP
1.0 100% Het Clown
1.0 50% het clown
2.12 Normal BP
0.0.1 Western Hognose
alot of cornsnakes
0.1.0 Dumeril Boa
3.6 Bearded Dragons
1.0.1 Sulcatta tortoise
2.0 Russian Tortoise
1.0 Cockatiel
0.1 Rottweiler
0.2 Boston Terriers
0.1 White Boxer
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bunch of geckos
0.1 Teenage daughter
1.0 Husband who puts up with all my critters.