Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone,

I am new to the tegu forum, but I need some input. I work in a pet store and we have a pair of Golden Tegus, and they eat well, and are quite active. However, they both seem to almost gasp sometimes and it looks like it has to do with something respiratory. I've been doing some reading and I do know that they require high humidity that should be monitored closely. I think I may need to boost the humidity levels a bit, is there anything else anyone can think of??? Any input and advise would be awsome.

Thanks

It really could be a lot of things, you would have to be more specific. How often are they gasping, and what kind of sounds do they make, if any? Does it happen in a particular area of the cage or at a certain time of the day? Or is it completely random? They both could be thermoregulating, choking on something (doubtful), or have a mild respiratory infection. It could be numerous things, or nothing at all. Be a little more specific on here and I/we can see what we can gather in terms of information. But in the end, if you are worried about anything healthwise your best bet is to get one of them checked by a reptile minded veterinarian.

David

If it is respiratory, then high humidity and low temps would not be helpful. Keep them at 75-80 cool end, 90 warm end with a basking temp of 105-110. Nightime drop of 70. Then get the humidity at 70%. Antibiotics may be in order as well as a trip to the vet.

as you mentioned humidity is important try to keep it around 50 to 75 percent but make sure heat is also correct try to keep the cool side at about 78 to 82 degrees the hot side between 88 and 95 and the basking spot between 100 to 130 degrees make sure there is seperate areas of temp so the tegu can get hotter or colder depending on how he feels.