MY TEGU

Question
QUESTION: My tegu Bubby has a slightly swollen and pink vent, he has eaten in the past few days, but i dont think he has gone number 2. he/she is pretty young, about 1ft from tail to nose and is being fed on fuzzy mice, crickets, and hard boiled egg whites, all of its food is calcium supplement always. what could this swollen pink vent mean? And if it is impaction what can i do?

ANSWER: Hello Matt,

The diet sounds pretty good.  How often do you supplement calcium, daily?  At his age, which he sounds like he is well under 1 year, will need calcium 5 times per week.  
Do you provide UVB lighting?  If so, what type & brand are you using?  A flourescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light?
What are the temps in the tank & what type of thermometer do you use to measure them?  A stick on type, a digital probe or a temp gun?
Are his hemepenes protruding or is anything else protruding at all or is the vent all that is swollen?
He could be either impacted, or constipated.  Do you offer plenty of fluids to him?  
If you suspect impaction begin giving extra oral fluids, & some soft foods such as veggies or a few pieces of fruit which may help him by offering more fluids & some fiber.
Perhaps you could also give him a bath, if he will tolerate that at all.
Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie

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QUESTION: Ive Got him Completely cleard out now, i supplement his foods regularly 5-6 times a week not counting rodents. i do use uvb, it is aexoterra reptiglo 5.0 in an extra reflective deep dome fixture, but im upgradind to tube fixture soon as my budget allows. nothing has or was protruding from the vent, just alittle pink and slightly swollen... i dont think its prolapse, and i wanted to take him to a vet but the only one around here charges 55$ too book an appointment and has never even heard of a tegu. his temps are kept regularly 100-110 in bask, 75-80 on the cool side with an ambient air temp of about 80-90 with humidity raging beetween 50%-80% and i use digital temp and temp gun. im pretty sure ive got everything down pretty good as i aim to be a herepitoligist some day and poosibly own my own reptile store.

P.S. I put terramycin on the vent and it seems to have made the swelling go down fairly nice

Thank you for your help

ANSWER: Hello Matt,

Ok, your setup is pretty good overall.  Great you are using a digital probe & a temp gun for measuring the temps.  The gradients sound very good for him.
Yes you absolutely need a stronger UVB light for him.  The requirements are large for Tegus.  
A Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb would be great, or a Megaray or a T-rex active UV heat which are mercury vapor bulbs.
Well, it may not be a full blown prolapse but could turn that way if we don't get his calcium levels up.  
Unfortunately they cannot process or absorb calcium very well without a strong enough UVB light.  
I forgot to ask what type of Tegu you have?  Can you post a picture of him?  A Black & White or an Argentinian?  I ask because the humidity levels are different between the two species.
You can continue using the Terramycin on the vent or KY jelly, vaseline or aloe vera gel.  I hope the swelling is going down.
Does he have to strain when he goes to the bathroom?

Tracie


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Bubby   QUESTION: I am sending a picture with this message, its an older photo within the week i got him. He/She is an argintine black and white tegu. the photo was taken around may09. TAhe terramycin also has seemed to help the swelling alot and is almost gone and the pink isnt there anymore.
And i havnent noticed any strain with his going to the bathroom at all.

Answer
Hello Matt,

Oh he is beautiful!  :-))
So did you decide which UVB you were going to upgrade to then?  
Great that the swelling is going down now, excellent.  I am glad that he did not prolapse because that is very hard to fix.  I still think that it may be low calcium so getting a stronger UVB light is high priority ok?  So he can absorb his calcium better.
Let me know how he is doing.  Thanks for attaching the picture for me, he is awesome!

Tracie