Always under

[Tommygun]

Well my Tegu has calmed down and now thier is no squirming. Thier is another problem though, she is always under her bedding. The only way I can get her out is by digging her up, her Temps, humidity are all perfect. What should i do??

[PadraigC]

Leave her shes hiding and probably getting pretty pissed your digging her up if she out to bask and eat then let her be, shes probably telling you she could use better hides

[Tommygun]

Do you have any pics of good hides? I checked PE and thier link was down.

[PadraigC]

this is where you seperate the creative from the not...................in the wild animals period never mind slick little lizards have the oppurtunity to jam themselves whereevr they hell they feel they can, for any reasons including and up to temperature,security humidity etc.......... a good hide can be a overturned planter plate, a board on the ground or a hoolow tube, cork bark or not. I use this rule that I myself never followed untill a blurb from robyn@ PE really made me think......a hide is only as good, as how secure the animal feels in it. If its half a log hollow and its anole then the anole obviousily feels like he can be picked off pretty easily but if he can wedge himself in somewhwere nice and tight say under a board then hes gonna feel pretty secure.

[Bill S.]

If your tegu is an Argentine B&W, a Red, or even a Blue it is most likely hibernating (Arg.) or brumating, or at least trying to.

Do not keep digging it up. Leave it alone because it knows what it needs to do and how long it needs to do it.

It needs a cozy hiding place with moist mulch to dig into and sleep. It will probably pack the entrance to the hide with mulch to close itself off from the outside world.

During this state the tegu's metabolism drops very low, and that is why tegus normally go off feed for a couple of weeks to empty out prior to going down for the winter. This is not just sleep; it is a slowing down of everything -- even breathing and heart rate, for what might be a few months. So digging it up in this state is not good for the animal.

If a tegu wants to brumate or hibernate, it will do so regardless of the cage temps. During this time it's a good idea to keep fresh water available just in case your tegu decides to show itself for an afternoon.

Do not be alarmed if you don't see your tegu until late spring. Argentine B&Ws have been known to go down and stay down for up to 6 months. Reds can do it for less, and blues generally do it the least; often coming out every so often to check things out, then going back into hiding.

Bill