Hello from Halifax, NS

[Jonzin4Reptiles]

G`day all, My name is John and i just got my 1st Tegu a couple days ago. He came to me as a rescue from The Maritime Reptile Adventure Zoo/Rescue/Outreach here in Halifax. He`s a baby Golden Tegu and is only a few months old. B4 this i`ve only had Ball Python, so he is a great switch from snakes. I let him chill a couple days and 2day offered him food. He ate 1 small turkey ball so thats a start ... i`ll offer again in a couple days. I can`t believe how vibrant his colors are especially under the light ... he almost glows green and gold Anyway without further ado ... Say Hi to " Anubis "

Cheers,

John

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

Welcome to the site and Congratulations on the little cutie . Take some time to read up in the Tegu Articles section, there's a lot of need to know info over there. My first suggestion would be to change the substrate. Tegus require quite a bit of humidity and what you're using will not hold up well.

 

[Jonzin4Reptiles]

Welcome to the site and Congratulations on the little cutie . Take some time to read up in the Tegu Articles section, there's a lot of need to know info over there. My first suggestion would be to change the substrate. Tegus require quite a bit of humidity and what you're using will not hold up well.

Thanx for the warm welcome Bubblz Calhoun And yes reading is all i`ve been doing for almost 2 weeks. As for the substrate ... the set up came with him as part of the rescue. I have a 4x2x2 all melamine enclosure almost complete for him, i have a new 25L bag of aspen, some nice flat granite rocks and a piece of driftwood. I`ve been keepin a damp towel over the present setup to help with humidity, seems to be workin well.

Any other suggestions would also be happily accepted as this is my 1st lizard ... i`ve just had Ball pythons till now, which i presently have 2 normals

Cheers,

John.

 

[martinreptiles_3]

Welcome!

 

[Rhetoric]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your tegu.

 

[TeguBuzz]

Welcome, nice looking Colombian!

If you have any questions, shoot away.

 

[Jonzin4Reptiles]

Thanx for the warm welcomes MartinReptiles, Rhetoricx and TeguBuzz I`m sure i`ll have many questions as time goes on, but i find this site very imformative.

I do have a couple questions rite now .... i`ve read alot of posts that refer to "The shirt Trick" ... I`ve tried to find the explaination with no luck .. Can someone please explain?

And at what age can i start with the "Closed Bathroom Thing"? My little guy is so dam fast i would be scared to let him roam anywhere else.

Cheers,

John

 

[Leo93]

Welcome. And congrats. Hes beautiful! Mine is almost 20 inches long and i let him roam for just a little while and he ended up inside my wall stuck for two cold days. Be very careful as they can go places you wouldn't imagine

 

[Jonzin4Reptiles]

Thanx for the warm welcome Leo93 ... LOL funny you say that as i just got finished cleaning and lizard proofin my bathroom. There are 2 small gaps under my vanity so i`m gonna stuff towels in them to block them off till i can do a more perminant fix, and i`ll sit right there so i`ll be an extra shield

Cheers,

John

 

[Strange_Evil]

Welcome to the forum, your tegu is beautiful, great colors!

Yes like said,change substrate, if you can,i would take the aspen back and get a refund or exchange. Try picking up some cypress mulch,or top soil. Aspen will not hold humidity and molds easily when misted.

 

[Jonzin4Reptiles]

Thanx for the warm welcome Strange Evil

Thanx for the tip ... I`ll just use the aspen for my Balls as planned, but will pick up something better as you suggested. I`m gonna do some more research on substrates for Tegus. I would like to provide the optimum conditions for him. I would like to decide what i`m using b4 i finish his 4x2x2 enclosure which should do him till he grows some. Is there a perfect mix? Again any and all suggestions gladly taken

On a side note ... he was out almost immediately after i turned the lights on yesterday and pretty much stayed out all day ... today the lights have been on for almost 4 hrs and i haven`t seen him at all, he under the substrate somewhere ... is this normal? Should i try and find him to get him out and feed?

Cheers,

John

 

[Strange_Evil]

I wouldn't say there is a such thing as "the perfect mix", because at the end of the day its all what works for you and your tegu. But i have tried out quite a few substrates, cypress mulch was way too expensive to fill my cage and my tegu was eating it, eco earth gets stuck in his eyes, co co husk he was breathing funny on. Lastly i tried a top soil and sand mix, its about 75% top soil and 25% sand, it works great,hold burrows,humidity and its pretty cheap. I love it,it is quite messy but really a good mix,and if ingested with proper basking temps it would not cause as much harm a cypress.

I wouldn't digg him up, you just got him, digging him up may destroy all trust you guys have already established with each other or just stress him out. Give him time, to adjust and get use to things, this is the time of year when they slow down, so he may start sleeping a bit more and eating less. He won't go into a full on hibernation like argentines but,he may slow down. Just be patient and follow his lead

 

[Jonzin4Reptiles]

Thanx again Strange Evil. I got him on Thursday ... left him alone friday ... Saturday he came outta hiding and looked to be hunting, so a grabbed him ( which wasn`t easy i might add, quick little bugger lol) he wasn`t overly happy, was opening his mouth at me, not turnin head to try and bite though, no noises. I put him in the unfinished 4x2x2 enclosure where 2 small thawed and slightly warmed turkey balls awaited him on a plate. Looked and licked at them and the plate but wouldn`t take any, so i took one piece off the plate and dropped it on the newpaper linning the floor and he immediately gobbled it up, grab another piece with my hemos and he didnt even wait for me to drop it, took it right from the hemos. That was all he ate, so one full small turkey ball. Was that the right thing to do or should i just feed him in his enclosure for now with hemos? He just came outta his hide but when i went over to say G`mornin to him he ran back inside Hope i didn`t stress him out yesterday

Cheers,

John