[size=x-small]Hi everyone. I'd like for this to be an introduction thread so you can get to know me and I can get to know the active members on the site. I just had a lot typed up but accidentally navigated away from the page and it's all been deleted, so this probably won't be as thought out/descriptive as the initial submission.
My name is Chantel, I'm 24 and live in Amsterdam, New York. In case you're interested, it's about 30 minutes north of Albany, 4 hours north of Manhattan, 4 hours east of Buffalo & 40 minutes west of Saratoga Springs. I work at the local pet shop, Pet Zone, where I bought my Columbian black and white tegu, Joanna (referencing Joanna from The Rescuers Down Under even though she was an Australian monitor, a goanna). I overpaid for her, but I fell in love with her when she came in so I didn't care. Joanna is about 10" long including her tail and so far seems to be a complete sweetheart. Does anyone have an idea of how old she may be?
I've read a lot of horror stories about Columbians but I've also read that they're the most common species of tegu available, consequentially resulting in more stories involving them. I love my little lady.
I've seen threads asking about food/conditions, but I'd like to know more about those subjects. I want to know which kind of tegu you have, how old it is, how big it is, what you feed it and why you feed it what you do (I already know to avoid live prey as they'll be more likely to be aggressive later on). I want to know how large your enclosure is, what your ambient temperature is, what your basking temperature is and what your humidity level is (and how you go about maintaining the humidity level) and why. I'm interested in sources if you have them available because I've seen too many members disagree on feeding and temperatures/humidity levels and I'd like to know where the information is coming from/what your credentials are (pretty much, why should I do what you do?). Has anyone tried Zoo Med's Tegu/Monitor canned food? Is it worth the price? My boyfriend and I are vegan, so all of the meat/eggs in the fridge and freezer are for Joanna only (which sometimes gets expensive & wasteful if she doesn't eat all the meat I've thawed out for her). Currently she's eating wild caught Haddock from the fish market in our local Hannaford, boiled organic eggs and ground turkey including the bones & organ meat (and some vegetables but no fillers- it's packaged as turkey burgers for dogs & cats) with a dusting of calcium and a few sprays of Zilla's vitamin supplement (do I need that?). She sometimes gets calcium-dusted crickets. I put feeder fish in her water dish in her enclosure and in the tub with her, but she wasn't interested. I also have papaya, star fruit, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and dragon fruit cut up and frozen into ice cube trays that will be thawed for her a few times a week. Should I feed her any greens? We always have kale and leeks available.
What kind of substrate do you use and why? I know impaction is a factor and I know they like to burrow. I read (on this forum) that cypress mulch was the best so that's what I bought, but I hate it. It's too sharp and has already cut my poor girl (pictures later) and I feed her in a separate bin so impaction really doesn't come into play with us.
Do you know of any herpetologists within 2.5 hours of me? I'm not interested in bringing her to an exotic animal specialist, I want a herpetologist who sees reptiles and, if possible, only reptiles.
Sorry this is sideways, but here's her cut from the mulch:
Hope to hear from everyone soon!
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My name is Chantel, I'm 24 and live in Amsterdam, New York. In case you're interested, it's about 30 minutes north of Albany, 4 hours north of Manhattan, 4 hours east of Buffalo & 40 minutes west of Saratoga Springs. I work at the local pet shop, Pet Zone, where I bought my Columbian black and white tegu, Joanna (referencing Joanna from The Rescuers Down Under even though she was an Australian monitor, a goanna). I overpaid for her, but I fell in love with her when she came in so I didn't care. Joanna is about 10" long including her tail and so far seems to be a complete sweetheart. Does anyone have an idea of how old she may be?
I've read a lot of horror stories about Columbians but I've also read that they're the most common species of tegu available, consequentially resulting in more stories involving them. I love my little lady.
I've seen threads asking about food/conditions, but I'd like to know more about those subjects. I want to know which kind of tegu you have, how old it is, how big it is, what you feed it and why you feed it what you do (I already know to avoid live prey as they'll be more likely to be aggressive later on). I want to know how large your enclosure is, what your ambient temperature is, what your basking temperature is and what your humidity level is (and how you go about maintaining the humidity level) and why. I'm interested in sources if you have them available because I've seen too many members disagree on feeding and temperatures/humidity levels and I'd like to know where the information is coming from/what your credentials are (pretty much, why should I do what you do?). Has anyone tried Zoo Med's Tegu/Monitor canned food? Is it worth the price? My boyfriend and I are vegan, so all of the meat/eggs in the fridge and freezer are for Joanna only (which sometimes gets expensive & wasteful if she doesn't eat all the meat I've thawed out for her). Currently she's eating wild caught Haddock from the fish market in our local Hannaford, boiled organic eggs and ground turkey including the bones & organ meat (and some vegetables but no fillers- it's packaged as turkey burgers for dogs & cats) with a dusting of calcium and a few sprays of Zilla's vitamin supplement (do I need that?). She sometimes gets calcium-dusted crickets. I put feeder fish in her water dish in her enclosure and in the tub with her, but she wasn't interested. I also have papaya, star fruit, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and dragon fruit cut up and frozen into ice cube trays that will be thawed for her a few times a week. Should I feed her any greens? We always have kale and leeks available.
What kind of substrate do you use and why? I know impaction is a factor and I know they like to burrow. I read (on this forum) that cypress mulch was the best so that's what I bought, but I hate it. It's too sharp and has already cut my poor girl (pictures later) and I feed her in a separate bin so impaction really doesn't come into play with us.
Do you know of any herpetologists within 2.5 hours of me? I'm not interested in bringing her to an exotic animal specialist, I want a herpetologist who sees reptiles and, if possible, only reptiles.
Sorry this is sideways, but here's her cut from the mulch:
Hope to hear from everyone soon!
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congrats on the new tegu. 
