New to tegus

[Donnie25]

Hey everyone, i have been interested in tegus/monitors since i was a kid, but never had the opportunity to have one. Right now i only have 2 cats and a panther chameleon. I've been reading care sheets and all, but just wanted to get pointed in the right direction on a few things.

First of all do you guys keep tegus and have kids? My girlfriend and I are expecting our first child so i wouldn't get a tegu before getting situated with all of that and i have common sense, there would definitely be safety precautions.

I understand they, like many creatures have individual personalities/temperaments, but which species of tegu would you recommend as the most easy going and best for a beginner. I think i saw that Argentinian black and whites are calmer?

As for space, i read that the ideal enclosure would be 8x4, should one plan for that, would smaller be okay, or should it be even larger?

What is the best age to purchase a tegu? I assume as a baby you wouldn't keep them in a 8x4 enclosure, i think I saw to start with a 40gallon, but expect them to grow fast? So at how old would they need their full sized enclosure?

Anything else i should know or think about? I'm going to read over the care sheets (feel free to link me anything) and all of the easy stuff to search around for. Just trying to get pointed in the right direction and understand better of what i'd be getting into before i spend obsessive amounts of time researching.

 

[Mombo]

Argentine Black and White would be the correct choice. A lot of us have picked Tegus from Tegusonly.com Rodney there is rescuing argentine tegus in Florida and is a great guy. His Firebellies are gorgeous!

8x4 would be the correct size to plan and build. I started mine in his forever home. They grow really fast and I think its a waste of money to get a juvenile cage just to have to shell out alot of money to make the full size cage quickly down the road. They will use however much space you give them so you can always make it bigger then that but not smaller. What we see people do and what we should be doing are different things so making sure you can provide what it will need is the most important thing to decide before getting one. An 8x4 takes up quite a bit of room haha.

On that note if you have a 40g sitting around and you have the money and time to build the bigger enclosure but wanted to get the tegu asap I am sure the 40g would work until you finish his real home. From what it sounds like though you are in the planning process currently and have a lot of time until you plan on getting your tegu. You might as well start building your enclosure so once your life with the baby is settled you can add the tegu when the time is right. Wouldnt want to have him in a 40g and then have a kid and not have the time and money to build the proper enclosure.

The one I got is a juvenile. I am really happy I started with this size. Although my guy has been an angel(hopefully this continues) so far, everyone of them has a different personality and might take more or less time to get used to its new home and owner/buddy. If I am going to get nipped or whipped a couple times I rather it be when he is smaller and getting used to me rather then bigger Im sure buying them at any size you can have success though.

 

[Donnie25]

Hey all, coming back to this post instead of making a new thread. What do you guys think about keeping the enclosure in a garage? I'm in PA, gets cold in the winter, 90s highest during summer. Maybe i could make some sort of insulated section? Just a thought because i have a lot of open space in there. I'd obviously let him out daily. Has anyone else done this?

 

[Chris23039]

As long as you can provide the right temperatures it won't be an issue


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[Walter1]

Hey all, coming back to this post instead of making a new thread. What do you guys think about keeping the enclosure in a garage? I'm in PA, gets cold in the winter, 90s highest during summer. Maybe i could make some sort of insulated section? Just a thought because i have a lot of open space in there. I'd obviously let him out daily. Has anyone else done this?

You might be able to have best of both worlds .If you could make a small door for him to exit into an outdoor enclosure as well, then he could shuttle back and forth from garage to outside, depending on what he wants, provided that one of them can provide the opposite of the other. Come winter, you can either tyr to keep him hot and active in the garage, or let him sleep at a steady 58-60 F. till spring.

 

[Donnie25]

That's a really cool idea actually. ATM I couldn't do that due to where I live. How important is it for them to get outside? I'd definitely take him out, but I currently live in a townhouse with just a small back patio, but a large garage. Would I be best waiting until I get a house with a yard? I'm not in a terrible rush to get one. If this would be less than ideal, I can hold off. Would rather do what's best for the animal.

 

[Walter1]

That's a really cool idea actually. ATM I couldn't do that due to where I live. How important is it for them to get outside? I'd definitely take him out, but I currently live in a townhouse with just a small back patio, but a large garage. Would I be best waiting until I get a house with a yard? I'm not in a terrible rush to get one. If this would be less than ideal, I can hold off. Would rather do what's best for the animal.

Nothing beats natural sunlight, but this forum is packed with members that successfully keep tegus exclusively indoors because they use the right lights at the right heights.

So, not having access to outside in itself should not be a barrier to keeping them.

 

[Donnie25]

Thanks for helping out!

Was wondering, are there any books on keeping the black and white tegus that i could buy? It'd be nice to have something like that to casually read.

 

[Walter1]

Thanks for helping out!

Was wondering, are there any books on keeping the black and white tegus that i could buy? It'd be nice to have something like that to casually read.

I've always wished that, too. I can't find one.