tegu cageing / need answers

[nick rozon]

so i am looking to purchase one or possibly two black and white argentine tegus at the next crbe (canadian reptile breeders expo) this upcoming september. but i have a few questions to ask first and i figured this would be the place to do it. so my first question is for housing one tegu ive heard that a minimum is 6 by 3 by 3 but for two what would people recomend ? also if anyone knows of anyone in southern ontario that makes custom cages for a tegu's and could pass along there contact information that would be great and lastly if i was housing 1 tegu in 4 by 2 by 2 how long could it live in there for until id have to move it up into a 6 by 3 by 3

 

[isdrake]

Some breeders say that 6x3 is minimum for one adult. Other breeders say that 8x4 is minimum for one adult. I'm having a hard time even picturing a grown up Tegu in a 6x3 enclosure. Is it even possible to fit all the necessary things a Tegu need in that? Several hiding places, a big water bowl, hotspot? And we are still just taking about the minimum dimensions. Why aim for the minimum? The bigger the better.

I'm currently building a 3 x 1.5 m enclosure (that's a little less than 10 x 5 feet) that was supposed to fit two Tegus (sadly one of them died). I think that is a pretty decent size for two Tegus. To save space you can also house them separated by stacking the enclosures.

 

[nick rozon]

yeah i was thinking a 6 by 3 would be to small unless the tegu had metabolic bone deasiese but i dont think ill be looking for a tegu with such a condition. but how old do you think the tegu will be when i have to make it an 8 by 4 as i wanna try and plan this out

 

[reptastic]

there is no answer to that question, it could be a year or it could be a few months! i have a female tegu thats 16lbs. & would have been around 50" had she not dropped her tail! then i have male who is the same age and only 5lbs and 34".its all depending on the tegu, hibernation and husbandry!

 

[preston897]

i will be housing my tegu in a 6x3x3 but he will also have free reign of my room when im around. pretty much all his cage will be used for is UVB and heat. other then that he wont be in there too much. i think if they can go in and out of the cage a 6x3x3 is not a big deal. but if they will be spending lots of time in the cage i think they need bigger

 

[nick rozon]

yeah i was thinking the exact same i meen the only reason it would be in the cage is if im at school or asleep otherwise it will allways be out and about with me and on hot days be in an out door pen but if i find that it is spending more time in a tank then i would like it to be i will build it a bigger tank but if anyoneone knows at what age i will need to move it into a custom built tank that would be greatly apreciated

 

[preston897]

well right now mine is in a 20L because it is only about 6in long. and im taming it. but with the way he eats i figure a few months it will go into the big cage

 

[isdrake]

Having a smaller enclosure if the Tegu get a lots of time outside or in a room can work. But it's important to think about the climate. If you live in a place that is not suitable for a Tegu you will have to add heat and humidity, which can be a little tricky and expensive.