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Trigger pulled...

ophidia

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Messages
59
Well, I just clicked Submit Order for a (hopefully) female Chaco from Underground Reptiles. She's supposed to be delivered tomorrow. I've been reading and researching and lurking for months, and finally couldn't resist anymore.

Tomorrow's sure a long ways away :)
 

Walter1

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Well, I just clicked Submit Order for a (hopefully) female Chaco from Underground Reptiles. She's supposed to be delivered tomorrow. I've been reading and researching and lurking for months, and finally couldn't resist anymore.

Tomorrow's sure a long ways away :)
I wish you the very best with your new pal. Maybe post a picture when he/she arrives?
 

ophidia

Member
Messages
59
Here she is! She's fat and healthy looking, but looks very stressed still. She's clearly going to outgrow her baby cage very rapidly. The mercury vapor heat/uvb bulb really messes up the color, but she still has quite a bit of green on her disproportionately large head.

tegu2.jpg
 

ophidia

Member
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59
I thawed a pinkie and handed it to her. She took it from my fingers and ate it right up. She didn't show any signs of fear at all to the big hand coming down from above. I temp gunned her first, and her body temp was 92.5. The basking spot next to and above her is 110*.

I think she'll work out just fine.

I she hadn't eaten it there are plenty of other's in this house who would be willing to eat a spare pinky :).
 

Hudson Valley

Member
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54
I thawed a pinkie and handed it to her. She took it from my fingers and ate it right up. She didn't show any signs of fear at all to the big hand coming down from above. I temp gunned her first, and her body temp was 92.5. The basking spot next to and above her is 110*.

I think she'll work out just fine.

I she hadn't eaten it there are plenty of other's in this house who would be willing to eat a spare pinky :).
LOL. One benefit of having multiple reptiles is food does not go to waste.
 

ophidia

Member
Messages
59
Tonight, I handled her for about 20 minutes, and she was calm during most of it. Initially she darted across the couch a couple of times, but ultimately decided that I was far warmer than the couch, and settled in with me. I let her climb all over me, and she was a very good, inquisitive girl (assuming Underground Reptiles sexed her properly). After I put her back in her cage, I tossed in a small dubia roach, which she immediately attacked and pulled apart. Earlier today I tossed her some red runners, which she was able to catch, but her bites didn't incapacitate them much so she'd crunch them then they'd run off again. Hopefully she gets better with those-- I have way, WAY too many of those.

Time to start designing that cage. I suspect this well-insulated 30 gallon tank will not last long. The below pic was about 10 minutes in. She nudged herself under my hand, curled up, and closed her eyes. I'm not sure if she was comfortable or if she was trying to block me out, but her curling up makes me think that she wasn't too concerned. It's been a rough couple of days to be a baby.

sleeping_baby.jpg
 

ophidia

Member
Messages
59
I haven't decided yet. Any suggestions? Also, she was 11" when I unboxed her Saturday... I noticed tonight that she looked bulkier, so I measured her again, and she's 12". Is that possible?
 

Walter1

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Probably not, BUT they grow very very quickly when proerly kept. 3+ ft by first birthday. Whiteknuckle ride.
 

ophidia

Member
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59
She's soaking in the tub while I switch out her cypress mulch for coco coir. I could just see her getting an impaction from that sharp, jagged wood, and that would be disastrous. I also insulated her tank with 1/2" pink foak insulation (on the outside of the glass) because it was too cool everywhere except right under the basking lamp. I even put some on the top over the part of the screen I put plexiglass under (with a round hole cut in it for her LED that lights the cool end). This is what I use on the 120 gallon 5' tank my little Timor monitor lives in, and it works great. Heat is from a 160 watt mercury vapor and a 100 watt ceramic heater, and it's 96 on the warm side, 84 on the cool side, and the basking spot is 130 or so (this is the monitor's cage, not the 30 gallon. Baked tegu?).

Gonna have to get some plywood and fiberglass epoxy and start building a cage. I think this weekend won't be too soon.
 
Last edited:

ophidia

Member
Messages
59
I can't see any green on her anymore. She's calmer and more relaxed every day during our handling sessions, and she doesn't try to run or back up anymore when I scoop her up. I then take her over to the couch and set her on my chest and throw a towel over her. She roots around under there for a while, then comes out and explores me. I know she's had enough when she starts to try to burrow under my butt or under a couch pillow.

The handling sessions last from five minutes to fifteen, depending on when she tells me she's had enough by trying to hide. I think things are going well. Other than the "Ima slap you!" pose on the second day, she's shown no other signs of fear aggression. I think she'll work out just fine.

She has two hides. One is heated 24/7, and she usually stays in this one. The other one is in the mid 70's during the day, around 70 at night. Well, she actually is buried in the substrate, but she buries herself under or near the hides :).
 

Walter1

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I can't see any green on her anymore. She's calmer and more relaxed every day during our handling sessions, and she doesn't try to run or back up anymore when I scoop her up. I then take her over to the couch and set her on my chest and throw a towel over her. She roots around under there for a while, then comes out and explores me. I know she's had enough when she starts to try to burrow under my butt or under a couch pillow.

The handling sessions last from five minutes to fifteen, depending on when she tells me she's had enough by trying to hide. I think things are going well. Other than the "Ima slap you!" pose on the second day, she's shown no other signs of fear aggression. I think she'll work out just fine.

She has two hides. One is heated 24/7, and she usually stays in this one. The other one is in the mid 70's during the day, around 70 at night. Well, she actually is buried in the substrate, but she buries herself under or near the hides :).
Nice going. Good situation.
 

ophidia

Member
Messages
59
Over the weekend, I built her a cage. It's 24x24x48, made of white PVC sheeting, with a basement window for the front/door (flips down, and glass can be easily removed). I mounted two ceramic bulb holders on the top, though I'm only utilizing one at the moment (160 watt mercury vapor) and when she gets big enough to need cluster lighting I'll have 2 100 watt ones in there (likely not mercury vapor at that point). I also mounted a dual bulb T5 HO fixture in there, and am going to order Reptisun UVB 10.0 bulbs if I can't find them locally (or if they're prohibitively expensive locally). Ventilation is a baseboard heating vent on each end about 1/2 way up, and they can be opened and closed at need.

I expect her to grow out of this cage, but I should get a year or so out of it. At that point I'll build her forever cage and move my pair of Hogg Island/Nicaraguan cross boas into it.

She's really appearing to enjoy having all the new space to explore.

I'll post a pic of it later on. Right now I just have phone pics and the mercury vapor light really screws with the color balance on there (everything is green).
 

ophidia

Member
Messages
59
Here it is. I upgraded the UV lighting to 2 54 watt Reptisun 10.0 T5's, then have a 120 watt plant light for the heat/basking (the mercury vapor was overheating the enclosure).
 

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