yoyocrazy's new tegu post

[james.w]

this was yoyocrazy's original post

"i plan on getting a tegu c :butt an someone tell me the differnce between reds,b/w,americans.
and ive heard alot about tank sizes what would be good for a adult.
thanks,for any help.trent"

I copied this from his other post due to it getting cluttered with arguing (myself included)

here is my answer

Reds and B/Ws are pretty much identical other than coloring. The all americans are a hybrid of 1/4 red, 1/4 blue, and 1/2 extreme giant. They have only been around since 2009 so not much is known on their adult size. Husbandry, diet, and care is pretty much the same on the 3.

As far as adult tank size, I am going to go with 96" x 42" x 28" for mine.

 

[Max713]

I will be going with a 7'x4'x3' when my B&W out grows his 4x3x3. The common recommended size is 8x4x3, and both breeders in the US say 6x3x3 is the bare medium.

 

[Toby_H]

Keep in mind males get much larger than females...

I believe "originally" the "rule of thumb" was 8'x4' (or larger) for a male and 6'x3' (or larger) for a female.

I've met about half a dozen adult Tegus in person. The ones kept in large enclosures were very very tame and all around wonderful pets. The two I saw that were kept in smaller enclosure were both quite mean.

I am thoroughly convinced that the attitude of your Tegu will be directly dependant upon the size of it's enclosure. Sure there are a lot of other factors that will influence your Tegu, but I truly believe enclosure is by far the single biggest factor.

The concept is simple, living in too small of an enclosure is very stressful. A stressed animal is never a happy animal. Your Tegu will get smart enough to realize you are the one forcing him to be in his cage. So if his cage is a happy place, he is going to appreciate you for forcing him to be in a happy place. On the contrary if it is a stressful place, he will hate you for forcing him to be in a stressful place.

...And big Tegus can take big chunks out of you....

 

[Max713]

^^^That's really interesting, I always new housing had a direct correlation with a Tegu's well being, but never knew it can be directly connected to its demeanor...