# Little guy said hello



## The captain (Mar 4, 2009)

My little guy came up for some heat today, and i caught him! but he went back under after a bit.
i decided to start running the heat a few days ago, and i guess it lured him.

but i have a ton of questions i need to know.
I bought him from bobby in october. He is an extreme giant but im a bit confused. do you guys think he is a bit small for being his age? he must have been hibernating for a long time. Bobby said he was already sleeping before he sent him to me, so i am wondering how much longer he will sleep! thats over half of a year and ive seen my pet twice lol. 

How come he looks nothing like the beautiful white babies that bobby advertises? not that hes not nice, but his spotting and patterns look similar to a non giant. maybe he could use a shed? will he go whiter with time? his head is more of a tannish. it looks whiter in the pics than it is, just from the light.

also i wanted to know where the best site to order a MVB is? i want to provide the best for this little guy. 

well here are some pics i snapped. 
PLEASE try to answer my questions. 

thanks
sam


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## Red Earth Exotics (Mar 4, 2009)

well i don't know enough to answer your questions, but i will say that's a great looking tegu!


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## The captain (Mar 4, 2009)

glad you think so!
i just am a bit confused.


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## Red Earth Exotics (Mar 4, 2009)

well there are plenty of people here who can help you. good luck!


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## mr.tegu (Mar 4, 2009)

Well i will try to answer some questions for you. As far as the size of your tegu, it has been hibernating for along time you said even as bobby sent him to you he was hibernating, so tegus do not grow during that process. If the tegu was 1 foot when he started hibernating he will be one foot when he wakes months later.
As for color, Tegus will change color somewhat during their lives from darker, to lighter, then darker again. So thats normal to, time will tell for the color.
Now for a good place to order (m.v.b)balbs i would say a place called reptileuv.com. I have never used or gone through them because i have a huge reptile store a few miles from my house but i have seen other users talk about reptileuv.com and seem to like them.
Also all tegus grow in spurts. So you cant compare your tegus size with another tegu size of the same age. But in the end they all end up at around the same size when fully grown.
I hope i answered some of your questions and it is a nice looking tegu you have, and it will get huge!!


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## The captain (Mar 4, 2009)

thanks, too bad hes not out yet.

i will try the site. i just feel a little dissappointed spending so much on something that isnt as stunning as others have. if only he had a WYSIWYG section.

otherwise im excited for him to come up so i can start taming him!


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## mr.tegu (Mar 4, 2009)

I know how you feel but it will end up awsome. Where do you live because petco/petsmart have the mvb balbs you need and can save on shipping if you live by one of those places.


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## DaveDragon (Mar 4, 2009)

I remember when you bought him! He went right to sleep!!

Don't worry about the size, he hasn't eaten in 5 months. The color is the luck of the draw. And like mr. tegu said, it'll change with age.

There are plenty of online stores to buy supplies at. My favorite is ReptileSupply. LLLReptile has good prices also. I use Zoo-Med PowerSun, T-Rex Active UV Heat & Mega-Ray's. The wattage depends on the distance the tegu will be from them. Mega-Ray recommends no closer than 12" for 100W and 18" for 160W. You may need a basking bulb if the MVB doesn't give you the right temp. I use GE 6000 hour 75W & 90W PAR 38 halogen bulbs, available at Home Depot or Lowe's. You'll have to play around to get the temp right.

Once he wakes up and warms up I'm sure he'll turn into an eating machine!!!


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## The captain (Mar 4, 2009)

i live next to a petsmart, but im not sure if they have MVB's.

have to check, at least ive never seen power suns there.


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## mr.tegu (Mar 4, 2009)

yeah petsmart should sell the powersuns and some others i think the rex is sold also at petsmart. Petco/Petsmart is expensive but cheaper then shipping and waiting around for it.


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## mr.tegu (Mar 4, 2009)

Hey Davedragon, can jowls appear before buttons on males?


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## DaveDragon (Mar 4, 2009)

The captain said:


> i live next to a petsmart, but im not sure if they have MVB's.
> 
> have to check, at least ive never seen power suns there.


Normally the ZooMed Power is a common MVB, at least in my area. But MVB's aren't very common. The florescent tubes (ZooMed ReptiSun 10.0) are available at most pet stores but you'll pay $50 vs. $20-$25 online. You pay for the convenience. If you use a florescent tube you'll definitely need a halogen basking bulb.

I use the MVB's for young tegu's (need lots of UVB to grow) and florescent tubes for adults (don't need as much).


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## The captain (Mar 4, 2009)

thanks,
then i guess i will go with a tube and basking lamp. (10.0?)

im not sure though, the tanks are a bit too high, and i dont know if he will be getting the UV he needs.


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## The captain (Mar 4, 2009)

and how long do the fluorescents last?


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## Beasty (Mar 4, 2009)

The captain said:


> and how long do the fluorescents last?


They last about 6 months supposedly.
If you think the tank is too high, put something in there for it to climb up on and bask. I have used the half logs stacked with success in 55 and 60g tanks.(what I happened to have on hand- it works) Also if you don't care about appearance you can carefully stack bricks in there -so they won't fall of course- it could double as hide and elevated basking area. Be creative.


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## omgtaylorg (Mar 4, 2009)

thats a giant?! that looks exactly like a black and white honestly...mine looks just like that and its 100% black and white, I can tell by the tale and the back design, maybe its shed but that seriously looks like a black and white, am I hallucinating?

Edit: Actually the more i look at it the more it seems to have qualities of both...maybe a cross lol idk? just looks different to me for some reason


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## VARNYARD (Mar 4, 2009)

That tegu is going to shed, I want to see what he looks like after, he is 100% pure giant. 

Some of them can start out darker, that does not mean they will stay that way:


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## VARNYARD (Mar 4, 2009)

Some of these now:


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## VARNYARD (Mar 4, 2009)

As for the size, you cannot expect an anaimal that only fed for a few weeks before hibernation to be the same size as an animal that has not hibernated at all, or as long. You need to give the animal a chance, instant pudding is not an option for an animal that fed for five weeks out of 7 months. 

That animal has not ate since the beginning of September, do you think it should grow like the others?

If a tegu does not hibernate and eats all winter, regarless of the type of animal, it will be larger than one that does not eat and is sleeping.


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## omgtaylorg (Mar 4, 2009)

ah thanks for clearing that up bobby, i was waiting for that answer...i havent even seen the brand new babies of the giants i guess they just look a bit different, i could start to tell though that it looked more giant. plus it needs to shed which would make it darker too. makes sense


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## JohnMatthew (Mar 4, 2009)

Ahhh, shoulda named them giant creamcicle garbage disposals.. Wait till he maxes out and then start comparing him with some B&Ws :shock: .. My boy has been up for a couple weeks now, I'm so excited to watch him grow this season!! BTW, boon was only 15-16inches before he went down - a few inches longer and quite a few shorter than some of the others.. It'll even out in the end, enjoy him while he's too small to eat the hand that feeds him :-D ..


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## VARNYARD (Mar 4, 2009)

Well this is how they all start out, lol. I think that he grew pretty good in the first five weeks.


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## omgtaylorg (Mar 4, 2009)

ah cuties  wish i could hold 100 of those


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## The captain (Mar 5, 2009)

> I think that he grew pretty good in the first five weeks.


^^^
I agree, he will probably catch up. 
I was just looking at the hind legs and head color. and maybe to the untrained eye this giant and a basic are the same. I just cant understand how after a shed, all that extra spotting will appear on the legs and such.

Just looking at a yearling tegus like blizzard i wonder, did he skip hibernation or what?

Im going to give the animal all the chance he needs, and im not setting expectations for him just yet. All i hope for is that he grows big, strong, pretty, and above all docile. I will provide the best husbandry i can, but the rest is up to nature.

Im sure there is a long and great relationship in store with this lizard, and i just want him to wake up for good already!


btw, i saw your vid on the MBD tegu bobby. it made me very sad to see the hurt animal, but it really built alot of respect in my book to see just how much you care about these majestic creatures. 
Can someone explain why albinos cant tolerate bright light in the first place?

anyways thanks for the tips everyone, im off to get my wisdom teeth ganked :drool


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## ashesc212 (Mar 5, 2009)

Nice looking little guy you have there! For MVB, I like to use PetMountain. They have reasonable prices.


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## The captain (Mar 5, 2009)

Thanks,
i guess im going to go with both heat emitters and a UV tube.

Do i need the UV strip to run the entire setups length?


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## DaveDragon (Mar 5, 2009)

The captain said:


> Do i need the UV strip to run the entire setups length?


That would be best. I use halogen bulbs for heat.


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## The captain (Mar 5, 2009)

Alright, im not sure how many watts ill need to get the basking spot to 110 in a 55/75. 


another thing ive bee wondering...
In the aquarium hobby i have seen lots of people use large rubbermaid stock tanks for sump and refugium systems, and im wondering if anyone here has tried housing a tegu in one? they are pretty cheap and i think they make them pretty large. Humidity would be a challenge though.


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## DaveDragon (Mar 5, 2009)

You'll have to experiment with the wattage, 75W is a good starting point. A 55G is only 12" wide and not suitable for a Tegu of any age. A 75G is 18" and would work for a while. I've never worried about the humidity in a tank for a Tegu, as long as the mulch is damp he'll get all the moisture he needs while he's sleeping.

I've read someone has used a stock tank for a Tegu. Maybe AB or Rehabralphy might know. A front opening enclosure is better for most critters. Swooping down from above in a tank brings on a "fight or flight" response to evade the predator trying to eat them.


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## The captain (Apr 3, 2009)

Still down there. So it is going to be 7 months soon. sleepy head.


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## DaveDragon (Apr 3, 2009)

Just think of all the money you've saved on food & electricity!


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## The captain (Apr 4, 2009)

Haha i could care less about the cost of keeping him.
i just wish he was up and growing haha.
I sold some of my other reptiles, so its super slow around here.


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