# 24/7 Free Roaming Tegu, but still has Accesses to an Enclosure.



## Tegutasticc (Feb 9, 2021)

Hello I'm new to TeguTalk. I've been doing research on Tegus because I am looking into getting one this year. There are many different debates on free roaming. I am planning on getting a juvenile b&w Tegu, and will provide a 4'x2'x2' enclosure for him/her(since I know they grow fast). Whenever they end up growing out of the 4'x2'x2' enclosure can I have them free roam in the bedroom (I'll make sure the bedroom is Tegu safe of course) and have the 4'x2'x2' enclosure be used strictly as a basking/burrowing/humidity house(they would also, have regularly scheduled bath times)? Thoughts? Opinions? *(FOR MY RESEARCH) *


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## TheTeguNovice (Feb 9, 2021)

Welcome to the forum! right out the gates swinging hard I see lol. My question is this,.....what is your primary reason for having your tegu free roam? Is it for you or for him/her? A lot of people are usually intimidated by enclosure size and cost so they conclude hey I can make my room sufficient. I was one of these people lol check out my post 5 years ago I asked about the "Macgyver" tegu on youtube smh.

If your intimidated about getting a huge enclosure you do have some affordable options. Build your own or Buy a grow tent. IMO I wouldn't waste time with a 4X2X2 because with how quickly your tegu is going to grow its just a waste of money. You can get a grow tent ($150-$300) that is large enough to care for your tegu its entire life, granted there are some risk to consider everything has cons. I myself built a custom enclosure but I understand that the struggle is real! Hopefully this helps.

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## Tegutasticc (Feb 9, 2021)

TitusdaTegu said:


> Welcome to the forum! right out the gates swinging hard I see lol. My question is this,.....what is your primary reason for having your tegu free roam? Is it for you or for him/her? A lot of people are usually intimidated by enclosure size and cost so they conclude hey I can make my room sufficient. I was one of these people lol check out my post 5 years ago I asked about the "Macgyver" tegu on youtube smh.
> 
> If your intimidated about getting a huge enclosure you do have some affordable options. Build your own or Buy a grow tent. IMO I wouldn't waste time with a 4X2X2 because with how quickly your tegu is going to grow its just a waste of money. You can get a grow tent ($150-$300) that is large enough to care for your tegu its entire life, granted there are some risk to consider everything has cons. I myself built a custom enclosure but I understand that the struggle is real! Hopefully this helps.
> 
> ...


Thank you so much for this clear and kind response. I’ve been looking into grow tents, so I’ll make sure to keep them in mind(not intimidated by the size). So to clarify is the free roaming in the bedroom and have the old 4'x2'x2' enclosure be used strictly as a basking/burrowing/humidity house a bad or good idea?


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## TheTeguNovice (Feb 9, 2021)

TBH its not going to be the best solution or setup for your tegu imo.


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## Tegutasticc (Feb 9, 2021)

TitusdaTegu said:


> TBH its not going to be the best solution or setup for your tegu imo.


Thank you so much for your help! I watched Macgyver videos and saw how unhealthy he was(poor thing definitely is overweight and has other problems). I don’t want to take any chances with free roam because if I get one thing wrong with it, it could seriously harm my future Tegu Baby. I’ll most likely buy a 4’x2’x2’ and when they get bigger I’ll upgrade them to a grow tent and use the 4’x2’x2’ as an enclosure for live feeders or something. Again thank you so much!


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## Debita (Feb 17, 2021)

Are you familiar with Tegu poop yet??? It isn't that you can't potty train them, but it does take time and effort to do it. I never hear anyone answer that question about the free-roam situation...Are they pooping on the carpet??? Good luck with that. Their poop is the most foul stench you'll ever run across. 

One of the things about enclosures is that they naturally don't want to go in their house, so people can remove them on a regular basis and place them in a warm bath, or hard floor, etc., to direct where their poop goes. My adult male will only go on my kitchen floor where it's easier to clean....but still, there's nothing easy about cleaning up Tegu poop.

Sorry! had to mention it. lol


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## ToadHallBetty (Mar 9, 2021)

Tegutasticc said:


> Thank you so much for this clear and kind response. I’ve been looking into grow tents, so I’ll make sure to keep them in mind(not intimidated by the size). So to clarify is the free roaming in the bedroom and have the old 4'x2'x2' enclosure be used strictly as a basking/burrowing/humidity house a bad or good idea?


I have a free roaming Tegu in my reptile room. She has a humidity box/hide. A dry hide and a basking area that has UVB and belly heat that is around 110. She is free roaming because its fun having a big lizard walking around one's feet. Your idea could work, in my limited experience, but be aware that Tegus can make a mess with droppings and can/will get into things, climb.....


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## IrieRogue (Mar 10, 2021)

Tegutasticc said:


> Hello I'm new to TeguTalk. I've been doing research on Tegus because I am looking into getting one this year. There are many different debates on free roaming. I am planning on getting a juvenile b&w Tegu, and will provide a 4'x2'x2' enclosure for him/her(since I know they grow fast). Whenever they end up growing out of the 4'x2'x2' enclosure can I have them free roam in the bedroom (I'll make sure the bedroom is Tegu safe of course) and have the 4'x2'x2' enclosure be used strictly as a basking/burrowing/humidity house(they would also, have regularly scheduled bath times)? Thoughts? Opinions? *(FOR MY RESEARCH) *


Hey there! I got an excellent grow tent (8×4×6 ft) off Amazon, and it works fantastically! It cost no more than $130. I grew some things indoors years ago when I had my blue tongue, and I noticed how much he enjoyed exploring the tents. Once I decided to get Pubba I did some research and discovered other people were also keen on this idea. His tent is now fully bioactive, with an LED grow light on one side and his Megarays on the other. The tent even has lower vents (as well as upper; all can be closed off) which function as an entrance/exit for him. He leaves his tent for about 2-4 hours every morning to climb in bed and snuggle me (best part of my day by far), and the rest of the time he is in his enclosure. He has 2 humidifiers pumping mist constantly, one on either end, and a large water bin to fully submerge/swim. I couldn't recommend grow tents highly enough, they are so ideal for holding in humidity, reflecting UVB, hanging heavy lights, feeding cords and fogger tubes into, growing plants, and containing substrate. Even with his coming and going, the mess is minimal. Good luck with your 'gu!!!


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## IrieRogue (Mar 10, 2021)

Debita said:


> Are you familiar with Tegu poop yet??? It isn't that you can't potty train them, but it does take time and effort to do it. I never hear anyone answer that question about the free-roam situation...Are they pooping on the carpet??? Good luck with that. Their poop is the most foul stench you'll ever run across.
> 
> One of the things about enclosures is that they naturally don't want to go in their house, so people can remove them on a regular basis and place them in a warm bath, or hard floor, etc., to direct where their poop goes. My adult male will only go on my kitchen floor where it's easier to clean....but still, there's nothing easy about cleaning up Tegu poop.
> 
> Sorry! had to mention it. lol


Lmao, I couldn't agree more on the stench, p-u! Just finished cleaning up a large deposit from my boy. It took some effort, but I was able to train him to stay off the carpet and solely use his water bowl, substrate, or the tile in the bathroom as a last resort. He has done so well


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## ToadHallBetty (Mar 10, 2021)

Debita said:


> Are you familiar with Tegu poop yet??? It isn't that you can't potty train them, but it does take time and effort to do it. I never hear anyone answer that question about the free-roam situation...Are they pooping on the carpet??? Good luck with that. Their poop is the most foul stench you'll ever run across


My reptile room has vinal flooring, messy but easy to clean up. Tonks likes to climb into the window, climb shelves, hide in open bags of substrate, knock over the garbage......you have to carefully reptile proof the room and they still get into stuff.


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## Debita (Mar 15, 2021)

Very curious animals!!....They are explorers at heart, and excellent escape artists. "Free roam" is a scary combination. The most experienced Tegu owners here are religious about their containment. Not that some don't do the free-roam, but all of them caution about the animals ability to find the weakest point, and maximize their opportunity. 

And, I agree with @TheTeguNovice about not wasting time with the 4x2x2. They just grow so darn fast - it's kind of wasted money. Chickens will slow their own growth when they are in tight, enclosed space. Not sure about Tegus, but if I was a betting girl...I'd guess lizards will do that too. Best not to leave that up to chance. 

I take my Skully out of his 8x4x4 as often as he wants (he's 4 yrs old now) and he is fully potty trained. That doesn't mean that it's easy to deal with when he decides to unload on the faux wood floor, and then unload again, and again....It's a wonder they can carry that much inside them. It's worth the work, and as much as I think I'm running the show, he just lets me know what he wants every day, and I comply. After that, I'm the boss.


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## merakjinsei (Apr 19, 2021)

IrieRogue said:


> Hey there! I got an excellent grow tent (8×4×6 ft) off Amazon, and it works fantastically! It cost no more than $130. I grew some things indoors years ago when I had my blue tongue, and I noticed how much he enjoyed exploring the tents. Once I decided to get Pubba I did some research and discovered other people were also keen on this idea. His tent is now fully bioactive, with an LED grow light on one side and his Megarays on the other. The tent even has lower vents (as well as upper; all can be closed off) which function as an entrance/exit for him. He leaves his tent for about 2-4 hours every morning to climb in bed and snuggle me (best part of my day by far), and the rest of the time he is in his enclosure. He has 2 humidifiers pumping mist constantly, one on either end, and a large water bin to fully submerge/swim. I couldn't recommend grow tents highly enough, they are so ideal for holding in humidity, reflecting UVB, hanging heavy lights, feeding cords and fogger tubes into, growing plants, and containing substrate. Even with his coming and going, the mess is minimal. Good luck with your 'gu!!!


How do you have his coming and going vents set up? How do you seal them if you don't want him running around for whatever reason?
Also, where and when does he use the bathroom? In his water dish, in a safe area in your house? Did you train him to go a particular place? Thanks!


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## Mich lady (Apr 28, 2021)

merakjinsei said:


> How do you have his coming and going vents set up? How do you seal them if you don't want him running around for whatever reason?
> Also, where and when does he use the bathroom? In his water dish, in a safe area in your house? Did you train him to go a particular place? Thanks!


My Savannah and black and white are both trained to go potty in a litterbox. I line it with newspaper and away they go. Lol


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## merakjinsei (Apr 28, 2021)

Mich lady said:


> My Savannah and black and white are both trained to go potty in a litterbox. I line it with newspaper and away they go. Lol


How did you train them to use it? Place them there when they start to go, make them stay there til they go, or what? Learning training methods


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## Mich lady (Apr 28, 2021)

Well, I noticed that they would go in a certain spot. So I put newspaper down and a litter box on top with newspaper in it. They are pretty predictable. Usually after they eat they would go over to the area with the box. I would put them in it and they would go. After a short while they started doing it on their own
One at a time in the litter box of course.


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## Mich lady (Apr 28, 2021)

Hanging out


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## Debita (May 4, 2021)

Cute buddies!! Looking happy


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## Mich lady (May 4, 2021)

Debita said:


> Cute buddies!! Looking happy


Thanks! They get along really well. But my tegu is the dominant one. If the Savannah is basking in the spot tegu wants ,tegu (roman) will just lay on top of elias(sav). And elias puts up with it! Lol funny characters. They keep my life interesting. Lol


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