# New to this please help...



## tegugirl (Nov 19, 2008)

Hello, I got my daughter a black and white tegu this past Sunday at a reptile show. I brought her home and got her some Cypress Mulch as told and a wood hideaway spot and a huge water bowl. We also got her a pinky and some crickets but she has not ate really anything since I got her. Also today i picked up some worms and she wants nothing to do with them either. Her tank is set up so that on one side where her water is there is a heating pad underneath and a bulb on top and the other side is where the wood piece is for her to hide and get cool. i also covered part of the tank with towel and sray it down twice a day to make it humid in there. Is this correct? What else do you suggest i get for her? Is it normal that she is not eating? HOW do you know when she is in hibernation, should you not hold her then? PLEASE HELP ME i am clueless....lol

Thanks


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## Harveysherps (Nov 19, 2008)

They are pretty well getting ready to hibernate. If it has good body mass . It will be fine. Just keep an eye on it. If it starts burying up and sleeping a lot. Then it's going to hibernate. So don't freak out just yet. It may need to adjust to the new surroundings. Everything should be alright. Just keep watch on it .


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## leoares27 (Nov 19, 2008)

hey...

make sure there is enough mulch for him/her to bury herself in!! If you are trying to hold her a lot, that might be stressing her out since you just brought her home. Also, this IS the time where they start hibernating so...that might be it too... if she is going under a lot, leaver her be, she is probably "slowing down" to hibernate. If she is doing this, then she shouldn't be eating anyway....If she isn't then she might just be stressed out...
do you have pics of her and/or her set up??

there is a topic in this forum about hibernation...its VERY informative!


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## ashesc212 (Nov 19, 2008)

How old is your tegu and how big? If you have cypress mulch in there you may not want to feed her in the cage as she could ingest it and become impacted. The towel thing seems okay but I'm still a newbie too. I have a little tupperware container with a wet papertowel as backup that the tegu seems to like to crawl in and roll around on. 

It took my tegu a day or two to eat. They need to feel secure and comfortable. Do you have any part of the enclosure blocked off with a background or anything? That might help make her feel secure. I can't say on the pinkie - I haven't tried feeding mine one yet. The crickets are good. Do you dust them with calcium and multivitamins?

How deep is the water dish? If the tegu is small she may drown if the water level is too high. 

What are you using for lighting? What is your basking spot temperature? What is your temperature on the cool side? What are you using to take the temperature? What are you using for UVB? How close can she get to her UVB light? Are you tracking the humidity in the cage? What are you using for a hygrometer?

One thing you might want to feed is ground turkey with cod liver oil. I learned that from DaveDragon. He also brought up a good point about the under tank heater when I was going to use one. Tegus like to burrow and therefore could get too close to the heater and burn themselves. However, if it is just under the water bowl and for the purpose of evaporating water in the air then that is probably a good idea.

What type of worms are you using? They like superworms and such although I cannot get mine to eat worms yet.


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## jumanji (Nov 19, 2008)

Hello tegugirl, I purchaced a red tegu which arived last friday through overnight UPS. When I opened the box he was quite cold due to the weather conditions. I have his tank set up right and I have a temp gum to check that the temps. are good throughout the cage. Mine is also not wanting to eat and stays in his hide box all of the time. I had the same question, could he be wanting to hibernate due to the time of year and him getting cold during shipping? Or is he scared because the UPS guy tossed the box around? I have a black and white that I have had for about a year now and have not had this problem. I wish I had an answer for you and I hope someone can help both of us with some ideas.

Jumanji


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## tegugirl (Nov 19, 2008)

I dont know what a hidebox is and how do you make one...She is out and about some but hides alot to. Also how do i put pics on here? She is about 1 yrs old and not very big. I got some wzx worms today as told to but petsmart and she still will not eat those. I have a bulb over her water and on the sme side of the tank i have heating pad underneath. She is also shedding so we gave her a bath to help but she is very dry.


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## Harveysherps (Nov 19, 2008)

jumanji said:


> Hello tegugirl, I purchaced a red tegu which arived last friday through overnight UPS. When I opened the box he was quite cold due to the weather conditions. I have his tank set up right and I have a temp gum to check that the temps. are good throughout the cage. Mine is also not wanting to eat and stays in his hide box all of the time. I had the same question, could he be wanting to hibernate due to the time of year and him getting cold during shipping? Or is he scared because the UPS guy tossed the box around? I have a black and white that I have had for about a year now and have not had this problem. I wish I had an answer for you and I hope someone can help both of us with some ideas.
> 
> Jumanji


The cool temps more than likely put yours into hibernation mode. It may not eat until spring. If it was fed good it will be fine. This is the main problem with buying a tegu. People don't research them well enough before buying. If so then they would buy them in the warm months instead of winter. These problems are to be expected this time of year. You made a bad choice in buying one this time of year. Both of you did. I've done the same thing. But I have learned from my mistakes. I hope you both have learned something from this. On another note. Your Tegu may be sick. From the cold. I doubt it but maybe. My guess is your gonna have to enjoy it when it wakes up. If you do feed it now. You put it's life in DANGER . Plain and simple. So stop trying to feed it and let mother nature take it's course and supply the proper hibernation techniques.


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## tegugirl (Nov 19, 2008)

Well, I didnt know it was wrong to buy one, when the breeders at the retile expo were selling them. Also i have read many care sheets and says nothing about not eating, i called the breeder and he said shell eat when hungry not to worry. What is proper hibernation techniques, she has plenty of Cypress mulch, resh water, and we leave her alone when she is hidden so just hold her when she is up and moving around?


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## tegugirl (Nov 19, 2008)

Howdo you make a hidebox? do you put that in the heated side of the tank?


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## ashesc212 (Nov 19, 2008)

tegugirl said:


> Well, I didnt know it was wrong to buy one, when the breeders at the retile expo were selling them. Also i have read many care sheets and says nothing about not eating, i called the breeder and he said shell eat when hungry not to worry. What is proper hibernation techniques, she has plenty of Cypress mulch, resh water, and we leave her alone when she is hidden so just hold her when she is up and moving around?



The thing is, she may not be hibernating but just scared...if you leave food available for her then she'll eat when she's ready. So what about your lighting? What type of bulb is it? You may be missing out on a UVB strip light which is ESSENTIAL to allowing the tegu to properly digest calcium (which he needs as a supplement to his food). Do you have a mercury vapor bulb? In that case it's okay. Anyway, the tegu needs access to the basking spot. The water is not blocking it is it?

A hide box is really just anything that it can sleep/hide in like a rock cave .


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## ashesc212 (Nov 19, 2008)

The bath is a good idea. Your humidity still may not be at an ideal percentage if the tegu is dry, however. What are you using to measure it?


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## Harveysherps (Nov 19, 2008)

Don't get all huffy. Why buy something and not know how to take care of it? You should have done your homework and we could be having a different conversation. Who was the breeder you bought it from? He should have atleast told you some of the basic care. If not he just wanted to make a sell and you fell for it. So now your here looking for answers. I'm sorry if I offended you. But I merely stated the truth. I will be happy to try and help. Now that your in the situation. Hibernation has been expalined several times in the past week right here on this site. I myself have explained it many times. This site has the best care sheet on the net. Try giving that a read first. Then you might give Agama International's site a read. It's no longer in operation but the site is still there. It has loads of info. I don't agree with everything but the most I do.


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## tegugirl (Nov 19, 2008)

No the water is not blocking the bulb the water is on one side, the light covers whole end of tank. The only other thing in tank is a log thing that has an opening underneath that she crawls under and hides...Does she need a hidebox?


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## ashesc212 (Nov 19, 2008)

tegugirl said:


> No the water is not blocking the bulb the water is on one side, the light covers whole end of tank. The only other thing in tank is a log thing that has an opening underneath that she crawls under and hides...Does she need a hidebox?



So you just have one bulb? What type of bulb is it? Sorry to be asking this so many times...I just want to make sure she has UVB and UVA. 

The log could probably work as a hide...otherwise just get anything that provides a sheltered spot.


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## tegugirl (Nov 19, 2008)

Its a UVB light ...How do i post pics on here then i can just show you her...and her setup...and tell me what you think?


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## tegugirl (Nov 19, 2008)

Yes, i only have one bulb on one side of tank, as told to do by the breeder and the heating pad on same side. Then the other side is cool as it should be.


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## Harveysherps (Nov 19, 2008)

To post pics . You need to have a PhotoBucket or something like it. You can also load them through the reply button. The quick reply you need PhotoBucket or something.


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## ashesc212 (Nov 19, 2008)

tegugirl said:


> Its a UVB light ...How do i post pics on here then i can just show you her...and her setup...and tell me what you think?



You need a Photobucket or Flickr account. For Flickr (I don't know about Photobucket because I use Flickr), you upload the picture on your account and then right click on it. Go to properties, then click on image location. From there you will see a url address. Copy that and insert that between the "img" brackets provided on this site with the img buttons.


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## tegugirl (Nov 19, 2008)

*Here are some pics of my new TEGUs setup*

Hope this helps and let me know what you think she is hidding right now so i left her be....
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=148573525&albumId=2344114">http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.c ... Id=2344114</a><!-- m -->

Go to this link and tell me what you think i cant figure out how to get pics on here....[/url]


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## Harveysherps (Nov 19, 2008)

The set up looks fine to me.


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## tegugirl (Nov 19, 2008)

Ok thanks i wanted to get some pics of her, but she is hidding so i will later i guess but you can see her tail...lol


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## Harveysherps (Nov 19, 2008)

Your doing fine. But your Tegu is gonna hibernate on you. It's up to you to decide whether you want to hibernate it or not. My opinion is to let it. Which means turn off the light and let things take there course.Keep the heat pad for a while but eventually turn it off. Cause your just wasting electricity. If she comes out and starts looking all around the cage tongue flicking. Then try feeding it. But if my bet is right. It will eventually go down for the remainder of the winter.


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## DaRealJoker (Nov 19, 2008)

Ok I'd like to ring in on this one too The tank you have is probably a bit small for her size. She would benefit from more space. The mulch is good. As for the heat lamp over the water, she'll get warm water as opposed to room temp or colder. I'm going to suggest making her a enclosure. You want one end warm and the other cool. Water and hide at the same end and basking in the other. Aswell you should let her be for a week to let her relax. They don't cope with stress like you and I. It takes much more time for them to recover from scary things. The cold probably did trigger her natural instincts to hibernate. To clarify what a hide is, it's simply a cave or place to "hide" That's made easily by placing some heavy rocks in a "C" shape and put a cover on it. A piece of thick plastic or some ply-wood will work. You're gonna have to check out what is and isn't toxic, but to help you, Cedar and Pine are a big danger. If she is "hibernating" stop feeding her. The food can rot in her belly and her demise will surely follow. You must provide the proper UVA and UVB for proper digestion aswell as blood warming. The UVA also allows for calcium to be absorbed. Sprinkle Calcium powder (only reptile specific formulas) and Reptile vitamins on most meals but not too many. Watch out for Calcium with D3 as it's dangerous. And don't worry that you got her at a bad time, no one is perfect. If your tegus want to go into hibernation, let them. I agree with Harvey and also think if it wants to hibernate it would be some sort of animal cruelty to denie it. The heat pad won't do much but overheat the tegu. If you would like her to eat something, stop handling her and offer meals when she's awake on her own. Don't wake them ever. It pisses them off, and destroys the feeling of a safe place. How would you feel if some big ole giant keeps ripping the roof off your bedroom? Scared as all H^$$ I bet. They need a security blanket so to say. And the hide provides that. Otherwise I think from what I've learnt, you're doing the best you can with the tools you have. Just need a few new tools and maybe to replace some others. Sum of it all, to get her to eat, don't touch her and let her settle in. Settling takes a week or two and sometimes more. These creatures live on the Eat or be eaten principal, and fear is a very big tool to their well being. Have patience and show lots of love and your tegu will become very comfortable.


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## MMRR - jif (Nov 19, 2008)

I see a problem with the enclosure but it is minor and easily fixed. The water dish that you have is a bit overkill. Just offer a small dish of water, something that holds a cup or so (healthy tegus don't soak so a large dish is unnecessary), move it to the cooler side, and put another log hide on the warm side. Find an accurate way to check your temps (Pro Exotics temp gun is an awesome choice) and make sure you have a basking temp of 100 degrees F. The cool side can stay in the 70's. Spray the mulch lightly daily and keep as much of the tank top covered as you can. The damp towel is not a bad idea and can work well to help keep the humidity levels up. 

If your tegu is going into hibernation it's best to just let it happen. It's no fun to have a new pet that is sleeping all of the time but that's what you deal with when you keep tegus. If he perks up with the changes in the enclosure I'd keep handling to a minimum to reduce stress and keep offering food, maybe some ground turkey mixed with cooked egg. None of my adult tegus are truly hibernating right now but they have slowed down on food intake.

Congrats on your new tegu and welcome to TeguTalk!


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## DaRealJoker (Nov 19, 2008)

oh and the bulbs you want are a Repti-Sun 5.0 UVA flourescent light,or equivelent and a Day-time white light basking lamp,that provides UVB and a 24 hour heat source which you can do with a red heat light, or a ceramic heat emitter. If I have that UVA and UVB backwards I'm sorry. But I think I have it the right way

also provide fresh water everyday in a clean dish. 
If your tap water is chlorinated, treat by putting water in a pail to let the chlorine to vap off, then run it thru a Brita to be extra safe. You're going to find that tegus are very time consuming and require lots of work. But eventually it all seems to go smooth.


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## tegugirl (Nov 19, 2008)

The breeder told me to switch the water, and told me to get a big water bowl, told me to put heater under water and heat lamp on same side, and cool place with the log? I should change that around?


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## tegugirl (Nov 19, 2008)

I am supposed to turn the bulb on top of tank off? she wont get to cold? Just leave the heating pad on bottom on?


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## jor71 (Nov 19, 2008)

tegugirl said:


> Its a UVB light ...How do i post pics on here then i can just show you her...and her setup...and tell me what you think?



Here is a tutorial on how to post pics using photobucket:
http://www.tegutalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2332

or

Here is a tutorial on how to post pics using imageshack:
http://www.tegutalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=274


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## DaRealJoker (Nov 19, 2008)

You can leave the red heat light on always, and yeah you need to turn the white lights off everyday. What is it guys? 10 hours of "day light" right now? Your red light will provide heat 24/7 so that's fine. All together your looking at three lights. One basking lamp (UVB), one day-light(UVA; for metabolism) and one 24 hour heatsource. That heat pad wasn't really needed. Unless your place is too cold. Get a timer and set your day lights to run off the timer. And for placement, heat and basking light at one end, and none on the other side. The hide is to be away from the hot end. They will move around to regulate their own temperatures, and that's why you need a "cool" side. Overall temp is around 75F to 80F and the hotest spot during the day is to reach 90F air temp or 100F on the basking spot surface( top of her rock she lays on to bask) I have the same waterdish as you, just in grey  It's about the biggest you want to go but yeah it is overkill.


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## DaRealJoker (Nov 19, 2008)

Oh and when moisturizing his cage, don't over do it or you will be battleing mold and that's a big danger, aswell as always spot clean. Remove all "poops" I beleive the saying is "Cleanliness is next to Godliness"


Oh yes Welcome to TeguTalk. I'm DaRealJoker AKA Andy


Hey I see a face in one of those pics, is that your daughter, the actual handler of this tegu? If so hi to you too and maybe she should be reading these posts aswell. Knowledge is power.


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## tegugirl (Nov 19, 2008)

Ok i am confused.... my friend that has snakes gave me the red bulb I dont know what kind of light it is and now i am told she needs UVA and UVB lights? do you rotate them? When do i use which one? also if she is going into hinernation do i just use her heat pad under tank? I am so confused....


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## tegugirl (Nov 19, 2008)

I leave the heating pad and red bulb on all the time is this wrong?


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## tegugirl (Nov 19, 2008)

The repti light are both UVB and UVA so that will take care of that correct get the 5.0 one and use red light additional to that, or will the heating pad on bottom be enough? HELP...pls....lol


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## mr.king (Nov 19, 2008)

personally as far as placement of the heating pad i usually put that under the hide and for a hide i use ones that r enclosed not like a half log just b/c it contains more humidity u can spray the inside and i put one of my warn t-shirts in side of his hide so he gets used to my sent and as far as food goes he might be hibernating so he wont eat if it is u can still handle em but its not going to matter b/c its just going to look for a place to sleep again a way u can try to break it outta hibernating is just turn up the heat in your tank but besides that u sound like your doing good give her lots of love attention and food and shell grow to be your best friend good luck


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## DaRealJoker (Nov 19, 2008)

Yeah a white UVA light is the basking light. It's placed over a rock around a foot and a half away. That get's turned on during the day everyday. It's on for 10 hours a day right now and 14 in the summer. That cranks out lots of heat for them. The UVA is a full spectrum type light. It use phosphors to produce a certain variance of the spectrum so that they can get UVB which is in someway Vitamin D. They need this second light for prevention of Metabolic Bone Disease or "MBD" for short. This light is also on for 10 hours a day right now and 14 in the summer. Run both of these liights together at the same time simultainiously. The red light is for warmth and just provide a heat source. But what your going to see is that your tank is going to be way too hot because it is too small. so you will have to turn off the red light during the days until you have the proper cage.


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## Melicious.Prose (Nov 19, 2008)

I'm the friend. -Grins.- The red bulb was an added bonus to the heating pad I gave her for the ball python. 

I have pictures of the tegu in the bathtub. I suggested the tub. She then enjoyed being wrapped up in one of my towels. I tend to spoil my herps, so I saw no reason to deny her tegu that spoiling.


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## DaveDragon (Nov 19, 2008)

Unplug the UTH, it can put out enough heat to burn him when he burrows. The mulch will insulate the heat from rising to the top making the glass even hotter. Don't risk it. As long as your night time temps are above 65 degrees don't worry about any night time heat. You could use the Red bulb if really needed.

I don't know how long he is but our female 18 month old B&W is about 39" and was close to 3ft at 1 year old (didn't hibernate). A lack of proper heat, UVB and nutrition will restrict their growth, and even cause problems such as Metabolic Bone Disease (from a lack of UVB) and bacterial or parasite flareups.

For adults I use 4ft ReptiSun 10 tubes (for UVB), he should be able to get within 12" for it to be effective; and 75W halogen lights for heat. For hatchlings/young Tegu's I use a 100W T-Rex Active UV Heat bulb in a 20G or 30G breeder tank (12" high), that will give a 100 degree basking spot and lots of UVB. Proper UVB and heat levels are very important for growth and digestion.

Normally the lights are on a 12hr on/12 hr off timer. If he's only getting up for a couple of hours a day (it's hard to tell if you're not home during the day) cut the time back to 6hrs on. Because the room our Tegu's are in is 70-75 degrees in the winter I don't turn the lights completely off. Hibernation is an instinctual thing, temps have nothing to do with it. Bobby's Tegu's start hibernating in August in the heat of the Florida summer. You can't stop it. A full hibernation requires temps in the 50's, 70's will just slow them down.

I'm guessing that's a 40G tank. If he's over 2 feet long that's too small. He should move into a full size enclosure, 6ft x 3ft minimum.


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## DaRealJoker (Nov 19, 2008)

Hey Dave I was looking for you cage thread, could you upload it? It aughta be a main link somewhere here hehee I think she should see what a real set up looks like please?


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## DaveDragon (Nov 20, 2008)

Here it is! I need to take some new pics. The front panel was put back on the lower enclosure and .08 thick plexiglas was added to the inside of the doors to keep in humidity. I'm going to remove the 1/2" vinyl coated hardware cloth on the outside of the doors.

http://www.tegutalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=345

I'm in the process of building another one. Our Blue Tegu hold backs will be living in it in a few of months, depending on how fast they grow.


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## Melicious.Prose (Nov 20, 2008)

Thank you guys. I'll be babysitting next week, so I'll taking care of her. -Grins.- I'm always excited to have experience with other reptiles. Of course, my experience with balls is a lot more extensive.


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## tegugirl (Nov 20, 2008)

She has been in her NEW rock cave since this morning when i changed her tank around....on the cold side....she hasent came out at all, so I guess we will wait it out and i just turned the lights off and left red bulb on to keep in the basking side...will return on lights in morning...and hopefully see her come out....


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## tegugirl (Nov 20, 2008)

Oh and i got a 5.0 light and a 50w basking light she is in a 40 gallon tank right now...as one is being built for her...i was told that was enough for her right now...


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## KoreanDeathKid (Nov 20, 2008)

it can't be all that hard, i just use a 60 watt heat daytime bulb, and a UVB lighting, and give my tegu plenty of natural calcium
and just turn the room temperature up at night after i turn the lights off


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## tegugirl (Nov 21, 2008)

Ok my Tegu is doing better, i got her a big rock and cocked in over for 30 mins and she is basking in the sun today I tried to feed her some grapes, chicken cooked meat (breeder told me to) and soft boiled eggs and she ate none of it. I will try a pinkie again but she seems to not want to eat, but she is out and moving around and loving her lights.


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## jor71 (Nov 21, 2008)

FYI, no one can tell you what will work when it comes to temperatures. There are things that play a part on how warm or cold an enclosure can get. Example: Your enclosure is near an AC vent and it gets hit with constant cold air and you keep the thermostat at 70 throughout your house; you will indeed need more to keep your enclosure at a steady high temp.

You must experiment (which really should be done prior to buying a reptile) with different wattages and see which works for you.

You need to monitor the temps by using a temp gun and a good digital thermometer(s). I use three thermometers in my enclosure and I use a temp gun to monitor the basking spot. Temps are very important, so do not take anyone's word for it. Check your temps, double check, triple check...you get my point 

I am not sure about the cooked chicken meat, I always heard to give them raw meat. The exception to cooked food is eggs, you should atleast soft-boil them.

When it comes to food, you need to experiment at the beginning and see what it likes to eat. Also, the breeder should be able to tell you what he/she has been feeding the Tegu.

Remember the UVB lights are ineffective when they are too far away from the animal. If you have a screen or glass between the bulb and the lizard, the screen/glass cuts out some/most of the essential UV rays!

Good luck


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## tegugirl (Nov 21, 2008)

ok ty


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