# 1 question and 1 new idea!!



## mr.tegu (Feb 19, 2009)

The weather here in San Diego is warming up already. I have started to take my tegu outside to bask in the sun and lay in the grass. My enclosure lighting is all uva/uvb lighting but i want my tegu to have natural sun as much as possible in the summer. My question is How much natural sun is required to be beneficial to the tegu?
The new idea i am talking about is i want something that is easily able to be put up and taken down as a temperary outside enclosure. i am thinking somthing like pvc pipe and some kinda wire mesh or something like that, looking for ideas if you wanna chip in and throw me one or two ideas would be great... :chin


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## John_E_Dove (Feb 19, 2009)

Well if you are into some interesting reading you can try the following;
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.uvguide.co.uk/whatreptilesneed.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.uvguide.co.uk/whatreptilesneed.htm</a><!-- m -->
I think though if you are wanting specific numbers of hours you are out of luck. Not only would that vary depending on your Latitude on the earth but also by seasonal solar intensity and of course, as indicated in the study above, the color of your animal.

PS it is a good idea though. I would just have it set up so your Tegu could get out of the sun if it wished.


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## Filphfio (Feb 19, 2009)

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.reptarium.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.reptarium.com/</a><!-- m --> maybe for a temp outside enclosure??

I had one of these. my tortes chewed through it over the course of a few weeks


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## mr.tegu (Feb 19, 2009)

WOW john_e _dove i just spent like two hours reading your links you put up. thank you very much. that was all kinds of good info and i also did some other research on different lights and uv outputs. thanks man that was really cool stuff for me i enjoyed it....


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## John_E_Dove (Feb 20, 2009)

Glad you liked it.
I only have that link because I joined a UV Meter owners group and that is where they post much of what they learn from their studies. Not that I have contributed anything though, I have not been able to log in to the group for years but I still get all the email discussions. LOL Kind of makes me like the fly on the wall.


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## DaveDragon (Feb 20, 2009)

John_E_Dove said:


> I only have that link because I joined a UV Meter owners group and that is where they post much of what they learn from their studies. Not that I have contributed anything though, I have not been able to log in to the group for years but I still get all the email discussions. LOL Kind of makes me like the fly on the wall.


I've belonged to that group for a couple of years too. And I have no idea how to sign in! Alot of interesting discussions though.


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## mr.tegu (Feb 20, 2009)

Well guys i guess it would be safe to say that any amount of unfiltered natural sun light is better then non at all.


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## John_E_Dove (Feb 20, 2009)

That is exactly right Mr. Tegu.
The sad thing is that there are no real studies that have been done that measure actual D3 production with X hours of exposure in X intensity sunlight for X days = X blood calcium level in any of the diurnal species of reptillians.
Even when we look at Box Turtles there is a huge debate on the amount of sun require. In indoor enclosures it is most commonly recommended that they be give 12 hours per day. Well I do boxie rescues and have about 14 in a wild setting outdoor enclosure. In the summer I have to go out and feed before 0800 because around 0830 they start looking for a place to dig in and by 0900 you can't find one in the enclosure. You won't see them again until after 1800 when the sun has started into its descent. So how much are they really getting?
I suspect that a study of wild types of many other reptiles would find them hiding in the shade during the most solar intense parts of the day as well. But I'm not where they live nor do I have any rescues to study other than Iguanas who lay out on their branches in the brightest sun pretty much all day long.


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## Tux (Feb 20, 2009)

I belong to that same group and have for years...the yahoo group right? As for what you just said John I agree most reptiles will find shade during the most intense parts of the day however as you mention it is very species specific as many of these animals may use shade which still allows some level of sunlight through. Even if those studies were done we would need studies to find optimal blood calcium levels. The key to any enclosure is to provide a form of shelter so you are somewhat mimicking the natural environment in which case you should see similar behavior. At this point we basically have a ballpark idea of what works via trial and error but we don't know optimal levels to be providing.


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## mr.tegu (Feb 20, 2009)

its funny i remember 20 some odd years ago when you had reptiles you had a standerd house hold light for it and that was about it. now a days you have all these crazy lights and heating pads, vits and mins,oils and potions to have a healthy reptile,,lol


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## John_E_Dove (Feb 21, 2009)

LOL, I can even remember when we knew that snakes would not eat dead prey so you had to raise your own rodents or by pet rodents from pet stores if you wanted to keep most species of snakes.


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## brianratm (Feb 21, 2009)

Mr. Tegu, Are you saying you think the expensive lights, heating pads, vits, and minerals are overrated?


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## mr.tegu (Feb 21, 2009)

No,.... none if it is really expensive. And i do think that now a days alot of research has been done on reptiles and products for better health. What i was saying is that 20 years ago or so if you had a reptile there was not all the special products and things out for them at that time. I however do invest in all these new products, lights, calcium, ect because to me the research and statistics are proven to better health in reptiles. I aslo feel that some if not alot of products are overrated and a waste of money, such as we all know for example the certain brand names of calcium suppliments bobby talks about being crushed oyster shells. I am all for spending a few hundred dollars one these proven products for a healthy tegu and to eleminate vet bills and deformities.


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## brianratm (Feb 21, 2009)

I understand. Mr. Tegu, when you house your Tegus outside do you feed them inside or outside their enclosure?


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## mr.tegu (Feb 21, 2009)

Its advised to feed in a seperate inclosure besides the one it lives in due to what they call (food aggression). This is when the reptile sees you bring food to its inclosure and will start to make the reptile think anytime your around their is food and time to eat. You dont want this so you are advised to put food in a tub/container then put reptile in tub to eat, that way the reptile does not associate your hand or you as food. But to me switching enclosures to feed is not practicule, So i feed my tegu in its enclosure before it wakes in the morning, and as my tegu roams my house i add more food to its enclosure. Also i always feed pre-killed rodents, I have found that MANY reptiles are more passive if they dont have to kill their food, and less battle scars from mouse/rat bites


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