# Is this a normal rate of growth?



## tommylee22 (Aug 2, 2012)

Hey guys/gals,

I wanted to post some more licks of my little guy, well not so little anymore and only getting bigger by what seems the day. I've had Biggin now for almost a month (will be a month on the 9th). He's growing like crazy! I mean I've never seen something grow so fast. Is this normal???? I've posted some pics from day one and then 10 days after his arrival and then pics from tonight 8_2_12. Don't get me wrong I'm proud of his growth but he's going to be a monster at this rate.

This could be totally normal as this is my first Extreme Tegu let me know what you guys think..

*Here are pics from the 9th of July when I got him. * 














*
Here are some pics 10 days after I got him.*










*Here are pics from today.*


----------



## Bntegus (Aug 2, 2012)

tegus are tegus they like to eat that is great if they grow like yours normal all the way.


----------



## tommylee22 (Aug 2, 2012)

Bntegus said:


> tegus are tegus they like to eat that is great if they grow like yours normal all the way.




It just blows my mind, I was told they grow fast but that much in less than a month is crazy!


----------



## bmx3000max (Aug 2, 2012)

Wow...what do you feed and how often?


----------



## tommylee22 (Aug 2, 2012)

I feed the whole ground animals from that Site I posted. Rabbit/turkey/quail eggs/Dubia/grapes/horn worms once in a while, had a little ground beef a couple times hmmm what else, Oh 3 pinkies a day on weekends with Dubias... Dude just seems to get bigger and bigger, how's yours doing? I know yours is from same clutch, got any pics?? please post them I'd love to see


----------



## Skeetzy (Aug 2, 2012)

Tegu looks awesome! I hope my B&W grows like that hahah.

On a side note, how much of that whole ground animal have you gone through? I'm actually so excited about that site you posted, never even thought of looking for something like that. I'm about to place my order for mine coming next week, and want to order enough for a short time. How many lbs you think you go through a week?


----------



## tommylee22 (Aug 2, 2012)

Skeetzy said:


> Tegu looks awesome! I hope my B&W grows like that hahah.
> 
> On a side note, how much of that whole ground animal have you gone through? I'm actually so excited about that site you posted, never even thought of looking for something like that. I'm about to place my order for mine coming next week, and want to order enough for a short time. How many lbs you think you go through a week?



I went out and bought the smallest zip lock bags I could find, mixed in the ground up quail eggs and rabbit and then did the same with the whole turkey. I put like a large table spoon scoop in each bag. he doesn't always eat all of it but he really loves that stuff way better than ground meats like turkey and egg.. all that bone/organs and added quail egg shell and all really makes him happy.


----------



## bmx3000max (Aug 2, 2012)

Yea ill post pics tomorow...you can cheack his thread im always updateing it...and jw whats yhe whole food website?


----------



## tommylee22 (Aug 2, 2012)

bmx3000max said:


> Yea ill post pics tomorow...you can cheack his thread im always updateing it...and jw whats yhe whole food website?



I have it as a quick link so here you go 
https://www.hare-today.com


----------



## Skeetzy (Aug 2, 2012)

tommylee22 said:


> Skeetzy said:
> 
> 
> > Tegu looks awesome! I hope my B&W grows like that hahah.
> ...



Oh man, so like 5 lbs should definitely last awhile, at least while he's young


----------



## Rhetoric (Aug 2, 2012)

Totally normal. There was a period of time when guru would shed 2-3 times a week.


----------



## tommylee22 (Aug 3, 2012)

Yea Biggin is shedding like once a week


----------



## tmc001 (Aug 3, 2012)

wow man....I can't believe it, your baby is a monster. My baby is from same clutch and only 14in now, he doesn't eat a lot everyday, always left foods there.


----------



## tommylee22 (Aug 3, 2012)

tmc001 said:


> wow man....I can't believe it, your baby is a monster. My baby is from same clutch and only 14in now, he doesn't eat a lot everyday, always left foods there.





That's what I thought after seeing other pics of extremes from same clutch. People say it's normal thou so I guess they all just chose when they want to grow. He's just not the same lizard each day it seems he's bigger. I'll continue to document his growth every 10 days or so if he continues to grow at this rate.


----------



## tmc001 (Aug 3, 2012)

tommylee22 said:


> tmc001 said:
> 
> 
> > wow man....I can't believe it, your baby is a monster. My baby is from same clutch and only 14in now, he doesn't eat a lot everyday, always left foods there.
> ...





How much meat you feed him everyday?


----------



## apocalypse910 (Aug 3, 2012)

I believe my tegu is from the same batch - I couldn't believe how fast he's been growing. After seeing yours I'm seriously worried that he's undersized.


----------



## bmx3000max (Aug 3, 2012)

Dont worry guys, all tegus eat and grow at diffrent rates and have thier growth spurts at diffrent times


----------



## larissalurid (Aug 3, 2012)

Yea don't worry they all grow at different rates. Depending on how much / often they eat, sleep, and just because they are an individual. They aren't like little clones lol.


----------



## apocalypse910 (Aug 3, 2012)

God - I love that first pic. Looks like a chubby little T-Rex. Adorable. 



larissalurid said:


> Yea don't worry they all grow at different rates. Depending on how much / often they eat, sleep, and just because they are an individual. They aren't like little clones lol.



Thanks - wasn't too concerned, just can't believe the size of that tegu. Probably just in new tegu owner paranoia mode .I swear though mine has grown since I made that last post. He kept bugging me until I let him out for an entire second dinner.


----------



## tmc001 (Aug 3, 2012)

I did some research and find out they do grow at different rates, thanks guys...............I just a little worry about how much they should eat everyday, because mine only eats a little ground turkey everyday.


----------



## bmx3000max (Aug 3, 2012)

How are you feeding it


----------



## tommylee22 (Aug 3, 2012)

I took Biggin to the local Petco today lol. They all asked if I lost the first gu as this one in no way could be the same gu they saw a couple weeks ago. Biggin is one of those that just loves to eat till he looks like he's about to give birth before stopping. It could be his response to the whole ground animal meats I give him, I got a huge response out of him when I started feeding them. today he had whole bird ground Turkey and a fuzzy mouse for his meal, tomorrow he will get ground rabbit and maybe a fuzzy. I like to give him the mice on weekends and just the whole prey ground up meat assortment with Dubias thru the week. Every other week he gets some horn worms as a treat. Biggin isn't to big on fruit other than grapes, I tried the blue berries with no luck but I still try dif. things thru each week. I have it about to where he gets something dif. every day of the week.



apocalypse910 said:


> God - I love that first pic. Looks like a chubby little T-Rex. Adorable.
> 
> Thanks!! thats my screen saver on my phone now, that was a pic I took the day he arrived. Seems like he's smiling lol.


----------



## bmx3000max (Aug 3, 2012)

So when you order his food...is it a mix or you buy bags of rabbit.quail etc seperatly?


----------



## tommylee22 (Aug 3, 2012)

bmx3000max said:


> So when you order his food...is it a mix or you buy bags of rabbit.quail etc seperatly?



I got a pound of 5 dif. meats and a thing of quail eggs, they come in a nice container all eggs are ground up with shell. They are raw eggs so I spooned a little of the egg into the rabbit an turkey while I split out all 5lbs of the meat into small zip-lock bags. I didn't mix the meats up. I like to give him something a little dif. each day. Oh and for those interested, Biggin did not like the fish.
Biggins favorite is the Rabbit for sure FYI..


I really think these whole animal ground meats improved Biggins feeding.. He loves this stuff! This is why I think he's growing so fast, great foods lots of bone/organ nutrition all makes for a great source of food.


----------



## bmx3000max (Aug 3, 2012)

So everything you order for him is from the ground section, as of now?


----------



## tommylee22 (Aug 3, 2012)

bmx3000max said:


> So everything you order for him is from the ground section, as of now?


Yes next order I'll get my mice and quail whole along with the ground up meats. Now I just pick up the mice once a week at local shops.


----------



## apocalypse910 (Aug 3, 2012)

tommylee22 said:


> bmx3000max said:
> 
> 
> > So when you order his food...is it a mix or you buy bags of rabbit.quail etc seperatly?
> ...





Were the quail eggs from hare-today too? I just put in an order but I didn't see those.

Also which fish did you get that he didn't like? I have the salmon in my order but wasn't sure if I should reconsider and get the rabbit instead.


----------



## tommylee22 (Aug 4, 2012)

apocalypse910 said:


> tommylee22 said:
> 
> 
> > bmx3000max said:
> ...





I would get the rabbit (Biggins fav.), I got the harrin fish he did not like it Next time I may try the salmon. The quail eggs did come from there as well.


----------



## apocalypse910 (Aug 4, 2012)

tommylee22 said:


> I would get the rabbit (Biggins fav.), I got the harrin fish he did not like it Next time I may try the salmon. The quail eggs did come from there as well.



Cool - Thanks!

I just emailed them to ask if I could replace the ground beef I ordered with rabbit. I figure I'm not going to be giving him beef as a staple anyways and I can just give him some from the store from time to time as a treat (Finally found someone who likes ground beef as rare as I do ) 

Ended up ordering-
Whole baby quail
Rabbit, salmon, duck, and turkey (bone/ meat/ organs)


----------



## tommylee22 (Aug 4, 2012)

Sweet, yea My little guy likes the beef as well. Like you I'll just give him some from time to time as I cook with beef a lot.


----------



## tayrocksyoursocks56 (Aug 5, 2012)

Hey guys, had my new extreme giant betelgeuse for 5 days now. i cant get mine to eat much of anything. He will just sit in the bin and not touch it. hes afraid of crickets lol and the only thing he ate the other day were 3 super worms? i bought a food processor so i can make my own ground up food. i just cant get him to eat it... are you guys feeding them inside or outside of your enclosures?


----------



## larissalurid (Aug 5, 2012)

tayrocksyoursocks56 said:


> Hey guys, had my new extreme giant betelgeuse for 5 days now. i cant get mine to eat much of anything. He will just sit in the bin and not touch it. hes afraid of crickets lol and the only thing he ate the other day were 3 super worms? i bought a food processor so i can make my own ground up food. i just cant get him to eat it... are you guys feeding them inside or outside of your enclosures?



Definitely feed outside, they take a while to settle in and sometimes don't eat for a while. Many people leave theirs alone for a whole week and don't even try to feed them the first week, so he will start eating as soon as he calms down more.


----------



## tayrocksyoursocks56 (Aug 5, 2012)

Hey "larissalurid," thanks for your quick reply. ok so i understand the concept of waiting a week or more. i know there are like two ways to try and tame a tegu. the aggressive kind, which i dont feel ive done: taking them out of their hide, feeding them by hand, removing their hide or chasing them and picking them up. Then the ignore method: not acting interested in them and out of curiosity let them come to you and interact. ive sort of done a mix of both. i have never chased him or made any sudden movements but i have made attempts to handle him i went to handle him in the morning while his metabolism was slow and he was more lethargic and was successful in feeding him 3 supers and giving him a bath where he fell asleep on me. and its impossible for me to ignore him for the first week, since ive already gone in and picked him up twice on two seperate day (day before yesterday and yesterday) but i also have to change his waterbowl and stuff. i cant just leave his waterbowl sit for a week and not change it. so what should i do now? have i been doing things right? hes never bitten mr or whipped or anything, just when i get too close he scampers away in his hide. 



larissalurid said:


> tayrocksyoursocks56 said:
> 
> 
> > Hey guys, had my new extreme giant betelgeuse for 5 days now. i cant get mine to eat much of anything. He will just sit in the bin and not touch it. hes afraid of crickets lol and the only thing he ate the other day were 3 super worms? i bought a food processor so i can make my own ground up food. i just cant get him to eat it... are you guys feeding them inside or outside of your enclosures?
> ...


----------



## apocalypse910 (Aug 9, 2012)

tommylee22 said:


> I would get the rabbit (Biggins fav.), I got the harrin fish he did not like it Next time I may try the salmon. The quail eggs did come from there as well.



Wow - Good call on the rabbit. I've never seen him go that crazy for anything. Granted I'm still picking rabbit chunks out of my hair - but well worth it 

I also gave him a day old quail yesterday - he scared the hell out of me eating it in one bite but he seems to be fine. Really paranoid about him chocking although it doesn't seem to be much of an issue with tegus. 

Looking forward to seeing how he feels about the duck and the salmon - love that site.


----------



## Scott Hogge (Aug 9, 2012)

Thanks for the info. I just bought a bunch ground animals for MacGyver. Will let u guys know what he likes / doesn't.

1 x Ground Llama/Bones/Organs/Tripe, 1 lb () = $5.99
1 x Bison Hearts, 2 lb () = $6.39
1 x Ground Quail/Bones/Organs, 1 lb () = $7.99
1 x Ground Pheasant/Bone/Organs, 1 lb () = $7.39
1 x Ground Rabbit, Whole Carcass- Fur and All, 1 lb () = $3.79
1 x Ground Salmon/Bone, 1 lb () = $6.65
1 x Ground Goose/Bones/Organs, 1 lb () = $5.95
1 x Ground Duck/Bone/Organs, 1 lb () = $3.59


----------



## tommylee22 (Aug 10, 2012)

I'm glad you liked the foods, The rabbit is a must if you do order from this site. I'm going to post some more pics of Biggin next week, this guy just keps getting bigger.


----------



## Compnerd7 (Aug 10, 2012)

I was astounded at how fast my Tegu grew as well, it didn't seem physically possible to me haha. I kept a growth chart for a while to prove it to some people.

*3-2-12 ...... 13.5in
3-9-12 ...... 15.5in
3-16-12 .... 16.5in
3-23-12 .... 18.5in
3-30-12 .... 20in*
*4-6-12 ...... 21.5in*

~~ That right there is 8in in just barly over a month ~~

*4-13-12 .... 23.5in
4-22-12 .... 25in*

~~ time goes on.. ~~

*6-3-12 ..... 31in*


----------



## tommylee22 (Aug 10, 2012)

Compnerd7 said:


> I was astounded at how fast my Tegu grew as well, it didn't seem physically possible to me haha. I kept a growth chart for a while to prove it to some people.
> 
> *3-2-12 ...... 13.5in
> 3-9-12 ...... 15.5in
> ...




Biggin has been with me for a month (7/9/12 to 8/10/12) and a day now and he's at 21" He's also shedding today as well. Still crazy how fast they grow.



tmc001 said:


> tommylee22 said:
> 
> 
> > tmc001 said:
> ...





about as much as a large egg would hold if that helps not a lot.couple scoops with a table spoon maybe.


----------



## Logie_Bear (Aug 10, 2012)

Hi Tay!

I am having the exact same issue with my baby right now. I've had her since this last Tuesday and so far she's not shown any interest in the ground meats. She did take to crickets when I fed them to her on tongs. If you have a break thru with your baby please let me know (likewise if I come across anything she goes crazy for)!

You can read all about my experience on her thread under the Extreme Giants discussion entitled "My Sweet Esmeralda"



tayrocksyoursocks56 said:


> Hey guys, had my new extreme giant betelgeuse for 5 days now. i cant get mine to eat much of anything. He will just sit in the bin and not touch it. hes afraid of crickets lol and the only thing he ate the other day were 3 super worms? i bought a food processor so i can make my own ground up food. i just cant get him to eat it... are you guys feeding them inside or outside of your enclosures?


----------



## jwyo (Aug 10, 2012)

try feeding them in the enclosure until they settle down a bit. taking them out of their comfortable "zone" may cause them to get scared.


----------

