# Dogs and Tegus?



## Tensleep (May 13, 2011)

I am a Tegu "Newbie" and will be bringing home a Varnyard 2 yr old Extreme on Saturday. I have been fortunate to find this animal from an experienced collector who has to relocate out of state and is reluctantly letting go of his animals. I will be purchasing both the Tegu and its enclosure. My question is this: How to introduce my dog to my new Tegu and not stress my Tegu. My dog is an Old English Bulldog and is as gentle as any comes. He is not my concern. I want my tegu to roam freely and feel secure. If my dog is no threat, I would imagine the Tegu will perceive no threat. Any experienced advice is appreciated.


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## reptastic (May 13, 2011)

My best advice is to allow them to meet through a barrier say for instance the glass on the front of the enclosure that way you can see your tegus reaction to the dog, then gradually allow them to meet face 2 face(if the tegu isnt threatened by the dog)My apbt and my tegu first met when she was a hatchling and he was about 10 mos. And she grew up around 2 other apbt's and was definately not afraid of them, they would occaisionally sniff her and she would toungue flick the and they would be on there seperate ways, just make sure all interactions are carefully supervised


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## Toby_H (May 13, 2011)

My Tegu was raised to around 2.5 years old having never met a dog, cat or any other animal (except humans and food). 

At around 2.5 years old I took him to visit my parents house and he met their dogs (Adult Golden Retriever, Adult Greyhound and adult Pomeranian. The Tegu barely acknowledged the dogs as another other than lumps in his environment. 

The Greyhound was afraid of him and avoided him at all costs, the Golden was curious at first but quickly accepted him. The Pomeranian was terrified, barked a lot. Though the Tegu didn’t even seem to notice the small Dog.

Within hours everyone learned their role and all was fine. The Tegu even learned that the Golden was both tolerant and warm. They’ve taken several naps together during our visits.


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## Tensleep (May 13, 2011)

reptastic said:


> My best advice is to allow them to meet through a barrier say for instance the glass on the front of the enclosure that way you can see your tegus reaction to the dog, then gradually allow them to meet face 2 face(if the tegu isnt threatened by the dog)My apbt and my tegu first met when she was a hatchling and he was about 10 mos. And she grew up around 2 other apbt's and was definately not afraid of them, they would occaisionally sniff her and she would toungue flick the and they would be on there seperate ways, just make sure all interactions are carefully supervised



Thanks, I will post pics of my new Tegu, enclosure, and my dog this weekend, that is if I can figure out how to post pics. Again, Im new here. Your help is greatly appreciated!


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## reptastic (May 13, 2011)

a funny pic i caught of them togeher oneday


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## Tensleep (May 13, 2011)

Toby_H said:


> My Tegu was raised to around 2.5 years old having never met a dog, cat or any other animal (except humans and food).
> 
> At around 2.5 years old I took him to visit my parents house and he met their dogs (Adult Golden Retriever, Adult Greyhound and adult Pomeranian. The Tegu barely acknowledged the dogs as another other than lumps in his environment.
> 
> ...


Thanks Toby, I kinda figured it should work this way. Same as most animals. No threat perceived, no reason to fear. Same as people. I am very excited about tomorrow and the years to come with my new companion. I will try to post pics this weekend. Thanks again!



reptastic said:


> a funny pic i caught of them togeher oneday



Great Picture! Speaks volumes! Now what is wrong with us humans? lol


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## reptastic (May 13, 2011)

Do you know which pairing your new tegu came from


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## Tensleep (May 13, 2011)

reptastic said:


> Do you know which pairing your new tegu came from



No I don't. I didn't ask as it wasn't on my mind. This acquisition was to replace our (my two sons and I) recent first Tegu purchase. We purchased a juvenile red at the swap in Dupage Co, Il last week on Saturday. He/she seemed healthy: fat tail, clear eyes, clean vent etc.. Brought it home into an ideal enclosure (substrate, lighting, humidity, temp and so). Offered food with no response. Second day, no response to food. later on the second day it passed the majority of its lower intestine while attempting to defecate. The seller had obviously fed his animals in cage with mulch as the mulch was easily seen in the impaction. Needless to say, I was disgusted. My oldest son and I decided we would either put the animal down (which is hard to do) or attempt to surgically remove the displaced lower colon (very hard to do, but we could say we did all we could for him) So, we did all we could and he passed away the following day. I feel we did the right thing in teaching my son that it is better to try to save a life than to say all is lost. We tried and lost but can say we tried. That is what I want my son to remember (we tried) . Anyway, I went online to find a healthy tegu in local classifieds and I think I have. I learned my lesson at the expense of teaching my children a painful one. I will ask tomorrow the parents of our new Extreme and if the seller knows I will post. Sorry to be so morbid, but this experience was painful. Let it never happen again!


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## reptastic (May 13, 2011)

Hey your not far from me im in chicago, is the guy you are getting the tegu from from the area as well I know a member on here who is also in the area that has an extreme but i think his turned out to be a she, and has the same parents as mines lol only his is an '09 and mines a '10, sorry to hear about your red tegu i know how upset your son must feel, but i think you did all you could do, if his prolapse was as bad as i am imagining then euthanasia was probably the best thing, btw do you have a face book


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## herpgirl2510 (May 14, 2011)

Lucky you wih the extreme. I know how you feel wih purchasing an unhealthy animal I tried to save an unhealthy juvenile savannah she passed but I figured I made her comfortable up to the end. I brought home a 3 foot red tegu he did not even pa any attention to my 2 doxies and chihuahua. I would just watch you dogs behavior. Mine would kill a small animal in a heart beat but I thik they are intimidated by bogart's size.


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## Orion (May 14, 2011)

reptastic said:


> a funny pic i caught of them togeher oneday



Truly beautiful. Thats awesome.


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## Bubblz Calhoun (May 14, 2011)

_It can be done, Reptastics advice is a great way to start. But also keep in mind the fact that it may not work. In that case don't force it,.. there's no guarantee one way or another what your dog (no matter how well you know or have had it) will do, the same goes for the tegu. _


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## Tensleep (May 14, 2011)

reptastic said:


> Hey your not far from me im in chicago, is the guy you are getting the tegu from from the area as well I know a member on here who is also in the area that has an extreme but i think his turned out to be a she, and has the same parents as mines lol only his is an '09 and mines a '10, sorry to hear about your red tegu i know how upset your son must feel, but i think you did all you could do, if his prolapse was as bad as i am imagining then euthanasia was probably the best thing, btw do you have a face book



Im in Lake Bluff. The seller is in Plainfield Ill. Not sure if he is a member but it is one of Bobby's Tegus. I ask him today when we picked him up if he new the parents and he did. The seller said he met and spoke to Bobby before his purchase. Our recent acquisition (today) is an Extreme male from Blizzard/Sugar born 7-5-09. Im not sure if this is the same person you have mentioned. So, as I stated previously, I will try to post some pics asap. I have a few questions regarding this animal and hope you all can help. Thanks, Andrew p.s. no I don't Facebook yet


herpgirl2510 said:


> Lucky you wih the extreme. I know how you feel wih purchasing an unhealthy animal I tried to save an unhealthy juvenile savannah she passed but I figured I made her comfortable up to the end. I brought home a 3 foot red tegu he did not even pa any attention to my 2 doxies and chihuahua. I would just watch you dogs behavior. Mine would kill a small animal in a heart beat but I thik they are intimidated by bogart's size.



So do you still have your Red? I am not concerned about my dog, just more concerned about stressing my new tegu. Anyway, I brought him home today after almost 3 hours round trip to pick him up. Purchased a 6'x3'x3' enclosure from the seller. My two sons came with and returned to set up the cage in our home. We spent a few hours letting him acclimate in his cage (it is the cage he has always been in but now in my home and after a long drive to my house in a box) and opened his feeding door ( a door that lets him OUT of his cage ) and he came out and explored. My dog watched as we set up the cage and put him in it. He (my dog) was very curious and calm as he watched this strange new family member through the glass front of the cage. i put my dog in his crate while the tegu came out and offered the tegu some beef liver and a prekilled mouse. He ate both. so far so good right? Then he spent the next hour napping on my sons lap as we watched TV. He seems great but I have a few questions still. Thanks!


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## reptastic (May 14, 2011)

I am thinking this may be the person i am thinking of(i think he was in plainfield also) his tegu was gorgeous i havnt seen him online in a while, also that would make our tegus sibling only yours is from the '09 season and mines is from '10 both from blizardXsugar thats awesome, mines a male also and getting huge lol


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## Tensleep (May 14, 2011)

reptastic said:


> I am thinking this may be the person i am thinking of(i think he was in plainfield also) his tegu was gorgeous i havnt seen him online in a while, also that would make our tegus sibling only yours is from the '09 season and mines is from '10 both from blizardXsugar thats awesome, mines a male also and getting huge lol



What is the approximate length of your 2010. I think ours for a 2009 is a bit on the small size. The previous owner did actually name him "Pewee". Also I would like to ask how fat is stored in the tail. Our tegu has what appears as a bit of non symmetrical fat deposit at the base. Not as evenly formed or symmetrical as what i have seen. This tegu is not as fat or robust as others i have sen but otherwise appears healthy, good muscle, clear eyes, clear vent, alert, earring and so on. But the base of his tail seemed slightly kinked below the apparent fatty deposits. I questioned the seller as to if his tail had been broken as it seemed slightly non symmetrical at the deposit area. he stated that it was normal as he did not overfeed and kept his tegu short of "plump" so to say. again, i will try to post pics. One thing I did see in his enclosure was that the mulch was very dry, all the way to the bottom. he would spray mist the enclosure which in my opinion does not saturate the substrate to the proper level to maintain humidity. i feel the enclosure was on the dry side and does not relate to the tail issue but am just putting it out there for comment. Thanks


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## reptastic (May 14, 2011)

I havnt seen anything like that in any of my tegus, all their tails were round and smooth,w/o a pic its hard to say, my extreme is 29" and quite chubby peewee always seemed smaller that his clutch mates which had led some myself included to think he was a she, but at almost 2 y/o im sure he could be properly sexed by now, so his buttons must have popped up, how long is he now


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## Tensleep (May 14, 2011)

reptastic said:


> I havnt seen anything like that in any of my tegus, all their tails were round and smooth,w/o a pic its hard to say, my extreme is 29" and quite chubby peewee always seemed smaller that his clutch mates which had led some myself included to think he was a she, but at almost 2 y/o im sure he could be properly sexed by now, so his buttons must have popped up, how long is he now



Yes buttons are there, and jowls are forming. So Peewee is a he. I didn't put a tape measure on him today but by my very experienced construction eye he is at 36". I will put the tape on him tomorrow and try to post pics.. also, I have deepened his bedding and moisture compared to what he was previously in and he set to burrowing in nice and snug. His previous substrate was not adequate in my opinion. I appreciate your help and remarks. Sincerely, Andrew.


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## Rhetoric (May 14, 2011)

Great that you've deepened his substrate, what are you currently using? The tail could have been from some kind of injury or it could have been from diet if he wasn't getting enough nutrients. I don't think thats necessarily small for his age, they all grow at different rates. If you feed it a proper diet regularly he might get a bit bigger. It could be more of a slowed growth and not necessarily a stunted growth. I've got 2 reg. black and whites that have grown 6-8" and put on a ton of weight in the last few weeks. I was worried at first that they had stunted growth but after feeding them more frequently and giving them a more varied diet they've definitely shown me that they're not done growing lol. They're 2009 as well..
It seems like you've gotten great answers so far about introducing the dog to the tegu.. IMO I would give them both some time to adjust to the changes. Let them check each other out through the enclosure or through glass and see how they react. If all goes well you could try putting your dog on a leash and letting the tegu hang around and sort of go from there. If you're dog is really good and mellow it might not need a leash but more of someone with the dog and someone with the tegu to sort of supervise. I would just do a few minutes here and there and gradually increase the time they can spend together.
My bigger tegu, Guru, doesn't pay any attention to animals or people he just hangs around. I haven't really introduced my dogs to the tegus much. A few weekends ago I had my tegus in a dog kennel in the back yard for some sun and the dogs came over and checked them out. None of them seemed to pay attention to the others. I personally wouldn't let my dogs and my tegus roam together, they play really rough and I'd be worried that a tegu might get injured or become upset and snap at or tail whip a dog and then the dog would in turn become angry.. If I had smaller dogs I might not be as worried but because of their size it would only take a split second for something horrible to happen.


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## herpgirl2510 (May 15, 2011)

I have a 2 2/12 year old red male and he is only 36" and he looks healthy to me I am not sure how much he was fed I haave only had him for a week. Although he does not have a big round belly like some tegus I see. Good poit about beig wary of them roaming together my dogs are all much smaller than my tegu but I still always have my eyes on them.


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## montana (May 15, 2011)

You should let the Tegu eat out of the dogs bowl with the dog watching ..

Yeh I know its asking for trouble but It will happen eventually and it would be best to know the animals reaction when you are observing than not ..

At best nothing good can come of it but it`s your call ...


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