# New tegu owner housing/heat concern



## Bobo1415 (Dec 17, 2021)

Hi everyone, first post here. Just got my first tegu on Tuesday, been burrowed pretty much since then that concerned me but reading it’s pretty normal. I got him a Mercury vapor 160watt bulb for him in a 55 gallon tank and I have concerns about the basking temp. The stone under the lamp is only getting to about 90 and that’s after I raised the substrate under the stone about 6 inches. The bulb is about 15 inches from the stone should I raise the substrate even more since his basking spot isn’t even at 100 yet. Any advice is welcomed, he’s about 8 inches long for reference as well. I also added a 75 watt bulb next to the Mercury vapor in case his ambient temp was a little low since the room is around 70 degrees.


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## TheTeguNovice (Dec 17, 2021)

Congrat's on the new guy! To answer your questions, yes raise your basking area until you hit that 100-110 range. I raised mine by adding two bricks and placing a floor tile on them!

Also with your setup you will have issues with keeping humidity. I would suggest getting some wrap and wrapping the top. Of course not where your heat lamp is but possibly 6-8 inches away. In addition try getting a little bit more substrate, this will help with borrowing and humidity.


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## Bobo1415 (Dec 17, 2021)

TheTeguNovice said:


> Congrat's on the new guy! To answer your questions, yes raise your basking area until you hit that 100-110 range. I raised mine by adding two bricks and placing a floor tile on them!
> 
> Also with your setup you will have issues with keeping humidity. I would suggest getting some wrap and wrapping the top. Of course not where your heat lamp is but possibly 6-8 inches away. In addition try getting a little bit more substrate, this will help with borrowing and humidity.


Can you elaborate on the substrate part and burrowing. He’s been burrowed since I got him basically I took out a little substrate to get him to come out but I added that mountain of substrate on the left to elevate his basking spot and now he hides in there


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## TheTeguNovice (Dec 17, 2021)

Simply put the more substrate the more moisture which means increase in humidity. You will need that due to your tegu’s enclosure.


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## Bobo1415 (Dec 17, 2021)

How long should I expect him to stay burrowed for? It’s been like 4 days, I think he’s only came out the 2 times I dug him out but he did eat when I got him out at least.


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## TheTeguNovice (Dec 17, 2021)

Honestly it depends upon the Tegu and when they feel safe and comfortable to come out. Remember this is just my opinion/ 2 cents.

With my Tegu’s I allowed them to get used to me from a distance. They both hid for about a month until I could be in the room without them darting to their hide. To help I put a used piece of clothing in the hide and I never removed them from there hide. Till this day I give them that respect and they in turn put up with me lol.

After that month’s time, I would soak them at times against there will in the tub. But I would spend time building trust . Allowing them to crawl to my arm when they wanted out of the bathtub. Then even after that closing the door and allowing them to explore while I just sat there.

Building trust with these animals is huge and if you do it right you’ll have a pretty chill adult.


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