# names



## crazyskohl (Sep 24, 2009)

hello people :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D i have a GU coming and i need to know what is the best food for him and should i feed him on a daily basis :?: what is not good for him and what is a snack for him so if you could help me that would be great. :jes :jes :jes :jes :jes :jes :bajo :bajo :bajo :rofl :rofl :bud :cheers :chin :-D :-D :-D    :shock: :shock: :shock: 8) 8) 8) :lol: :lol: :lol:       :crazy :crazy :crazy :crazy :crazy :fc :fc :fc :fc :fc :grno :grno :grno :grno :grno :roon :roon :roon :roon


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## TanMan57 (Sep 24, 2009)

Well bobby has a care sheet on here. You can feed him tons of things such as ground turkey, ground beef, eggs, fruits, crickets, roaches, tons of things just look on bobbys care sheet. Its very informative and you should feed your gu on a daily basis. I feed mine twice a day. And to be honest i think you should have done a little more research before you bought it.


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## crazyskohl (Sep 25, 2009)

well sorry i have never had a GU before. i am not that old, and i go to school so i don't have a lot of time to research. but thanks for the info.


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## kaa (Sep 25, 2009)

If you don't have time to research, then how are you going to have time for the tegu? I'm not trying to sound rude, but I know when I was young, I would get animals without doing the research, just for the cool factor, and it was the animal that suffered. You have to put the animals needs ahead of your own wants. But since you have one coming, then you need to cram on the information and take in as much as possible. These animals get pretty big, and it is going to cost alot to feed it. If you are going to get something, you need to make time to do the research. I don't mean to sound rude if I do, but you have to think about the animal and how it is going to feel if you don't feed it the right food, or feed it enough, or provide a big enough cage, enough uvb, heat, substrate, hides, These are things you must know before getting the animal. I hope you are able to take it all in, and not get in over your head. keep us updated.


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## Reflektr (Sep 26, 2009)

Word on that. I hate to sound mean, but bad form... Tegus not only require a lot of time, but a lot of space as well. What do you plan to keep him/her in? An aquarium (even a good-sized one) will only last so long before you have to either invest in a custom enclosure - Which will be very expensive - Or you have to build your own enclosure...Which can also be on the pricey side. No matter if you build or buy, the enclosure has to be a _minimum of 6'x3'x4'. This must also be safe for the tegu... As far as substrates, what did you plan on using? 

Cypress mulch (not Cypress Hill...that would be rapping your 'gu) seems to be popular. It does a fantastic job at holding humidity (which is extremely important to tegus) and it is more resistant to mold and mildew than some beddings found at local pet-stores...And also a lot cheaper. A bag of cypress mulch here I believe is around $4.00. This substrate should also be at least twice the height of your tegu, as they love burrowing.

How were you planning on heating and lighting the enclosure? 1 or 2 75 watt basking bulbs along with a UVB fixture will be just fine. A halogen flood-light will also work for the heating...The one I just put over my chameleon puts out more heat than the pet-store basking bulb did... UVB is not an option, or luxury, it is a necessity. It allows calcium to be absorbed so your reptile can grow happy and healthy. Without it, they will suffer a slow painful death, I promise you. The tegu should be able to get within at least 6 or 7 inches of the UVB, and the temperature of the basking site should never fall below 100 degrees.

As far as feeding is concerned, when the tegu's young, they can eat pinky mice, supplemented ground turkey, crickets, dubia roaches, mealworms, waxworms, certain fruits and vegetables (safe ones are romaine, carrots, squash, strawberries, blueberries, sweet potatoes, apples...stuff like that) You should never feed them citrus though, or anything acidic for that matter. When they get bigger, you can feed them appropriate sized mice and rats, but beware, it is extremely unwise to feed them live mice or rats. This can not only make them more aggressive, but the live prey can also hurt your pet.

These are just a few basic points I touched on. There's still a lot more to know...And the funny thing is, I don't even have a tegu and found all this wonderful knowledge. Research man...Couple spare hours of reading can be the difference between a life with a happy, healthy pet, and one without!

Best of luck to you and your new tegu!_


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## crazyskohl (Sep 28, 2009)

well kaa not to be rude but i no they get big and i already built the cage but well i just got him and me and my dad share him so he gets held for like 2 hours every day. he loves us. i just u no wanted some last minute info so well thats why i didnt have time to research.


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## crazyskohl (Apr 10, 2020)

Hello! So an update lol. Kaa you were right! So the tegu was a gift to me from my dad. my dad was going to be the main caretaker for him because i was like 11. We did a pretty good job for about 3 years. He was always a little feisty but not mean (never bit me, sometimes hissed. attitude issue id say, or lack of handling.). Definitely not a good pet for an 11 year old haha, but i do think i took better care of him than any other 11 year old. he would roam my room (we would leave the cage open) and was pretty big, I dont think full grown, but easily 3-4ft (with tail). My mom wanted to get a puppy and she was terrified that Zeus would eat our puppy. She convinced my dad that a family puppy was better than a tegu (such a sad day) and we ended up giving him to a tegu breeder down in california. I am now 22 and once i have a stable living situation i will be purchasing another GU. One of my friends has a 6 year old boy that he brings everywhere with him. Thank both of you for being patient and nice to 11 year old me haha. Sorry for the 900 emojis lol


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