# Soon to be New Tegu Owner Questions/Concerns



## Skeetzy (Mar 19, 2012)

Well the time has finally come, and I am going to be a Tegu owner soon. Ive been researching monitors and tegus for about 4 months now, and finally bit the bullet. I placed my deposit with Varnyard Herps for a 2012 original B&W Tegu. Was going to go with an All American or Extreme Giant, but spending $350 on the animal alone just doesn't sit with me as well. Also, I currently have a bearded dragon, a Mississippi Map Turtle, and a colony of dubia roaches. Was looking for a bigger lizard to finish off my collection(for now anyways). 

I just want to make sure I have everything planned out correctly, that way when I get him come June/July, I am 100% prepared. He will be living in a 75 gallon tank. I have a custom top made to fit inside the ledge of the rim, but it has hardware cloth instead of being solid. I plan on just putting a piece of plywood over it to seal the tank. For a substrate I will be using Zoo Med Eco Earth(I wanted to use Cypress mulch, but no stores local have any). Is 4-5" good for a hatchling? I also plan on having one or two "humid" hides with sphagnum moss. For UVB I plan on a 24" Reptisun 10.0, and for heat 2 or 3 65W Spotlight bulbs. I keep reading mixed info on basking spot temperatures. From what I gathered, 100-110* basking spot, 90* warm side, 80* cool side. Humidity in the high 80%'s. Everything seem good?

Diet, I plan on feeding a variety of ground turkey, eggs, dubia roaches, and the occasional fruit/rodent. I'm not particularly a fan of any other insects/feeders(took more two months to even touch one of my dubia), so what are some other good things to expand the variety a little more, since that seems to be the key. 

Lastly, his final cage. I plan on 8x4x4, which I realize I will need before I truly know it. Front wall having an approx. 20" tall wall, then drop down plexiglass doors. Rest of it being solid wood. I want to install the mounted light fixtures inside(like I see on all the nicer cages), and ~1.5' of substrate. Two questions I've been stuck on about this part, is what kind of wood, and how do you wire those lights like everyone does. Any threads/websites that have How-To's? I found how to's for the cage and mostly everything else. But I always see people argue about melamine vs. DryLok'd plywood. Which will last longer? Money won't be an issue, since I plan on making this cage properly once and only once. But that doesn't mean I want to use Oak to build it haha.

Sorry for the long drawn out post, ADD+excitement never work out well 

Pictures of the bearded dragon in case anyone was curious. He's from a local breeder, came with a good, yet sad, story. Mom died shortly after passing his and another clutch. His clutch only 6 survived, and the next clutch none. She was eggbound badly. His colors are also getting more intense by the day. Definitely my favorite animal so far.











Thanks


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## Logie_Bear (Mar 24, 2012)

Beautiful beardie! I'm in the same boat as you- waiting anxiously for the 2012 hatchlings! I put down the deposit for an Extreme tho. I already have a 40 gal breeder tank in the garage, so thats what I'll be starting my lil guy out with. Once she starts to outgrow that, I'll be starting a DIY project for a custom enclosure. If you search some of the older posts, there are some informative threads on building a custom enclosure. Afraid I cant chime in with any first-hand experience yet.  I decided to go the MVP route to get uv/heat in one bulb instead of seperate. Will be a learning experience. I've read great things about the 10.0 reptisun's tho. July can't come fast enough!!


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## tommylee22 (Mar 24, 2012)

I also have a deposit on a extreme male. I thought Bobby said May or Jun we should get the little guys depending on how fast spring comes?? Anyway I'm so looking forward to the little guy's arrival. I've already started a dubia roach colony. For his cage once he outgrows a aquarium I was looking at the large 72in vision cages, anyone have any pro's or cons i'n using one of those?


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## HeatherN (Mar 24, 2012)

i feel compelled to chime in too, i put a deposit down on an extreme too and I'm so impatient!! personally I'm using a 4x2x2 custom cage i built for now, just gotta put some polycrylic on that bad boy. as for the vision cages they're a bit expensive, but they're really waterproof and whatnot. not a favorite of mine, like to have my things just the way i imagine them in my mind's eye. pluss I'm pretty sure i spent barely over 100 making my 4x2x2.


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## james.w (Mar 25, 2012)

tommylee22 said:


> I also have a deposit on a extreme male. I thought Bobby said May or Jun we should get the little guys depending on how fast spring comes?? Anyway I'm so looking forward to the little guy's arrival. I've already started a dubia roach colony. For his cage once he outgrows a aquarium I was looking at the large 72in vision cages, anyone have any pro's or cons i'n using one of those?



The vision cages won't hold enough substrate.


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## tommylee22 (Mar 25, 2012)

I was wondering about that. Guess I'll have to build one


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## ReptileGuy (Mar 26, 2012)

I'm in the same boat as the rest of you. But I'm on the waiting list with wil for a Argentine Blue Tegu. I have been researching for a over a year and by the time I get mine it will be a over 2 years (blue's hatch a few months later than the others).... You don't have to build if you don't want to, BoaMaster makes AWESOME cages that are the perfect size for an adult tegu.


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## laurarfl (Mar 27, 2012)

I have a 6x3 vision cage for one of my tegus. the only reason I keep her in it is because she's really tiny (a rescue). I wouldn't think a male extreme would fit. I manage the substrate issue by piling up a huge amount of substrate in the cool end for her, and just a thin layer under the basking light. And it is all pushed away from the door a bit. It works great for us that way.

My other adults are in 8ft old Neodesha enclosures. I love those! If you are looking for prefab, check out BoaMaster and AnimalPlastics as well. The problem with some of those is installing lights. You just have to find what you are looking for or build your own.


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## mattlagrone19 (Mar 27, 2012)

i too cant wait to get my baby this coming season. i have a girl of order now but i really want a boy also. ive never had a gu before but would it be smart to get 2 at a time. i do have other reptiles though, not a rookie to the herp. game just to tegus.


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## chelvis (Mar 27, 2012)

Set-up sounds great. 

As for the vision cage, my blue male was kept in a vision cage for a few years. I used 6" plexiglass strip along the front and then used a box to create a deeper area inside the the cage. I would not recommend it however.


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## NorCalAl (Mar 29, 2012)

I'm ready to put my deposit down for a B&W or Red - I've emailed Bobby about the B&W, but I'm still questioning myself. He'll be going into a Showcase 3x2x2 initially and I have a Vision 6x3 for the next stage. Since I plan for both a 20x20 outside pen (actually already complete and where my CDT spends most summers, but he's going to get kicked out to a new smaller pen) and to allow for a lot of house roaming, I'm pretty sure the 6x3 will suffice through the first year. 
I'm looking at a couple of options for adulthood, but most likely will go with something custom from ConstrictorsNW - his cages are excellent. Wish I'd found them before I bought all the Showcase cages.
My only question, and it seems to be one of those opinion-only answers, is which? B&W or red? I've read reds stay a little smaller, but size seems to be determined a lot more at the individual level than sub-species. I love both looks, but I have to admit the red bulkiness is really appealing. 
Any opinions or suggestions are warmly welcomed!


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## matrix05 (Apr 8, 2012)

tommylee22 said:



> I was wondering about that. Guess I'll have to build one


Hey guys!! I have also put a deposit on a b&w tegu with Varnyard and I have sent a couple of e-mails to see when they might be ready and haven't heard a thing back from Bobby. If you guys hear anything would you mind giving me a shout. I would greatly appreciate it and I am looking so forward to being a owner of a wonderful tegu.

 I hope everyone has a wonderful day and I look forward to being a part of this really wonderful hobby and community!!!


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## tommylee22 (Apr 8, 2012)

I know when I talked to Bobby he told me May or Jun. Depending on how soon spring came. I was going to wait till mid May to check in with him. If you hear anything please let me know.

Thanks
T


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