advice needed

[lovely_insanity]

hi guys. im considering getting a black and white argentine tegu for a pet. some of my friends have them and I just think they are wonderful. im trying to do as much research and gain as much information on them as I can. any advice, information, facts, or helps tips would be great! thank you

 

[Jackie & Hellboy]

Read as much as you can about how others keep theirs and where they've had success and try your best to give you guy or girl everything you can to thrive. I never stop learning about these great big guys! Good luck and best wishes on your tegu trip

 

[lovely_insanity]

thank you!!

 

[Jackie & Hellboy]

Don't hesitate to ask any questions! If I don't know the answer I will search for a thread or link to attach. Best thing to do to prepare is write down everything you want to try to do on a note pad and keep adding or revising notes untill you have a cage design, feed schedule/plan (start an insect colony?), and any other info that you'll

 

[marydd]

They are great! Just make sure you have the time, money and the space for a tegu. They live along time so long term planning is something to consider. If you her the resources for a tegu they are amazing!

 

[lovely_insanity]

I have plenty have time space and money. I made sure of that before even considering getting one. I have snakes so I have experience with reptiles but not much experience with lizards. id really like a pet I could walk around on a leash and cuddle with lol. right now I have a 30 gallon tank to bring her home to (just temporary) my friends have a 4 foot enclosure they are going to sell me when she gets big enough for it. and me and my husband are going to build the proper 8 foot enclosure this summer. the only thing im concerned about is the lighting. I was looking at lights at my local pet store today and I just got totally confused. what lights do I need just for the 30 gal tank?

 

[izzy]

DO NOT HANDLE THE SNAKES AT THE SAME TIME AS A TEGU AND IF YOU DO WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE YOU GO NEAR THE TEGU. THEY FREAK OUT AND IT'S REALLY HARD TO WATCH YOUR BABY SCARED TO DEATH

 

[Jackie & Hellboy]

You should wash your hands between handling different species as is, no need passing along bacteria or anything else. But let's not jump to the conclusion that this will happen for every tegu because it's just not true, both of my tegu's have smelled snake on my hands and kept smelling to investigate more (I could tell they were smelling the snake because they never short flick their tongues on my hands for so long) so this might be an issue in say only very small tegu's, or this may be a thing that your particular tegu has become fearful of. I would keep snakes and tegu's separate anyways just because that can't end well, but I doubt your holding them side by side in your hands.