Argentine Vs Columbian Tegu

[Tegu Boss]

Wow QuartzYellowJacket that is hilarious. I am definetally getting a columbian, because I spent so much on caging and substrate and decorations I ordered the stuff online today. I will order my tegu as soon as the supplies arive. One question, a 100gallon reptarium is good for a hatchling, right? he can stay in there a while i think. Once he is big enough he will free roam my closet most of the time and i will get a 260 gallon reptarium if he wants to have a cage (he could permanently free roam the closet, and its a big closet) or i could get him a 260 gallon reptarium.

 

[james.w]

What are the temps and humidity where you will be keeping the cage? How big is your closet?

 

[Tegu Boss]

I am going to have an automatic mister and heat lamps, basking spot lamps, and uvb. my closet isnt quite a walk in closet but it is a large closet. that was what i was wondering about, keeping the humidity up in the closet.

 

[james.w]

Why are you going to use a complete screen enclosure? What are the measurements of your closet (length & width)??

 

[Tegu Boss]

I am going with the screen enclosure for money reasons. A 100 gallon is i think 60-70 bucks on Josh's Frogs.com. I was going to ask, should i cover parts of the screen to keep moisture in? i saw on youtube some guy taped over the sides and half the top to keep in humidity. Is that a good idea? Thanks. And I don't think my closet idea will work out. I have a bunch of junk in there and nowhere to put it, and if i put him in there now he would surely die and we sure dont want that to happen.

 

[james.w]

If you can't afford to properly provide for an animal, why would you get it?

40 gallon breeder tanks can be picked up for $40 when Petco does its dollar a gallon sale. Or you could build a simple enclosure out of wood for about $100.

 

[Tegu Boss]

With an aoutomatic mister and half the top covered i am sure it will be humid enough, i am using that stuff in a brick that expands in water and that suposedly raises humidity. And i have a moist hide.

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And I actually was going to get a 40 gal. breeder but i wanted the poor guy to have more room.

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Lots of damp spagnum moss too

 

[jamesnyborg]

Wow larissa, that is hands down the cutest animal I have ever seem.

 

[Teguzilla]

I agree with James. If you can't afford to get the required supplies or if you think going a cheaper route, you should wait to get a tegu. Get a 40 gallon breeder or larger if you can. You can also try to find one used on craigslist. I've found plenty of used glass and custom built enclosures on there. That screen cage is not going to work at all. A tegus nails will tear the screen in no time and that thing isn't going to hold the proper humidity or temps.

 

[larissalurid]

Yea I think you should wait as well until you can give the lizard what he really needs. Don't ever just try to take the cheaper route and end up with an unhealthy lizard :[ It's just not fair to the poor thing. They can't live in a 40g breeder forever either and will soon need a 6x3 cage. Building it will be a few hundred dollars for that alone (or buying one can be thousands), never mind full spectrum lighting that needs to be changed regularly, tons of substrate, food, etc.

 

[Murkve]

...tons of substrate...

Quite literally. It's not uncommon for all the required dirt and sand to weigh in excess of 1000 lbs.

 

[got10]

Wow that's a mouthful

lol yea. I don't recommend them as pets for 99% of people really.

I know JUST what you mean,I have a GS/ wolf hybrid, Love him to death but the worse decision on family addition I EVER made. Never buy anything because you THINK you can take it on. When we got him we had another dog that was older and very docile but would keep him in check. That dog had since passed then the other fella was becoming for lack of a better word"buck wild" so we got a pitbull as a playmate, so that he would have an animal about as rough playing as he is. Though they sort of balance out each other . It was still not a very well thought out decicion as a pet.

 

[cole_schank]

With an aoutomatic mister and half the top covered i am sure it will be humid enough, i am using that stuff in a brick that expands in water and that suposedly raises humidity. And i have a moist hide.

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And I actually was going to get a 40 gal. breeder but i wanted the poor guy to have more room.

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Lots of damp spagnum moss too

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petco has their deal going on now, so 40 bucks for a 40 gallon is a steal. my little guy lived in a 10 gallon his first month and is now in a 40. colombians grow slow, so that will be big enough for awhile. add cypress and one of those under tank heat pad to keep it humid. zoomed and exoterra have awesome all in one uva/uvb and heat bulbs, but they are costly so add that to your budget. go to a lawn and garden store and buy a big basking rock for cheap. a 40 is definitely big enough for now. youre going to spend some money getting everything set up in the beginning, but after that all you really have to worry about is food which is cheap, considering tegus will eat a lot of what you eat (eggs, tuna, lean beef and turkey and chicken.. lean beef occasionally as a treat) and crickets and mealorms etc.,are super cheap. but the lights are the most expensive things in owning a reptile in my opinion. im glad you reconsidered.

 

[triston1239]

Hopefully someone is still on this forum but if i was to get a captive bred colombian tegu hatchling would it make a great pet

 

[Walter1]

It depends on what you think constitutes a great pet.