Baby Tegu and Dwarf monitor love :)

[maguiremacmv]

Got a very cute hatchling baby tegu at the reptile expo in San Mateo yesterday. He has his own cage but when I introduced him to my dwarf monitor Dino for some reason he loved him. He follows the dwarf monitor around like a baby duck to its mother its pretty cute. The pics dont really show it but the baby is very green .....does anyone know if the green fades to white? Just curious on coloration change as he gets older.

 

[isdrake]

I don't want to offend you in any way but have you thought about the different intestinal floras of these species? They come from different places of the world and have different floras. What is normal or beneficial for one species can be spread to another and be destructive.

I would recommend not to let any reptile species that doesn't live in the same place in the wild meet. I wound't even use the same tools for them both because there's a risk that they will make each other sick. You should think about cleaning that enclosure to be on the safe side.

And besides, these two guys require different habitats.

Just some things to think about before you put them together next time, which I hope I wouldn't.

 

[jamelyn77]

well the green should fade soon in the next month or so but dont worry if it takes longer or quicker than that ... we also went to the san mateo show and saw those little guys there they looked like brand new hatchlings .. very adorable!

 

[maguiremacmv]

I did think about the health factors of putting them together. They both are captively bred for multiple genarations so they shouldn't be bringing in any pathogens from elsewhere. I just put the monitor in a brand new cage with new sand etc the same so there should have been any feces buildup either. I'm not keeping them in the same cage this was just a 15 minute suprize before little tegu went back in his brand new space (they dont eat together nor live together). I understand that due to evolution the tegus and monitors are exposed to different things and may or may not have immune responses to specific factors. I this case I feel like I should be more afraid of the food the lizards are eating than the lizards themselves. I have saltwater tropical fish aswell and know that pathogens are a big factor in survival at fishstores and in tanks because the fish are caught from faraway places and when they are put together parasites that one fish is immune to kills off others do to lack of exposure and adaptation. Does anyone know about natural made pathogens tegus make themselves regardless of orgin of birth? Anyways it is always better to be safe than sorry!

 

[Blue Crab of PAIN!!!]

Aww I can't see the pics

That sounds very cute though. If my plans work out and I end up with a big, fat healthy adult tegu (and maybe a red) in a few years I was pondering the concept of finding another tame species to keep and possibly for both to interact with.
Maybe a monitor or, if I can cut through a jungle of red tape and get proper permits, a chinese alligator.


hmm... now that I actually wrote that down it suddenly sounds like an absolutely terrible idea. First I need to get the baby tegu; apparently when I get back from college I will be living in a different house (my parents sold the old house while I was away). Apparently this new house is in a community which bans "exotic pets", which seems to be absolutely frickin' everything except for small dogs and cats.

Well I say "pffft" to that rule, although I'll probably regret it later. Unless I hook it on a leash when it grows up and take it for a walk outside no one needs to know about it.

Well... I got off topic. I'd love to see your monitor and tegu!

 

[TeguKid80]

You are aware monitors eat lizards in the wild and your tegu could be killed right? Might wanna think about that....

 

[isdrake]

Even if a lizard is healthy and captive bred they will still have intestinal floras. It's natural and not dangerous. Not much do do about. (I don't know how to explain it in English but I hope you understand what I mean with intestinal flora). So two healthy reptiles can make each other sick.

 

[maguiremacmv]

Ya I dont think there is anyway this little monitor could ever eat a tegu more like the other way around lol. Now if it was a savannah that would be a different story for sure. My dwarf monitor doesn't eat anything larger than than a large cricket and on special occasions a small pinky. He also showed absolutely no sign of agression or aggitation, so under my watch I wasn't to worried about that.

Isdrake I understand what you are are saying about the intestinal flora (bacteria, natural microorganisms in the gut). All species probably have different digestive bacteria etc. I will be learning a lot more about this next semester when I take my animal physiology course at SSU (So exited) At least the substrate was brand new at the time they were introduced (and the don't co-habitate). So a question I pose: I have been feeding my to tegus in my bath tub so they don't associate their cage with food. I feed them at separate times due to size difference. Would you be worried about that?