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First time owner, columbian, LOTS of questions

cwfmmr

New Member
Messages
3
Location
Mayodan, North Carolina
image.jpg
image.jpg
So to start off with, I'm sorry this is soo long lol. I've had "different" pets in the past. First a green anole to start, then a scorpion, rhino beetles, and a peacock day gecko. Then, after everyone else was passed on, I wanted something new. Something BIG. So I went to the local pet shop, and they had a columbian and a savannah monitor. Without knowing anything about them, I got the columbian. It just felt like a perfect match when I held him. Have had Sabastian for roughly 3 months now, and he's still doing good. About 17" last time I checked. Now for the questions.
1: I've been feeding beef liver and the occasional cricket. Just ordered some Dubia roaches. I tend to feed him the liver every other day and just keep crickets in the tank for snacks. Is there anything I should add to his diet? He'll eat crickets only if there's nothing else normally. And he won't touch super worms or meal worms. And what about fruits and veggies? Should I just give him tastes of all sorts of things and feed him whatever he likes?
2: He tends to stay burrowed a lot and sleeps often. Could he just be kind of a lazy thing lol or is that typical columbian behavior?
3: I'm guessing its because he's still young, but he never sits still when I'm holding him. Will he eventually out grow that and become more chill and laid back?
4: As far as the roaches go, does anyone have a different kind they recommend? I found the Dubia online on accident and figured I'd rather grow my own food and know its healthy and save the gas money and expense of crickets. Plus the reviews seem they're better anyways.
5: He has an OBSESSION with getting out of his tank, but never tries until he sees I'm not paying attention or I'm gone. Will this go away as I handle him more and he figured out he can't get out?
6: Had only heard of black and white columbians until I recently saw black and gold on here. Sabastian a tail is black and white but his body is a strong gold and black. Guessing he's a black and gold? Silly question.. Just hoping he doesn't outgrow his colors :D
I THINK that's all my questions.. For now lol. Thanks for any and all help guys!! The second picture is the day I got him. The first is the most recent I have from a coupe weeks ago.
 

KritterKeeper

Member
Messages
188
I suggest looking up the tegu food list on here and there are lots of other threads about what to feed these guys. Beef liver is not a suitable diet. I dont have time right now but if no one else has replied by tomorrow ill try to answer more and maybe find a few links. I feed mostly ground meats from hare-today.com along with f/t mice and small quail. Mine lost interest in eating bugs as he got bigger.
 

TeguBuzz

Moderator
1,000+ Post Club
5 Year Member
Messages
1,478
Location
Texas
1. http://tegutalk.com/threads/tegu-food-list.6446/ (Here's a food list)
2. Burrowing is typical - but that ties into my rebuttal question regarding question 5 you asked.
3. He doesn't sit still because he's still getting used to you and being handled. Eventually - in most cases, this behavior is overcome. But I'm not experienced in Colombians.
4. Crickets have almsot no nutritional value, look into the link I posted in #1., dubias are much more nutrient-rich.
5. What are you housing him in? If he keeps escaping, he must not be liking his habitat - and he probably will not "outgrow" this habit until he's given a better living situation.
 

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