Getting a tegu soon... have some questions

[grizz2534]

Hello, I'm new to the forums and tegus. Got my heart set on an Argentinian B&W when a customer brought one in about a month ago. I haven't gotten one yet, I'm probably gonna wait until next year to get one, unless I get a new job before the Rocky Mountain Reptile Expo, lol.

I just have a few questions while i'm waiting,

1) Is there a big difference in aggressiveness between males and females? I've read that these guys get dog/tame with proper handling just wondering if males were more aggressive then females or vise versa.

2) Is a 6' long cage big enough for an adult tegu? I have the perfect spot for the cage, perpendicular to my fish tank, but the problem is there is only about 7' of room. I'm going to custom build my own cage so size doesn't matter, I do have a spare room where I can put a bigger cage, I would just rather have him/her be out where I see here a lot.

3) I've read about free roaming Tegus, not sure if I'm gonna let mine wander around all the time, but once in a while. My biggest problem is, my fiance has a Pug. The dog is a wimp so I'm not too worried about him messing with the tegu, he'll just bark at it then when it gets about 10 feet away he'll geek out and run and hide, but will the tegu mess with the dog? I think my fiance would shoot me if the tegu ate her dog.

4) As far as food goes, I'm gonna breed Blocoptia Dubia (sp??) Orange Spotted roaches, are these good for Tegus? And I'm breeding rats too, well trying anyways. I have a friend who is gonna buy the extras off me so i'm not worried about that, but are rats (pre-killed) good for tegus? As a staple or treat?

Well I think that's it for now. I think I found my new favorite site. I've been poking around for a couple weeks and just now finally got off my lazy butt and did a post. Any other suggestions or anything that I might need to know would be greatly appreciated.

D

 

[VARNYARD]

Hello, I'm new to the forums and tegus. Got my heart set on an Argentinian B&W when a customer brought one in about a month ago. I haven't gotten one yet, I'm probably gonna wait until next year to get one, unless I get a new job before the Rocky Mountain Reptile Expo, lol.

I just have a few questions while i'm waiting,

Thats awesome, tegus are great. Also welcome to the TeguTalk community!! Glad you joined us.

1) Is there a big difference in aggressiveness between males and females? I've read that these guys get dog/tame with proper handling just wondering if males were more aggressive then females or vise versa.

I do not think there is any difference in them unless you breed them. Then I would say the males are better due to the females acting nasty during the nesting process.

2) Is a 6' long cage big enough for an adult tegu? I have the perfect spot for the cage, perpendicular to my fish tank, but the problem is there is only about 7' of room. I'm going to custom build my own cage so size doesn't matter, I do have a spare room where I can put a bigger cage, I would just rather have him/her be out where I see here a lot.

Bigger is better when housing a tegu, they would do much better in a 8x4 or even larger.

3) I've read about free roaming Tegus, not sure if I'm gonna let mine wander around all the time, but once in a while. My biggest problem is, my fiance has a Pug. The dog is a wimp so I'm not too worried about him messing with the tegu, he'll just bark at it then when it gets about 10 feet away he'll geek out and run and hide, but will the tegu mess with the dog? I think my fiance would shoot me if the tegu ate her dog.

I have never kept a dog and tegus at the same time, but I have heard people say they get along fine. Maybe someone else can chim in on this one.

4) As far as food goes, I'm gonna breed Blocoptia Dubia (sp??) Orange Spotted roaches, are these good for Tegus? And I'm breeding rats too, well trying anyways. I have a friend who is gonna buy the extras off me so i'm not worried about that, but are rats (pre-killed) good for tegus? As a staple or treat?

Rodents are a must, tegus need whole prey items in their diet at least once a week. The extra rats can be dispatched and frozen until needed. The roaches are fine for a hatchling tegu, but they will out grow them rather quickly.

Well I think that's it for now. I think I found my new favorite site. I've been poking around for a couple weeks and just now finally got off my lazy butt and did a post. Any other suggestions or anything that I might need to know would be greatly appreciated.

D

Glad you like the site, there are some real nice people on here that are always willing to help if you have a question.

 

[ZEKE]

3) I've read about free roaming Tegus, not sure if I'm gonna let mine wander around all the time, but once in a while. My biggest problem is, my fiance has a Pug. The dog is a wimp so I'm not too worried about him messing with the tegu, he'll just bark at it then when it gets about 10 feet away he'll geek out and run and hide, but will the tegu mess with the dog? I think my fiance would shoot me if the tegu ate her dog.

i think that all depends on the nature of both animals. i know its not really the same thing but we have a bearded dragon and a dog (australian shepherd/siberian husky, not small) the dog has never shown the slightest sign of being aggressive towards the beardie. when we let him out our dog follows him around and is always near him, the beardie will just sit at the back door looking out and the dog will sit right next to him.

the only thing i would be worried about is instinct, if the tegu gets hungry and sees something that is moving and will fit in its mouth, instinct might tell the tegu to eat the dog. our dog doesnt have the instinct in her to chase or eat a lizard so she doesnt, if she was a hunting dog that might be different (and its not really possible for a beardie to eat a dog :-D )

hope i helped some

 

[grizz2534]

Thanks for the responses. I'm not too worried about the roaches, I have a few other reptiles that'll eat them. I'm gonna probably use my spare room to build a cage probably 8x4x4 and it'll be allowed out in the house too. the dog usually is on my chair with me so I'm not too worried about that, i'll just keep an eye on them and introduce them when i first get the tegu so they at least know each other. and not let them be alone together.