Cylum
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Hello everyone! My name is Megan, and I am a reptile enthusiast, and a new one at that. I have recently purchased a Colombian black and white Tegu, who I am guessing is between 3 and 4 months old. I believe he is male, due to the fact that it feels like he has little bumps near his vent, but he's so little I can't be sure. He's still very huffy and puffy about me and runs around the cage if I try to handle him, but calms down relatively quickly if I can catch him and has never tried to hurt me, he seems to have a wonderful temperament for his age. The most he has ever done is open his mouth at me. I bath him about twice a week and he adores the water. I can take him in the shower with me and he sits on my shoulder enjoying the "rain". He closes his eyes and relaxes and lets me pet him all I want, it's like he's a completely different lizard in the water. He also loves to climb on my head. Is that normal?
I have tried having him in my hoodie like many sites suggest, but he hates it! He panics and crawls up to my neck and tries to escape through the synched tight hood, so I have since given up on that technique. Oh I almost forgot! His name is Tiberius!
He lives in a 54 gallon custom tank and will be upgraded to a 109 gallon (6ft x 2ft x 2ft) when he grows into it.
(his is the top right and when he grows, he will get the bottom one, which is currently empty)
He eats like a monster and gets mostly whatever cycles though the house. Turkey, raw salmon, scrambled eggs, blue berries, tomatoes, watermelon(which he loves), apples and bananas as a snack (not the biggest fan, lol) and a bit of ham sometimes. He also seems to really enjoy fresh salmon eggs. Not to mention the normal meal worms and crickets. All dishes are dusted with calcium.
(ham and apples, yum)
I just had a few questions though...
Sometimes when he burrows, he wont come out for like three days and I don't know why. I usually shuffle the bark bedding around a bit til he comes out so I can feed him, which I know is frowned upon, but I don't like the idea of him going hungry. He has UVB and heat spot of 110, 12 hours on and 12 off from 8:30 am to 8:30 pm. Is he trying to hibernate? Is he cold? Is he scared? I don't know why he does it, but it worries me. I also notice the skin on the back of his tail has trouble shedding. Am I not spraying enough even though he has a wet hide? Oh! And when these sites say to feed him ground turkey, do they mean raw or cooked? Cause they say fresh fish, but cooked eggs, so I don't know whether to cook it or not. Is it ok that he eats salmon eggs and ham? Can he eat chicken? Is it true that Colombians are not as nice as Argentines? How big do you think he'll get? Will his adult size be affected by his tank size? Will he stay smaller if I leave him in the 54 vs the 109? Cause I want him to get big. And should I get him more climby sticks? He only has two. Do they normally like to climb? Whenever he does he jumps at the glass. Why does he do this?
(he likes to use my tank tops as a ladder)
Ok, maybe that was a few more then a few questions, but, well, you know, I'm new, lol. Any and all help appreciated! I hope I like it here! ^^
I have tried having him in my hoodie like many sites suggest, but he hates it! He panics and crawls up to my neck and tries to escape through the synched tight hood, so I have since given up on that technique. Oh I almost forgot! His name is Tiberius!
He lives in a 54 gallon custom tank and will be upgraded to a 109 gallon (6ft x 2ft x 2ft) when he grows into it.
(his is the top right and when he grows, he will get the bottom one, which is currently empty)
He eats like a monster and gets mostly whatever cycles though the house. Turkey, raw salmon, scrambled eggs, blue berries, tomatoes, watermelon(which he loves), apples and bananas as a snack (not the biggest fan, lol) and a bit of ham sometimes. He also seems to really enjoy fresh salmon eggs. Not to mention the normal meal worms and crickets. All dishes are dusted with calcium.
(ham and apples, yum)
I just had a few questions though...
Sometimes when he burrows, he wont come out for like three days and I don't know why. I usually shuffle the bark bedding around a bit til he comes out so I can feed him, which I know is frowned upon, but I don't like the idea of him going hungry. He has UVB and heat spot of 110, 12 hours on and 12 off from 8:30 am to 8:30 pm. Is he trying to hibernate? Is he cold? Is he scared? I don't know why he does it, but it worries me. I also notice the skin on the back of his tail has trouble shedding. Am I not spraying enough even though he has a wet hide? Oh! And when these sites say to feed him ground turkey, do they mean raw or cooked? Cause they say fresh fish, but cooked eggs, so I don't know whether to cook it or not. Is it ok that he eats salmon eggs and ham? Can he eat chicken? Is it true that Colombians are not as nice as Argentines? How big do you think he'll get? Will his adult size be affected by his tank size? Will he stay smaller if I leave him in the 54 vs the 109? Cause I want him to get big.
And should I get him more climby sticks? He only has two. Do they normally like to climb? Whenever he does he jumps at the glass. Why does he do this?
(he likes to use my tank tops as a ladder)
Ok, maybe that was a few more then a few questions, but, well, you know, I'm new, lol. Any and all help appreciated! I hope I like it here! ^^
