Hello from Delaware

[Michael Graham]

I'm Mike from Delaware and I have two young golden Tegus. I have a few years experience with iguanas as well. I'm excited to join the forum here and hope to learn a lot about tegus!

 

[Walter1]

Hi Mike. Nice to meet you. Some members here keep goldens. How long have you had yours? How do you keep them?

 

[Michael Graham]

Likewise, Walter. They are about two months old and I just got them last week. One is a bit larger and aggressive than the other but I am in the taming process.They seem to sleep most of the time underneath the bedding. I have them in a 55 gallon tank for now as I'm building a custom enclosure. I setup branches, caves and a pool. I have my sights on a waterfall as well. I noticed that I couldn't find them for several hours and I realized that they prefer to dig and sleep underneath. It's about 5 inches deep. I'll try to post pictures today or tomorrow for you guys.

 

[Walter1]

That'd be great. Thanks

 

[Bug]

Hey there, welcome! I'm not too too far from you, near DC in maryland. I also look forward to photos of your littles ones

 

[Michael Graham]

On the right side of the enclosure I have this mulch type of bedding which they like digging into and on the left there is a bit of dirt as well as branches and a pool. I'll add the waterfall after I finish building them a custom enclosure.

 

[Walter1]

They look really nice. Are they a sexed pair?

 

[Michael Graham]

Thanks. When I visited the pet store they were already together so I simply didn't want to split them up.

 

[Walter1]

Worth sexing. Upon maturity, ales will need to be separated. Very handsome and nice set-up.

 

[Jrock23]

I like the setup and congrats on the pick up and welcome to the forums... As Walter stated, you will need to separate them.. Golden tegus are awesome and challenging..

 

[Michael Graham]

Hopefully not too challenging. So far so good though. I started taming them just by letting them get used to my scent and voice. I can touch one of them but they are still a little feisty when I pick them up. They never tried to bite or tail whip. Either they will back up or run away if I approach them too quickly. They are picky eaters as well haha. They don't really like fruits nor eggs much. Maybe I have to present it in a different way.I introduced berries which they weren't very interested in. They both love crickets, worms and these large roaches that I get from a local pet store. If I drop the crickets in they have no problem hunting them down one by one. They also love ground turkey.

 

[Jrock23]

Eating fruits is a little tricky, What works for me is I mixed it in with other foods.. If you do egg, either boiled it or just give the yolk.. We are not officially into the spring season yet so the metabolism is or has slowed down.. LOL, I says challenging because it was is to me.. I`ve tamed a Nile monitor and helped a friend tamed a crocodile monitor so a golden tegu would be easier. Yea reach in slowly to pick them up. They are picky eaters to me because you are introducing new foods to them, maybe.. I unsure of the ground turkey, but hey people say the same to me because I neither feed beef heart or beef liver, but try offering whitebaits, smelts and crabs, crayfish, and mice.. You need whole foods prey, insects are great but they also need meat..

 

[Joanne Julia]

I just love your set up!!! What size of enclosure is it? And they are beautiful babies

 

[Michael Graham]

Thanks! This is just their temporary setup since they are so small. It's basically a 55 inch tank. I appreciate the compliments.

 

[Michael Graham]

Quick update:
Both baby tegus are doing well and they seem to like the setup so far. I tried more foods to see what they prefer. So far, they love fuzzies, crickets and grounded meat. They're not very fond of fruits nor eggs yet. I'll keep trying in different ways. They will eat super worms but not much. They like horn worms and these big roaches which I get from a local pet store. That's about it so far. Up until today my female slept a lot and didn't have a huge appetite but she did eat. Today she was very active and hunting down crickets. I noticed and went to offer a fuzzy which she snatched from my tongs haha. They are very intelligent creatures and do not make a mess like Monitors. I saw one in the pet store drowning a mouse and ripping it apart before eating which is very bloody. My little ones simply swallow them whole. No mess! As for their attitudes, I can touch them both now but I don't pick them up often unless necessary.

 

[Walter1]

Quick update:
Both baby tegus are doing well and they seem to like the setup so far. I tried more foods to see what they prefer. So far, they love fuzzies, crickets and grounded meat. They're not very fond of fruits nor eggs yet. I'll keep trying in different ways. They will eat super worms but not much. They like horn worms and these big roaches which I get from a local pet store. That's about it so far. Up until today my female slept a lot and didn't have a huge appetite but she did eat. Today she was very active and hunting down crickets. I noticed and went to offer a fuzzy which she snatched from my tongs haha. They are very intelligent creatures and do not make a mess like Monitors. I saw one in the pet store drowning a mouse and ripping it apart before eating which is very bloody. My little ones simply swallow them whole. No mess! As for their attitudes, I can touch them both now but I don't pick them up often unless necessary.



View attachment 10464

You and JRock may be uncovering a new appreciation for the gold tegu.

 

[Michael Graham]

Absolutely!

 

[Jrock23]

Wow! Now this is a great photo shot.. I like this..