Hi, new tegu lover here

[Rebecca Stout]

Hi, my name is Wolfy, and I just got a Tegu this weekend. I've waited nearly a year for this day. I never thought it'd happen "now" though. So, I have what appears to be a yearling. It is chocoan female. She is unusual in that her colors are orange, not white. Very unusual. But yes, she is a "tegu" and no she is not wild caught from Fl (though I'm double checking into that). She is not a hybrid red/white and black (I was told). I'll post photos sometime so you can see. She is nameless!

I have her in a temporary enclosure while I build the real deal. I have an important question regarding that and will ask in the appropriate place on the board.

About me: I am a writer for I-5 which puts out most of your pet magazines in your local pet stores. My specialty is ferrets, but I have written about birds and am now writing for all small mammals. I do have some moderate life long experience with reptiles. But I'm not nearly as educated as I could or should be. And I'm super new to Tegus obviously.

Another thing you should know about me is when I'm not in my "author/magazine" mode, I am quite colorful, comical, and will laugh at virtually "anything". So bring it on! LOL.

 

[marydd]

Can't wait to see a photo!

 

[TeguBuzz]

Welcome to Tegu Talk, we're very happy to have you here. May I ask who you purchased the tegu from (breeder)? The orange tints on the bellies is usually attributed with quite a number of Argentine Black and Whites - sometimes it stays, other times it fades away with time. We have a few members here who have Argentines with orange undersides.

 

[Rebecca Stout]

Hi. I got her from Bay Area Reptiles in Fl. He says he has 67 breeders on the property. He brought a whole host of tegus to the Atlanta Repticon. His entire table was impressive actually. He had the healthiest looking chameleons in the entire place. The best looking tegus I've seen at any expo. I hope I dont' regret what I really really wanted ... that was to go through Terra Tegu. But ya ever just get a gut feeling that a situation or animal was "okay" or even very good? I had that. All his tegus were so tame anyone could hold them. Just about all of them were nearly a year old just like mine. He sold what looked to be an 18 month old or older one to this one guy who kept it on his shoulder and walked it all day there. Sweet as can be and not nervous.
Thank you SO much about telling me about the orange. It kinda freaked me out at first to be quite frank. In any case, I honestly hope it either brightens or turns bright white, because he has so much black. So I'm glad it can change. I like striking colors. Contrast. He had some incredible high whites there. And there were two I just drooled over. But husband and son wanted "this" one. Had to be "this" one ugh. So it swayed me from my original decision. Im hoping shes not any shyer than a male and comes out rather large than what extremes are said to be. Or at least just a large regular one. I take videos too. Uh. Lots of em. I'll post those too.

 

[Rebecca Stout]

Okay just to start. here is the color of her back under some lighting. Then there are photos of her face ... the dullest it can look and the brightest it can look. There are no dots under her back legs and her head is looking like a female. I'll have a video soon of her homecoming.

 

[Rebecca Stout]

hold on, gotta figure this out lol.

 

[Rebecca Stout]

 

[Rebecca Stout]

Her poor nose is red, see it in teh photos up above? I think it happened on the way home as she spent 3 hours in a small cloth bag. She is temp on coconut husk or whatever. I need to get cypress but find it somewhere that doesn't treat it or will have bugs in it.

 

[TeguBuzz]

Wow! That's a beautiful tegu. The redding of the nose could be a possible nose rub, from rubbing against the glass or any previous enclosure she was in. It's not something to worry about as in most instances it heals rather quickly - and judging by the photos, it isn't really noticeable or severe-looking. As far as housing goes though, I did hear you say the current tank she's in is her temporary home - I'm glad you said that! She will definitely need a larger enclosure in due time.

What are your plans as far as building one? If you're not interested in building, I can point you in the direction of several companies that build very well-done enclosures with perfect sizes for a tegu.

Definitely a nice tegu you have there, would love to see more pics. Again, welcome to Tegu Talk and please do feel free to ask us any questions as we are all here and willing to help!

 

[Rebecca Stout]

I wouldnt mind being pointed in the direction of places that make good enclosures. So far we are planning to do our own and are preparing right now by looking at various ones online and organizing our thoughts, because we do want to get on this as soon as we can. So far we can't afford the extreme costs of a proff done enclosure, but Im all ears.

Thank you so much for the information about her nose. I really was worried and didnt want anything to get out of hand. Its been 4 days and she pretty much stays in her hide poor thing. I take her out of it to warm up and to feed her each day now.

I'm going to have to jump on over to the enclosure room because as a new owner, I have questions. And fears! Like ... how the heck do you build and get something that size into a house and room?? And ..... gee whiz I hope to gosh its not to heavy for a second floor! Scared about that. I mean if you can have a couple 250lb men or so in a room or a heavy couch ... or ALL together surely this is okay? We dont have solid new floors like you'd find in a brand new expensive house.

Im trying to load more pictures but what is happening is it uploads and the bar stays grey, says 100%, but never "finishes" and uploads on the page. I have a photo that shows how orange her head can look.

Cant believe I got her from a breeder I didnt "fully" investigate. It was just the "right time". I didnt go all out with my dragon not getting him from my dream place because of money. Sometimes I regret it when I see those fabulous colors online although his confirmation etc, is way prettier than most I ever have seen.