Hi

[Vermundor]

Hi, I'm Talia and I live in New York. I've only have one lizard (bearded dragon), but know a lot about snakes and other creatures through reading and exsperience through friends and family.(My grandmother has two snakes ) I came across tegus a while ago, but the species sparked interest a few weeks ago when I was reading about savannah monitor behavior compared to other captive lizard species. I immediately fell in love with them, and decided to buy one. The tricky thing is, I have to find a way to convince my parents to allow me to buy one. My dad's hard to work at, so I joined so I could learn even more information before attempting to persuade them. I'm hoping they will be impressed with the knowledge I've acquired and allow me to buy a argentine a&w tegu. Their main worry about large lizards is the fact that they have teeth, therefor making them "?dangerous?". I'm going to the reptile expo on October 23 in Melville, Long Island and plan to get her there if there are any reputable breeders going there. (Does anyone know if Varnyard Tegu's going to be there?) This leaves me with about a few months to prepare so hopefully they'll see that tegu's, if properly cared for and handled, become a lovely animal to live with! See you guys around!

-Talia

I have a few questions, if you guys don't mind answering:

1. How long is hibernation? What preparations are needed for it? What will prevent it?

2. Can metal troughs work for an enclosure? They sell huge ones at my local feed store and I read somewhere that they can be kept in one as long as the cover is properly covered to hold in the humidity. Plus, they are cheaper than tanks and cages, so you can a lot for your money.

3. What would an adult's main diet compose of? I've read around and heard some different diets. (Most stated that these lizards are omnivorous.)

4. Is it better to start off with an adult sized enclosure for a baby? I have a 29 gallon high, so would that work for him/her for a few months?

5. Is there any behavioral differences with males and females? I plan to get a female, and am wondering if they ever lay infertile eggs throughout their lives.
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Thanks!

 

[tora]

Lol! I have teeth too! Am I dangerous?

1. It varies from a few months to more than half a year. No preparation is needed, just make sure they're healthy. There's no way to prevent it if they want to go down. You should encourage natural behaviors like this.

2. Not unless they're like 8' x 4', and can hold 2' of mulch... If it can I guess it's fine, just tegu's don't really like being approached from above.

3. They are omnivorous. Varied diets are necessary. Most diets consist of ground meat (mainly poultry), organ meat, whole prey (mice, rats, chicks), some fish, some egg, fruits... There's a thread here with a HUGE list of foods they eat.

4. Some people are okay with it, but I find it easier to build a relationship with the tegu if it doesn't have a bazillion places to hide from me, lol.

5. Not unless they are breeding, then males get all macho and females get highly defensive around their eggs. Most tegus go through a moody 'teen' phase though. I'm pretty sure they don't lay infertile eggs.

 

[james.w]

Welcome and tora pretty much took the words out of my mouth.

 

[reptastic]

Welcome aboard, hope you get to convince your parents to let you get one, idk if you will find one off bobbies b/w's at a show anytime soon, they just started hatching this week, plus tne 3 week wait before he ships, why not wait til next season that way you would know for sure you got a varnyard, good luck

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Welcome aboard, hope you get to convince your parents to let you get one, idk if you will find one off bobbies b/w's at a show anytime soon, they just started hatching this week, plus tne 3 week wait before he ships, why not wait til next season that way you would know for sure you got a varnyard, good luck

 

[Vermundor]

Hahaha I'll definitely use that if my parents bring that up. Thanks for the info tora! I'll have to play around with the tank idea.

reptastic, that's probably a good idea. I'd feel more comfortable going with varnyard or another high ranking tegu breeder like that, so I'll wait till next years clutch if I can't find a good breeder at the end of the year. (Chances are I probably won't since most tegus will be hibernating then.) I'm going to try my best to not accidently buy a columbian.

Would anyone know if she'd have a problem with my bearded dragon in the same room? If I ever let her wander, she'd always be supervised, but would that potentially risk my beardie's life? Glaedr acts like a punk, but he really isn't, and I don't think he could put up against a 4 1/2 ft lizard. He's in a glass tank on a stand, so I could probably cover the glass with paper so they don't see one another, however would the smell drive them crazy?

Is it possible if I could make their light times different? If one of them is asleep while the other is awake, that'd work really well.

 

[reptastic]

I wouldnt worry about the beardie, i kept 4 tegus in the same room with my beardie, the beardies tank was about 18"-2' off the ground, he could see the tegus when they were out but they couldnt see him, idk if they knew he was in the room, but they sure didnt act like they cared, the beardie ate well and so did the tegus(there were other reptiles also residing in the room)

 

[Vermundor]

That's good than. One less thing to worry about, and one more thing to ease my parents mind when I give them "the talk". LOL

 

[tora]

There are quite a few people that are good to buy from, even if they aren't big name. Just try and find someone that cares for the animal more than the money.
I have a full grown northern blue tongue skink who's tank is on the ground. I think just once they saw each other, flicked tongues, and the tegu walked off. So long as they're separated it shouldn't be a problem what so ever.
You should google colombians and look at the pictures, it is super easy to tell them apart. The only thing that's the same is the general tegu shape and color scheme. You can also find pictures comparing the two. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k_bXpaZwUEw/TcVqkekt4ZI/AAAAAAAAAB4/fLruWeJy-x0/s1600/colombian.jpg

Why would you want their light times different?

 

[Vermundor]

I thought that maybe I could extend the time for one of them so they both could receive attention without me watching the clock for their timer to turn off, as well as they don't see each other while one another's awake. Since you guys reassured me that it wouldn't be a problem though, then I can toss the light thing.

Thanks for the picture btw, I found a pic of a baby a&w and compared it to the other picture, and immediately saw the difference.

 

[reptastic]

Lol you can always do what i did when i had to convince my grandparents to let the tegus come over for a few weeks, show the bobbys videos on youtube lolz how could they resist after that(just maybe not the ice video, save that one for later hahaha)

 

[Vermundor]

LOL That'd probably help my case, although they prefer furry animals over scaly ones. My parents find the weirdest excuses to not allow anyone in my family to get a pet. When I tried to get my lizard, they said "But the dogs could get him!", even though they knew I lived upstairs and the animal aggressive dog couldn't even climb stairs. xD The only way you can get to them is through planning, savings, and reasoning which is probably my best bet in this case along with vids like that and truckloads of care-sheets.

 

[Vermundor]

I have a quick question... Did any of you guys get your tegus pre-college and through it? I'll be going to college in about four years and plan to get an apartment so I can harbor my pets, however I have to prepare for the worse and make plans just in case that doesn't work out. What did you guys do?

 

[tora]

Mmm, I'm an Army wife so I move around a bit. I'd never get rid of my animals under any circumstance though, they're practically my children. I'm assuming that's what you're talking about right?

 

[james.w]

I would say to make sure you have a fairly solid plan before you get a Tegu of what you will do when you go to college. Otherwise just wait until you are done with school.

 

[Vermundor]

Mmm, I'm an Army wife so I move around a bit. I'd never get rid of my animals under any circumstance though, they're practically my children. I'm assuming that's what you're talking about right?

Yes, if I got a tegu, selling him or giving him away wouldn't be an option.


Perhaps I can talk to my older sister into keeping him for me while I'm in college. She probably wouldn't mind, since she loves big lizards herself and she'll be out of college by then.

 

[Rhetoric]

I'm 20 and was taking some clases before a shoulder injury. I've never thought about dorms or anything. For me, animals aren't an issue while I go to school. I wouldn't give them up but it might not work for everyone.