How soon can you put a tegu in his large enclosure?

[DangerousDann]

I have a 4 and a half month old Chacoan White Head who is about 15inches long. He currently is in a 40gal critter tank, but before I got him, I constructed a 8'7"x4'x'4 enclosure, which is almost complete (just need to mount the lights tomorrow). He seems less happy with his tank, and it's harder to get him out due to the slide top. His large enclosure has a front open door that doubles as a ramp. How soon can I move him to the big enclosure? I'd like to move him tomorrow so he has more room, but don't want to stress him out. opinions?

 

[Jacobhreptiles]

do it. a grow up cage isn't necessary and they love exploring and commanding a big space. just make sure you stay present or he will forget you exist but i found mine much happier in their "adult" cage as a young one

 

[Walter1]

Keep familiar objects and routine. Should be fine. A day or three of weird is to be expected. They do not initially like change. Hence, importance of familiar and routine. Good luck.

 

[DangerousDann]

Ok, so I moved him on Wednesday, and I sat with him as he explored. He didn't have a hide box in his 40gal, but he had made a den under his water dish, so I moved the entire den into his new enclosure, he came out of hiding on Thursday night, but hasn't come out at all today, not even to eat, and he's not in his hide

 

[Jacobhreptiles]

he is acclimating. be patient

 

[DangerousDann]

Just freaking out cause it's been more than 24 hours since he's eaten and I want to make sure he's okay. How long should I give him before I need to worry?

 

[Walter1]

Don't worry at all. No healthy tegu will starve itself. He'll come around.

 

[DangerousDann]

Dozer finally started coming out again

 

[Walter1]

Fantastic.

 

[TehGoo]

Pretty sweet setup !

 

[DangerousDann]

Pretty sweet setup !

Thank you

 

[TehGoo]

Guess we are going to have to give you an A+ on that enclosure Dann !

 

[Walter1]

Oh, yeah.

 

[DangerousDann]

Guess we are going to have to give you an A+ on that enclosure Dann !

Thank you. It was a fairly inexpensive build (not counting lighting). The actual structure took a few hours to build. Sanding and staining took a day. Waterproofing and interior painting took a day. All built before I ordered my tegu Dozer.

I've never built anything before, and this was my first attempt. The room he's in, I'm working on now so he has different spots he can use all day (when he gets older)

 

[Justin]

After reading this thread I decided to remove the 2'x4' partition in my enclosure so far he seems to like it.

 

[DangerousDann]

After reading this thread I decided to remove the 2'x4' partition in my enclosure so far he seems to like it.

Looks good. I had 7" of substrate in it when I put Dozer in, and couldn't find him for 2 days, so less substrate seems like a good idea

 

[DangerousDann]

I now have all of Dozers lights on timers, so his day lights come on before I get up. Hopefully this will get him up and moving sooner in the day

 

[Justin]

[QUOTI ="DangerousDann, post: 153990, member: 7324"]I now have all of Dozers lights on timers, so his day lights come on before I get up. Hopefully this will get him up and moving sooner in the day[/QUOTE]
I saw that thread lol! Well I added a bag of organic top soil and he seems to be loving it and the room. I also expanded my Mistking system with a dual nozzle head. The substrate depth is about 2in for 3/4 of the enclosure and about 4 in in the remaining area.


Here he is taking a break from digging.

 

[Walter1]

Living up to his name.

 

[DangerousDann]

[QUOTI ="DangerousDann, post: 153990, member: 7324"]I now have all of Dozers lights on timers, so his day lights come on before I get up. Hopefully this will get him up and moving sooner in the day

I saw that thread lol! Well I added a bag of organic top soil and he seems to be loving it and the room. I also expanded my Mistking system with a dual nozzle head. The substrate depth is about 2in for 3/4 of the enclosure and about 4 in in the remaining area.


Here he is taking a break from digging.[/QUOTE]
Looks great! How tall is your enclosure? It looks pretty tall from the pics. I'm at 3' but I built it so I could add another 2' if needed. I have a Exo Terra Monsoon 400 (revised version) with 2 nozzles. I still need to add another UV light.