Info on Red Tegu Needed Please

[virgilthetegu]

Hi,
I recently purchased a Red Tegu from a private sale.
Little to no information was given on lighting needs, substrate, and feeding. I was told last time he was moved the tegu did not eat for 3 1/2 weeks. I have had him for 2 weeks. I would like to know if anyone has pointers or info they can share with me. I would appreciate it. As for now he looks completely healthy, beautiful color and very tame.
Thanks,

 

[redtail2426]

Well the basics are he needs uvb lighting, a basking spot of 100-115 degrees, cypress mulch for substrate deep enough to burrow in, 60-80 percent humidity, and as far as food reds need alot of fruits and veggies along with some meats like rats and chicks ect. This is just an overview there is much more info all around the forums to help you.

 

[COWHER]

this will help a lot too
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.varnyard-herps.com/">http://www.varnyard-herps.com/</a><!-- m -->

Written By Varnyard

Care sheet for the Tegu. Note some species will differ some on requirements.
This care sheet will be for four of the common species available in the pet trade.

Hatchling tegus will all take the same food up until about one year in age. Of these the Tupinambis merianae, Common name (Argentine Black and White), (Giant Tegu) And the Tupinambis rufescens, Common name (Argentine red Tegu), (Red tegu) will change feeding habits.
The Blue Tegu (It is said to be Tupinambis teguixin, but the classification has not been scientifically determined.) And the Tupinambis teguixin, Common name (Colombian Black and White), or (Gold Tegu) Will stay on a carnivorous diet throughout their life.

Food:
All Tegus are carnivores as hatchlings, which means they only eat meat. Crickets dusted with vitamins dust , Captive raised roaches, Mealworms, Super mealworms, ground turkey dusted with vitamin dust, Pinkie mice and cooked egg (Not raw) scrambled or hard boiled.
Please remember to remove any food that is not eaten right after your tegu has eaten his/her fill. Insects are well known for stressing reptiles. This also will help keep their cage cleaner.
Adult tegus, For the Argentine Black and White and the Argentine red Tegu. They will take ground turkey, cooked egg (Not raw) scrambled or hard boiled, rodents, fresh fish (Not from a pet shop, due to the chemicals used in these tanks), baby chickens, grapes, tomatoes, strawberries, melons, and just about any other soft fruit. Bananas can be given as well, but not as a staple diet, only in moderation. This is due to the high content of potassium (Known for not binding with calcium). Not more than once every couple of weeks. They also tend to have a very high phosphorous levels.
The Blue Tegu, and the Colombian Black and White, or (Gold Tegu) will take all of the above, except fruit. Also I suggest feeding only killed rodents. Live rodents can bite your animal. Dead do not, it is just not worth the chance.
My choice of vitamin dust is Herpitive or Fluker's.
A side note on feeding: Tegus can get cage aggressive. They can get to where they will associate their keeper with food. There are a couple of ways to keep this from happening. The first is to feed your tegu in a separate cage or area than his home. Have the food there when you put him with it.
Another way, would be to feed him at night or when he is in his hide. Then he will not see you with food. The first suggestion is the best for a few reasons. One you handle him every day, which helps with the taming process. Another reason would be to remove all chances of him ingesting substrate. And last, but not least, the food would be fresher than feeding at night.

Water:
Tegus require fresh water on a daily basis. It also would be recommended that their water dishes/bowls be big enough to soak in.

Housing:
Hatchlings will do great in a 20 long tank, but they will outgrow these fast. As an adult they require a much larger enclosure. I house mine outside in a 8 ft x 8 ft enclosure. Inside I use a 400 gallon showcase. If building your own cage, remember that these lizards are terrestrial (ground dwelling), So height would not be a necessity. I recommend at least a 6 feet long, 3 feet wide and 3 feet high.

Humidity:
Tegus require high humidity level 60%-70% for proper shedding as well as proper health. Misting on a daily basis is required. If you have another way to raise the humidity, that is fine. Remember not to have the substrate tacky.

Substrate:
I recommend using cypress mulch, orchid bark, Lizard litter, Repti-bark or eucalyptus mulch. These should not be dusty dry or wet. You can mist them a little to keep the dust down, this will also raise the humidity. Make sure it is not tacky, as to stick to their feet. Also your tegu needs to be fed where he will not ingest these substrates. You do not want him to have a intestinal blockage.

Lighting:
Ultraviolet light with a full-spectrum of light is recommended. Lights that emit UVB is a must for this species of reptile. Ultraviolet lighting is important in the production of vitamin D3, which is necessary for calcium metabolism. There are some people that claim added vitamins of D3 would be a good substitute, however I do not. I do use multi-vitamin dust. But I do not depend on it for a substitute for UV lighting.

Hibernation:
Tegus hibernate up to seven months in the wild. They will also do this in captivity if given the chance. However, tegus do not have to hibernate. If they do not hibernate, they may still slow down on feeding during the normal hibernating season. Note the Argentine species are the only ones to do this that I know of. The Colombians are not known to hibernate.

I will also say that it is not just about temperatures. Tegus do not start hibernating because of weather conditions. It is more based on lighting and their internal clock. My tegus start hibernating long before the weather even starts to turn cool. It is still summer weather here in August when mine start going underground.

In the wild, burrows are usually around two feet deep and up to four feet long. Tegus will line these burrows with grasses and leaves. They will also plug the entrance with this as well. It is strongly recommended, by some that Argentine tegus hibernate if the are intended to breed. Bert Langerwerf claims that if these tegus miss a hibernation, they will be infertile and unable to produce viable young. Yet others claim they will breed regardless. However I have heard both sides on this and there are other thoughts as well. I can not say, as I always hibernate mine.

If a baby tegu misses the first year of hibernation, they can reach three feet in one year. If the baby hibernates he will be the same size at the time as when he started hibernate. Babies that hibernate will reach about half as much or less in size as those that do not hibernate. In my opinion a baby that does not hibernate could have stretched reproductive organs, thus not being able to reproduce. This is not based on fact, but more on a theory. I cannot base this on facts because mine all have and do hibernate each year.

Females that reach two years old start producing eggs in their system before hibernation begins for their third season. These eggs are carried in her system into hibernation. When she emerges, the male copulates and fertilizes the eggs, she lays her clutch and then starts to grow eggs in her body for the following year. If a female misses a hibernation or this cycle, it is believed by some that she will absorb these eggs. It is a big question if she will ever reproduce again. My breeders have never missed a hibernation period, so I cannot say that they would, or would not produce again. Bert claims that they are useless for breeding if they miss one of these cycles of hibernation. I will say this, there are some that have bred tegus that have not gone into full hibernation these have produced eggs. Rick Sisco of (<!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.TeguTalk.com">www.TeguTalk.com</a><!-- w -->) has bred animals that did not hibernate and did produced a good amount of babies.

Colombian tegus are not bred in the United States to any great extent that I know of. They are often times imported. They also do not require hibernation. I would tend to believe they would be more like the Ameivas and whiptails then the Argentine Reds, Argentine Black and Whites, or the Blue tegus.

There are a lot of people asking for some information on hibernating tegus. So, I will try to cover all of this here. I have found that tegus just about do everything themselves. When the time comes for them to start hibernating they will stop eating. They will go a few weeks before they go into full hibernation. Around two to three weeks of coming out less and basking very little.

If kept outside they will refuse to eat at all during this period. They will start spending less and less time above ground. The same thing happens inside as well. Tegus will start refusing food and spend less time out of their hides. When they start this process I stop feeding them all together.
This is also the time I start reducing the lighting times. I keep my lights on my tegus for 12 hours a day in spring and summer, the lights are on 12 hours and off 12 hours. When the tegus start to slow down on feeding and start spending more time in their hides. I reduce the lighting to 10 hours a day, I also stop feeding them all together. I do this for about a week to two weeks. Then I start turning them on for 8 hours for a week. At this point most tegus are usually in their hides for the duration of hibernation. I usually leave the lights on for 6 hours after this point for a week or so. If the tegus do not come out at all, then the lights are turned off for the rest of the winter. If you do see your tegu come out in winter, as this does sometimes happen. Then you can turn the lights on, however these periods usually do not last long. Some might come out for a hour or two and then go right back to hibernating. Most often times they will not come out at all. When and if this happens it is fine to turn the lights back on. But turn them off when they return to their hide. Also, do not feed them. They will not require any food if this happens. I do keep fresh water in the enclosures for about the first six weeks. However I have not seen them drink water either during this time.