Like Waiting for CHRISTMAS!

[DROGOCHOCOAN]

Hi,
My name is Steven. Im awaiting the arrival of my new baby chocoan white headed black and white tegu. I have a lot to learn and hope i have come to the right place! I have looked at other Tegu forums and most of them look pretty dead. Im really excited to share Drogos growing up! He is scheduled to be delivered next week. He will be going into a 180 gallon tank with stand. My tank has a canopy with plexiglass lids that have a 3" gap for the length (72") of the tank. Will this be enough Air flow for Drogo? Or should i build a screen top for the aquarium this weekend before he arrives? Thanks for reading and I cant wait to show pictures of him when he gets here!!!

 

[loweryrr]

Congrats on the new tegu. I guess it would depend on the airflow in the area of the tank. It would probably work if you had good airflow in the room. The more airflow the better, nobody likes stagnant air. I would not recommend setting the uv lights on the plexiglass though as it will filter out most of the uv light and a basking bulb will damage the plexiglass and over heat so possible fire hazard. Not sure if you already have something worked out for that though. Best bet would be a screen top.

 

[DROGOCHOCOAN]

Thanks for your reply and insight! I was actually thinking about the heat on the plexiglass being a problem earlier today... I'm going to go ahead and build a new canopy for him this weekend. Any insightful tips or suggestions for a newbie? LOL

 

[loweryrr]

I don't really know your experience level or what you already know but I can answer most questions you may have. When your tegu first comes in give it a week to adjust to the new cage before you start handling him\her a lot. Make sure you have a good uv light and a spare small tank for insects. Baby lizards eat a lot of bugs. Make sure you have calcium powder on hand too. Cypress mulch makes it easier to maintain humidity and it reduces the chance of them getting a burn from a surface. Avoid feeding in the cage because they can accidentally eat the substrate. You can buy a plastic tote pretty cheap at home depot for that. My argentine doesn't like to be held unless she is hidden so I kept the sack she was delivered in and she likes to sleep in it when I hold her. If you have any questions feel free to ask, I have 23 years experience keeping reptiles so most of the time I can help.

 

[loweryrr]

Avoid heat rocks and pads. Heat rocks tend to short out and burn the lizard and pads can do the same. I have used a couple pads in the past and they both cracked my tanks from excessive heat

 

[DROGOCHOCOAN]

Well i feel much better now! I'm aware of all the points you mentioned. I have a T5HO 72" 8 lamp fixture. How many 34" t5s should be uva? Thanks again for your time!

 

[loweryrr]

If you use Cypress mulch make sure and rotate is every few days so it doesn't mildew or mold. The underside tends to hold moisture and will mildew pretty quick of you don't stir it around. I had a water dragon once and let a friend take care of it for a month and he forgot to do this and killed the water dragon from mold exposure.

 

[loweryrr]

Not sure on that one I will have to do some research. Uvb is more critical. I use a 160 watt mercury vapor uv light. I was once told mercury vapor bulbs tend to put out the most uv rays. It does the trick for uv and basking light. It maintains my hot spot at 100 in the day and my tegu seems to like it. My cage is a 4x2x2 for now until i get the bigger one built. Mines a florida wild caught so I try to keep the cage as close to south florida temps as possible

 

[DROGOCHOCOAN]

That's terrible... Sorry for your loss. I have always wanted a water dragon! Maybe sometime in the future I will be using cypress as well. So thanks for that tip!

 

[DROGOCHOCOAN]

I ordered 2 uva/uvb 34" t5 bulbs. I still have 6 empty spots in the fixture only because im not sure what to add. I might add a few more uva/uvb ones. Can a tegu get to much uvb?

 

[loweryrr]

Water dragons are pretty but I enjoy my tegu a lot more. They both have interesting personalities though.

 

[DROGOCHOCOAN]

From what im reading it looks like i can use as many uvb bulbs as i wish as long as they are close to basking spot and i dont keep them on all the time.... which i dont know why someone would keep there lights on day and night. I guess im going to put 4 uvb on his basking side and 4 bulbs that will show his color well on the cooler side for viewing during the day. Thanks for everything!

 

[loweryrr]

I don't think so. Make sure and provide a hide spot so he/she can get some shade and you will be good. Your tegu will spend a lot of time hiding though. Check the output of uva/uvb on your bulbs and make sure they meet the minimum requirements of 290nm or greater

 

[loweryrr]

http://www.exo-terra.com/en/explore/new_uvb_rating_system.php
a little bit of info on uv lighting

 

[DROGOCHOCOAN]

Excellent! Thank you

 

[loweryrr]

No problem. Welcome to the forum

 

[loweryrr]

Heres some better lighting info. Evidently too much uv light can cause eye problems. You learn something new every day.
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile-Health/Habitats-Care/Reptile-Lighting-Information/