Looking into getting a Tegu this summer, have some questions

[Nafun]

Well, first off. I'm looking at getting a captive bred argentine black & white, preferably from varnyard-herps, but I need to know a couple more things before I put down a deposit.

First off. How often do they poop? I know it smells bad. I have other reptiles (snakes) and their bms can be measured with a calender, but I know tegus have much, much faster metabolisms. Do they poop once a day? Every few hours? I used to own a Macaw, and there's nothing worse than a friendly animal that has to poop every 15 minutes.

Second, can they eat wild caught fish? Bluegill to be precise. The pond is overrun with them. I know they need a varied diet, I don't want to feed it *just* fish. We breed rodents for reptile food, and we're in a turkey farming area, so getting ground turkey's not a problem either, but I was curious if I can fill the "fish filets" portion of his diet with fresh fish?

Thirdly, I've read several opinions, but how important is brumation for them? Do they need to brumate, or can they live happily and healthily without brumation?


Thanks

 

[kaa]

Pooping kinda depends on the animal. I have some that poop right after they eat, and some that poop every other day. It doesn't smell that bad, but Maybe I am just used to it.

Not sure if they can eat wild fish

Argentinians hibernate, Colombians brumate. Hibernation is only needed if they are going to breed, and even then, there is no proof that it is a requirement. So if you just want a pet, you can keep it up. But it will grow twice as fast.

 

[JohnMatthew]

Pooping about once a day during their active period is probably average. The smell depends alot on what you're feeding them :-D .. I don't think there'd be anything wrong with wild fish fillets. Alot of the fish you buy from the market is wild caught anyway. If you're still concerned, freezing the fillets for a couple weeks might help. As for the hibernation, you don't always have a say.. Boon would be in full blown hibernation with days still getting in the low-mid 90s. If they feel like napping for half a year, they're going to do it despite your best efforts :shock: .

 

[Nafun]

Do they need to be filets or can they have whole fish?

 

[JohnMatthew]

I'd stick with fillets to be safe.

 

[reptastic]

well depending on the size of the fish it could be fed whole, there is a member here who gives his tegu the surplus of his cichlids but i think they are smaller, i give mines fillet because its cheaper and is less of a hassle!

 

[Nafun]

It's just really hard to filet a fish that's only a few inches long =P

 

[themedic]

my tegus, poop right after they eat, they like to poop in their water bowl so as you imagine they get fresh water daily anyways lol.

one time i took my tegu to petsmart and it pooped on my shoulder, thank god i had a towel haha.

also tegus, atleast mine are not picky eaters at all. they eat everything i throw at them, chicken, tuna, eggs, canned food, dog food, meats, cooked ham, everything. there fave is probably live rodents lol.

its pretty cool watching them rip apart mice and gobble them down, they get nice and fat and are healthy and are usually very happy after wards.

also, when your tegu is hungry make sure not to stick your hands in the cage he will think it is a pinky mouse and might try to nip you, although all tegus are different mine seem to jump at me when they havent eaten in a day or two so I feed them everyday twice to 3 small meals so they stay "happy".

Good luck!!

 

[Toby_H]

First off. How often do they poop? I know it smells bad. I have other reptiles (snakes) and their bms can be measured with a calender, but I know tegus have much, much faster metabolisms. Do they poop once a day? Every few hours? I used to own a Macaw, and there's nothing worse than a friendly animal that has to poop every 15 minutes.

Mine poops approx 24 hours after a full meal... the act of eating seems to spark the bm of the food ingested the day before...

My young adult male (2 years old, 43" long, 6 lbs) eats 6 days a week... 2 days a week it is feed 2~3 full meals, 4 days it is fed 1 full meal, 1 day a week it is not offered food... the more it easts the larger the bm the falling day.

I do not find it difficult to develop a schedule that prevents BMs on the carpet during free roaming... yet occasionally I get a surprise...

The smelll can be horrid, but a strong stomach and immediate clean up using pet enzyme spray has prevented any stains (smell or spots) on my carpet.

Second, can they eat wild caught fish? Bluegill to be precise. The pond is overrun with them. I know they need a varied diet, I don't want to feed it *just* fish. We breed rodents for reptile food, and we're in a turkey farming area, so getting ground turkey's not a problem either, but I was curious if I can fill the "fish filets" portion of his diet with fresh fish?

I am the guy who feeds his Tegu Cichlids. I have several breeding pairs of fish and I commonly raise offspring and use them for food. Keep in mind that in mature fish the spines in the dorsal fin can get quite sharp and can do damage. For this reason I do not feed full adult fish.

I did a good bit of research when I got my Tegu including consulting Bobby Hill, the conclusion I came up with is that my Tegu's diet should be no more than 33% fish. I tend to feed about 33% fish for a few months, then omit fish from his diet for a few months, then repeat cycle.

If you are using wild caught fish parasites might be a concern. Though I am not so sure that water born parasites will thrive in land animals. Though this is not something I've ever confirmed.

Thirdly, I've read several opinions, but how important is brumation for them? Do they need to brumate, or can they live happily and healthily without brumation?

Mine did a full hibernation it's first winter despite being kept at stable high temperatures.

Mine only hibernated for about 4~6 weeks it's second winter despite being given a cool down period. It did slow down drastically (in activity as well as eating) for abotu two months on either side of the hubernation.

I have decided that every winter I will give him a cool down period (mid 60s to low 70s). If he hibernates, great. If not, no problem. I have no clue if it's beneficial to the animal, but I like to do my part to replicate it's native seasonal cycle.