My First Tegu

[Odin_the_tegu]

So i recently order my first tegu and cant wait to see him grow up to a beefy good looking adult. I purchased a columbian black and white, he was only 8 inches when i received him 5 days ago. he looks more like the black and gold ones i have seen online and was wondering will he change color or will he stay gold? also he just started to shed and i was wondering should i feed him while he sheds or should i wait til the shed is completed? Any information that you guys can give would be great. Remember i am a first time owner but i have read tons of care sheets, i need a little more depth in the information. Thanks everyone!

 

[JohnMatthew]

Congrats on the tegu and welcome to the forum! Alot of vendors will add "black and white" to columbian tegus as a sort of sales ploy(argentine black and whites get bigger, usually calm down more readily, and sell for quite a bit more). We just call them columbians(gold coloration, smooth scales, typically only 1 loreal scale). They usually keep their gold/yellow coloration into adulthood(try searching for pictures of columbian tegus). You can feed your little bugger pretty much as often and as much as you like while they're growing. They grow so fast it's near impossible to overfeed, with proper food items, when they're small. Sometimes they'll get the whole shed off in one day, other times it could take several. You generally don't want them to go that long without eating so just keep the food coming. If you get a chance post up some pictures, always fun to share.

 

[Odin_the_tegu]

Ya hes been shedding for about 2 days now, my only concern was that his front right foot, and from just behind his 2 back legs haven't shed, i know that the tank humidity is at a constant 80, the day temps range from 83-110 basking. also since Ive gotten him he seems to not want to eat. he went 2 days without eating and i can tell his hind legs look a bit skinny but it may just be because he hasn't shed completely... what size portions should i feed him at 9"? He loves to bury himself to sleep, and in his 100 gallon tank it makes it impossible to find him unless he wants to be found. i think this is why he has acclimated to me very well. The tank is directly in the center of my room. just to the left of the frogs and leopard geckos. Ive been home healing from a recent surgery so he has seen alot of me in the last 3 days. Not to say its bad, he doesnt run away from me when i put my hand in his cage to pet him. He also loves his daily warm baths.

 

[Odin_the_tegu]

how do i upload photos? i cant even get my damn avatar to work. lol

 

[reptastic]

you can upload them to a photo sharing site like photobucket and then copy and past here! as for your avatar you should be able to go to your user control panel(look for it at the top of this page) go to edit avatar and voila just upload from your computer!

 

[Odin_the_tegu]

this is easiest way for me to link photos. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://picasaweb.google.com/104653761626113925756/Odin?feat=directlink" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://picasaweb.google.com/10465376162 ... directlink</a><!-- m -->

 

[Odin_the_tegu]

I just measured him for the first time in 5 days and he is already 1" longer!!!! man see this is why im going to love my tegu. big lizards are fun to play with and make other ppl look at you like ur crazy to own such a pet. but for me personally i love them and not the furry make a hairy mess everywhere kinda pets.

 

[jjollie]

congrats; on your new tegu

 

[Odin_the_tegu]

Thanks