My journey

[Griffin]

Yeah with Livvy I don’t even bother trying to carry her in my hands up the stairs to the bath tub so instead I pick her up and place her in a small plastic box, carry it up and put her in the tub and she’s completely fine. And with that method she doesn’t have to stress and squirm about like a tweaker in my hands and luckily I haven’t ever created that association when she is in my hands.

 

[James Smith]

I was thinking of doing that, but I was worried that would actually stress BOGA out more. I like that ideal. I will try that tomorrow. Sounds like another adventure is brewing...

 

[James Smith]

Griffin I would like to say bath time went better than expected. It was a little water training and bath time together. After bath time he was rewarded with a pinky mouse and small salmon wedges with kiwifruit on the side, a meal fit for a King.
Thank you for the advice.

 

[Griffin]

Awesome, glad to hear !

 

[James Smith]

Hey guys, I have a question. When I built BOGA enclosure I installed 2/...25 watt UVB T8 bulbs and I mounted them to the back of the enclosure. It sits about 28 inches from the surface. The enclosure is for now 5×3×30. Is this enough UVB light for him or should I get stronger bulbs?

 

[James Smith]

I have decided to scale dow the enclosure build. It's for several reasons, however the sure size of this build is already taking up most of the den. It will 8×3×30 which is plenty of room.

 

[Walter1]

A good size.

 

[James Smith]

I agree with you Walter1. As you can see in the pic. I was going to run the enclosure over the 2×4 laid on the floor but if you noticed that do not leave much room for moving around the room for the both of us.

I was trying to go over and beyond what is just an okay size for my new buddy. Sometimes less is more...not this size is less though. This enclosure is still massive lol.

 

[AlphaAlpha]

looking good.

 

[James Smith]

Thanks AlphaAlpha. I still need to put in the new window on the end and skin the rest of it with the cedar siding and then lastly place the mattress on top. I think for the first build I did okay. It definitely built like a tank. I love that is completely waterproof too.

If I could do it all over again, I would have made the enclosure in a way so it could be disassembled. The enclosure is glue, screwed, chalk and watersealed.

 

[Zyn]

Just remember Ceder is toxic to reptiles

 

[James Smith]

Now I just need to put the siding on and done.
Zyn do you think if the siding is on the outside of the enclosure it would still be a problem? I knew it was toxic but I thought if it was on the outside it wouldn't be an issue. You raise a good point. Now I'm concerned....

 

[James Smith]

BOGA boy decided to sleep out of his enclosure with me. Going on 3 hours now...

 

[Walter1]

BOGA boy designed to sleep out of his enclosure with me. Going on 3 hours now...View attachment 13292

Hale and hearty looking.

 

[James Smith]

Okay guys I have an interesting question I think. I watched a video and in the video there was a young lady who seems pretty knowledgeable about Tegus. She mentioned that you should not feed your Tegu before they go down in brumation because they will have trouble digesting their food and the food would just sit in their stomach and rot, causing sickness and possibly death. Here's my question. How do you know when your Tegu is going down in brumation? I understand by watching their habits you should know that they are going down in brumation but you might have fed them one or twice and that food is now in their stomach. Any thoughts?

 

[Walter1]

They spend more and more time hidden and are much less interested in eating, so you provide a cooler end and shorten basking time to allow them to digest and sleep e.pty. Keep water available just in case.

 

[James Smith]

He is definitely spending more and more time hidden. He is up around 4:30-5:00 am then he burrows under between 11am and 3pm., so my question is do I keep providing food or cut back?...because he is definitely showing signs of brumation sleep.

 

[Walter1]

Cut back. A little every few days and see what he does.

 

[James Smith]

I think that would be best Walter1. Will do... thank you.

Hey go to his Facebook page and see our progress. I just uploaded a new video from this morning. The Adventure of BOGA is the page name. Leave a comment if you could.

 

[Walter1]

I'd be happy to but I do not have a facebook page.

Maybe once in a while post one here.