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New gold tegu

Carlyle

New Member
Messages
10
Hey y'all. First time tegu owner here. I picked up an adult female gold tegu from repticon last saturday and I have got my terrarium set up how I want it in a way that she seems ok with but I just wanted to post up the details of my setup and feeding methods and see what veteran owners have to say and maybe give some pointers if necessary.

Terrarium: 48x14x18 I think? It's a 75 gallon.

Substrate: one bag Cypress mulch, two bags eco earth, is about 4-5 inches deep, enough for her to submerge completely

Lighting: reptisun 5.0 uvb on cool side left on for 12 hour cycles, I can't find the box for basking bulb but it's a white 150w heat bulb I leave on 24/7. Heating in basking area is about 90-100 depending if I have ac on in my apartment or not. Towels on top of the cage covering entire surface except hole for heat lamp to shine through so the light is only on in a small part of cage when uvb light is off which I presume would be enough darkness during night time cycle. She doesn't seem to have a problem sleeping in dark side of cage and doesn't seem to be cold either so I think she's okay, I have not checked temp on cool side.

Humidity:reptifogger running tube througu screen in the top, maintain a pretty constant 60-70% humidity in the cage and no problems with shedding, once again I use towels on top of cage to trap heat and humidity inside the cage.

Water/supplements: have been using exoterra calcium+d3 powder in her drinking water.

Have had her about a week now, I believe she is a rescue animal and noticed a few missing claws as she was out and about :( (the seller stated they keep rescue animals so I assume that is what she is) was told she is 3 years old.
I have fed her one mouse each day for the past two days which was the first times I was able to get her to eat. She seems like she has potential to be a sweet pet and isn't too hissy or bitey when I have needed to handle her. Obviously is used to human contact. Any feedback on my setup or methods would be helpful from experienced owners, I want to have a happy healthy tegu and plan on taking good care of her. Thanks for reading!
 

Zyn

Well-Known Member
Messages
609
Everything looks good but if she really three years old a 75g tank seems way to small. I know columbians stay small and if she wasn’t taken care off she’d be smaller still but I’d look into building something that’s closer to 8’x4’x4’
 

Carlyle

New Member
Messages
10
I'm looking at getting something larger eventually, I figured it would be enough for now. Id say she is about 2-3 ft long with tail. The seller said a 75 gallon would work but would be a little on the small side. I think the max I'd have space for in here would be a 6 foot terrarium. Where would I purchase one that size?
 

Zyn

Well-Known Member
Messages
609
You’d have to build one these reptiles need a large area since they are ground dwellers and not aborea. So it needs to be wide as well as long. I’d say at the very minimum for an adult Golden 6ft long by 4 feet wide
 

Carlyle

New Member
Messages
10
You’d have to build one these reptiles need a large area since they are ground dwellers and not aborea. So it needs to be wide as well as long. I’d say at the very minimum for an adult Golden 6ft long by 4 feet wide
I found some blue prints online to build one and the supplies I would need, how much did you end up spending for building supplies for yours?
 

Zyn

Well-Known Member
Messages
609
Few hundred I used some supply’s froM the job site also so that cut cost also.
 

Carlyle

New Member
Messages
10
Few hundred I used some supply’s froM the job site also so that cut cost also.
I found a 7'x4'x24' monitor enclosure on Facebook markeplace that I will probably end up grabbing here soon, I'm trying to avoid having to build one if possible because I don't really have tools or space to do it in here lol
 

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