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New Tegu Owner Question!

Alec Bennett

New Member
Messages
20
Location
Yucaipa, Ca
Hello TeguTalk!

I am excited to say that tomorrow, I will be the owner of an Argentine Red. This is the most excited I have been to own a reptile, and I own some pretty exotic/special ones. Two days ago, I finally dialed in my enclosure’s airflow, humidity, coolside/warmside/basking spot temperatures, and of course...security. I would love if some of you would give me some advice! THE QUESTIONS I HAVE ARE AT THE END OF THE POST!

Here are the frequent specs for my enclosure (tested for the last two days):

Enclosure Description:
Dimensions - 8x4x4,
Material - Cedar Plywood w/ Drylock
Substrate - Organic Pete Moss 20%
Organic Top Soil 60%
Play Sand 20%
Lighting - UVB 10.0 (26 Watt)
Two heat emitters (100 Watt)

Conditions:
Humidity 65% - 75%
Coolside: 75 F - 82 F
Warmside: 85 F - 90 F
Basking: 98 F - 105 F

Questions:

1. Is it okay for my to put my two month old tegu in this big of enclosure, given that the conditions are stated as above.

2. Any first week trust building advice?

3. What are your guy’s feeding schedules and diets for young tegus? (Under 6 months)

4. How do you feel about my enclosure?

5. Should I add isopods and earthworms to make my soil bioactive?


Thank you guys for all your help so far. If any of you are wondering, I am receiving my beautiful boy from Rose City Reptiles TX. I am going to be very active in the forums from this point on!
 

Zyn

Well-Known Member
Messages
609
I’d make sure the entire enclosure is sealed well I know Ceder is toxic to Tegus and all reptiles in general.

But for most of your questions do a quick
Search there are 100s of threads on the topics
 

Waters

Member
Messages
81
Other than the cedar, the enclosure sounds perfect. I have dealt primarily with monitors in the past, but I have had a hard time building a trust relationship with monitors in a large cage with a lot of hides. It has been much easier for me in a smaller cage. The babies ended up spending most of his time hiding.....when not hiding, they wouldn't hesitate to dash into a hide somewhere. I feed my baby tegu daily currently....will slow down as he gets older.
 

Alec Bennett

New Member
Messages
20
Location
Yucaipa, Ca
Other than the cedar, the enclosure sounds perfect. I have dealt primarily with monitors in the past, but I have had a hard time building a trust relationship with monitors in a large cage with a lot of hides. It has been much easier for me in a smaller cage. The babies ended up spending most of his time hiding.....when not hiding, they wouldn't hesitate to dash into a hide somewhere. I feed my baby tegu daily currently....will slow down as he gets older.

I totally see what you mean. I attempted to see the clean slate I was working with, and let me tell you...I’m going to have my work cut out for me. I couldn’t him still for about an hour, until finally he calmed down and began exploring my hand. He ate approx 20 grams of ground turkey until he went back to his basking spot!
 

Waters

Member
Messages
81
I totally see what you mean. I attempted to see the clean slate I was working with, and let me tell you...I’m going to have my work cut out for me. I couldn’t him still for about an hour, until finally he calmed down and began exploring my hand. He ate approx 20 grams of ground turkey until he went back to his basking spot!
Sounds like you are on the right track.......it definitely takes a lot of time and patience. Fortunately Tegus are one of the easier large lizards to work with. :)
 

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