New Tegu..

[jhatz]

Hey guys!

New to owning a tegu, I've had my Columbian black and white for 2 weeks now. i'm having trouble getting him to interact with me or my girlfriend. He's only out for 1-2 hours a day, and it's always when I'm at work. I'm eager to get to handling him, but I can't do that if he's buried in the substrate! If I am home when he is out, I make sure to sit near the tank and talk calmly so he gets to know me.

Any ideas on what I can do?

Few notes:

His basking spot is about 100-105, and I'm keeping humidity over 60% at all times.
He's about 12" long in a 12x30 tank, should be good for his size right??
He isn't hesitant about eating. He loves crickets, turkey and blueberries. Just only in the morning it seems then he hides. I've had beardies before, but he's definitely a challenge so far!

Any tips/info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

- Jeremy

 

[Skeep]

That sounds pretty normal. My girl went through a period of time where I almost never got to see her. Eventually, she settled into a routine where she would be active from about 8am to 1pm so now I shifted my schedule to see her in the mornings. Anyway!

You might want to raise the basking temperature to 125. I keep the hot side ambient around 95. Boosting the temperature will help get him more active. Also I would try to get him into a full sized cage as soon as possible. That way he'll have some more room and get more comfortable.

 

[jhatz]

Thanks Skeep, I'm working the girlfriend into the idea of a bigger enclosure now!!

Any recommendations on how to get it up to 125? I feel like my 100W heat lamp isn't nearly enough...

 

[Skeep]

Other than getting a higher wattage, or second bulb, you can raise the basking spot closer to the lamp to increase the surface temperature. I have used a heat mat underneath the basking tile to raise the temperature when I was having trouble, before her permanent larger cage arrived. I just bought a piece of glass to stick the mat to, and put the tile ontop of that. Or you can stick the heat mat under the tank but then you can't raise it closer to the light if you need (or move it to a new spot!)

 

[Walter1]

A dark basking platform will hold heat better as well.

 

[jhatz]

That's something I hadn't considered. His platform now is wood, would something that conducts heat more be a better choice?