New to Tegus, but not new to herps in general.

[Gator]

Greetings, salutations, and Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep ni ni bong.
We currently have nine different herps ranging from frogs, to Gecks, to four Beardies. The idea of a large "lap lizard" has always been a dream and it would appear it will soon be a reality. Before it happens, (next couple months) I'm covering all my basics. Reading, reading, and more reading about care and such. I'm building an enclosure to fit my living room wall. Should be around ten feet long when it's done.
Once i get past the framing stages, I'll need to start hardwiring the lights, fans, and such. Any suggestions/blueprints/battle plans, and trusted resource lists that y'all have would be welcomed so I can absorb as much of it as possible to give our new child their best possible home.
Thanks in advance.
Gator

 

[rantology]

Other than the info on this forum, I found this book pretty helpful to reference leading up to when I got my little dude.

For lights: Go for Philips 72w Halogen Flood lights for basking - they give the perfect temperature gradient and a wide basking zone at about 2 ft suspended (and they're pretty cheap!). Otherwise check out www.lightyourreptiles.com for various lighting options. I went with 2 flood light domes for basking (will probably add a 3rd when Darrow is bigger) and 3 T5 fixtures (one UVB and two daylight) for my 8ft enclosure. I personally don't really feel comfortable with mercury vapor bulbs but those are an option too.

Tegus are known to occasionally jump at lights so you will need to make sure all the fixtures are properly secured / bolted. Depending on your build you may not need a fan - I thought I would but it's not an issue at all. 10 ft enclosure sounds epic, you will have to post lots of pics!

 

[Gator]

Wasn't aware about the jumping. I'm most likely going to be building this at a four foot interior height. I'm hoping that'll be sufficient.
I've read/heard a few places that two feet (depth) of substrate is recommended. Is this correct? He/She will have a number of rock dens to hide in. Trying for as natural as possible for the interior.

 

[rantology]

Wasn't aware about the jumping. I'm most likely going to be building this at a four foot interior height. I'm hoping that'll be sufficient.
I've read/heard a few places that two feet (depth) of substrate is recommended. Is this correct? He/She will have a number of rock dens to hide in. Trying for as natural as possible for the interior.

Two feet is a lot. You can certainly do that but as long as they have at least 12-15 inches they'll be happy. I like to fill the inside of the hide with sphagnum moss on top of that (kind of like a pillow ) - as long as they can cover themselves and they have a dark hide, they will feel secure (and they aren't terribly tall animals). And you only need this extra depth in the hide, other parts of the enclosure can be more shallow.

 

[Debita]

Welcome to the forum! I agree with "Rant" about the substrate. And - I think the hide is far more important. Mine def stopped digging/burrowing after I built a hide that is big enough to fit both Tegus. The Repti-bark is in their hide and enclosure, but they don't dig at all now. I've heard that 6-8 inches is even plenty!

I envy your 10 ft space! Your buddy will love that. From personal experience, I've seen how they are much more relaxed and content with more space. The jumping happens when they're young. We had a member that had a prob when his Tegu jumped and brought down a lamp, that started a fire. Everything is fine now, but it's def a caution worth thinking about. 4 ft high ceiling should be good once it's an adult. Mostly they jump at the front glass, but I do remember one of mine going from corner to corner to find a weak spot that they might escape from.

If you haven't decided what you're getting....don't forget to check out Tegusonly.com ... Beautiful Black/White Tegus for way less cost than the reptile stores. Rodney Irwin is the owner that actually goes out and rescues the Florida Tegus before the Florida Game Dept kills them. Spectacular color and size... and he is very easy to work with. Both of mine are from him, and many other members of this forum have them too. Pretty sure all are happy with their animals.
Rodney Irwins' ph: (305) 772-8140

 

[Gator]

Glad to hear We dont have to have two feet worth of substrate. I was not looking forward to filling that up by hand, much less cleaning/cycling it all out. As for our space, we bought a decent sized house. It's only my wife, myself, and our disabled son. We have a bit more room for "kids" so I figure we can utilize it to give as many as possible a good and loving home. To be fair, this one will max us out I believe. I'll have to start decommissioning spare bedrooms if we decide on any more. Lol! As for deciding on our new baby, We are essentially watching local rescues for Tegus. Georgia Reptile Society as an example has a Golden currently. The majority of Scaley babies we have are rescues that were either abandoned or neglected. Attached is one of the pics of one of my previous builds. Built it all from the ground up (including the sliding door glass terrariums) to house our four dragons.

 

[Debita]

Nice enclosures!! Good job on the theme and space you maximized. I love my two rescues. Plenty of personality.

 

[Walter1]

Glad to hear We dont have to have two feet worth of substrate. I was not looking forward to filling that up by hand, much less cleaning/cycling it all out. As for our space, we bought a decent sized house. It's only my wife, myself, and our disabled son. We have a bit more room for "kids" so I figure we can utilize it to give as many as possible a good and loving home. To be fair, this one will max us out I believe. I'll have to start decommissioning spare bedrooms if we decide on any more. Lol! As for deciding on our new baby, We are essentially watching local rescues for Tegus. Georgia Reptile Society as an example has a Golden currently. The majority of Scaley babies we have are rescues that were either abandoned or neglected. Attached is one of the pics of one of my previous builds. Built it all from the ground up (including the sliding door glass terrariums) to house our four dragons.

Looksome set-ups. You begin with a big experience advantage with tegus.

 

[Gator]

The enclosure is nearing it's completion. Thought I'd share a couple shots of it. Final sizing ended up just over 9' by 4' by 4'.
Utilized Drylock to seal it, and I'll also be heat forming a plastic liner to the interior up to the top of the substrate level.

 

[Debita]

Very nice!

 

[AlphaAlpha]

looking good

 

[Gator]

I totally forgot I never put completion pictures in here. Sorry for that. Precious' house is finished as is the decor around it.

 

[rantology]

Love the signage Love the unique shape, it looks like it turned out awesome!

 

[Gator]

Love the signage Love the unique shape, it looks like it turned out awesome!

Thanks. It ended up being a bit shorter than I initially planned due to space in the living room. We ended up at 9 by 4 by 4.
We went with a 12" depth on her substrate which she is currently buried in for brumation. The two slanted sides are 40" by 40" doors that I can crawl through and sit in her house with her on occasion.
I'm already planning her (and all our other scaleys) a new larger all glass enclosure for the new house we're planning to build.

 

[LizardStudent]

Glad to hear We dont have to have two feet worth of substrate. I was not looking forward to filling that up by hand, much less cleaning/cycling it all out. As for our space, we bought a decent sized house. It's only my wife, myself, and our disabled son. We have a bit more room for "kids" so I figure we can utilize it to give as many as possible a good and loving home. To be fair, this one will max us out I believe. I'll have to start decommissioning spare bedrooms if we decide on any more. Lol! As for deciding on our new baby, We are essentially watching local rescues for Tegus. Georgia Reptile Society as an example has a Golden currently. The majority of Scaley babies we have are rescues that were either abandoned or neglected. Attached is one of the pics of one of my previous builds. Built it all from the ground up (including the sliding door glass terrariums) to house our four dragons.

I'm sure you will find this in your reading up on tegu care, but I feel that I must add a comment here - I see that you say you are hoping for a lap lizard when getting a tegu and that you are also possibly considering a gold tegu. A good number of people report that colombians tend to be more aggressive / less outwardly friendly than Argentines or otherwise, and some would say that a gold tegu is less likely to be a lap lizard. This being said, if you explore this forum you will see that some keepers report getting young gold tegus and that they grow up to be great pets and these keepers don't seem to understand the poor rep that gold tegus tend to get. Nonetheless, the general consensus seems to be that golds are more private and wanting to be handled less than other tegus. Of course, every gu has its own personality - grumpier Argentines may want left alone more than some friendly colombians. Overall, I hope you find what you're looking for and that you end up having a smooth bonding experience with whatever animal you end up with just perhaps something to keep in mind with your search

 

[Gator]

I'm sure you will find this in your reading up on tegu care, but I feel that I must add a comment here - I see that you say you are hoping for a lap lizard when getting a tegu and that you are also possibly considering a gold tegu. A good number of people report that colombians tend to be more aggressive / less outwardly friendly than Argentines or otherwise, and some would say that a gold tegu is less likely to be a lap lizard. This being said, if you explore this forum you will see that some keepers report getting young gold tegus and that they grow up to be great pets and these keepers don't seem to understand the poor rep that gold tegus tend to get. Nonetheless, the general consensus seems to be that golds are more private and wanting to be handled less than other tegus. Of course, every gu has its own personality - grumpier Argentines may want left alone more than some friendly colombians. Overall, I hope you find what you're looking for and that you end up having a smooth bonding experience with whatever animal you end up with just perhaps something to keep in mind with your search

We actually ended up adopting a lovely young lady from a rescue. She's a two year old black and white named Precious and is quickly becoming a snugglebug.

 

[Mother of dragons]

Glad to hear We dont have to have two feet worth of substrate. I was not looking forward to filling that up by hand, much less cleaning/cycling it all out. As for our space, we bought a decent sized house. It's only my wife, myself, and our disabled son. We have a bit more room for "kids" so I figure we can utilize it to give as many as possible a good and loving home. To be fair, this one will max us out I believe. I'll have to start decommissioning spare bedrooms if we decide on any more. Lol! As for deciding on our new baby, We are essentially watching local rescues for Tegus. Georgia Reptile Society as an example has a Golden currently. The majority of Scaley babies we have are rescues that were either abandoned or neglected. Attached is one of the pics of one of my previous builds. Built it all from the ground up (including the sliding door glass terrariums) to house our four dragons.

You can get isopods springtails that will help keep your enclosures healthy I love building bio actives. The springtails eat the poop and any bacteria.