Pink Panther Tegu & Me!

[Retics & Tegus]

From years of growing up with dogs. As a kid thru my teens I will always remember my first personal pets. My first which was a Male Beta Fish named Viper. Then buying my first hamster, a Syrian named Oreo. To my first big pet project a 45 Gallon community fish tank. I have always loved animals and cherished each and every life I was able to call - both passed and current - pet, family, and friend.

Though my dream pets didn't have the same cuteness and boop-able snoots to my family. Afraid or Disgusted I respected their opinions and was happy with the fluffy and aquatic friends I had. I did struggle for a bit to adapt to their wants and mine, having to study and admire them from a far. Though now I am finally able to start branching out and into the scaly critters worlds that I love. At the top of that list being Tegus & Reticulated Pythons, though I am sure in the late future I will branch out further.

I'm going to start my introduction to the reptile lifestyle with a Pink Panther Tegu. At the moment I am currently talking to Jesse's Jungle @ https://www.facebook.com/JessesJungle on Facebook. Still going through guides and researching everything I will need for his arrival and for his coming life. I will list what I have so far below for my unfinished set up and care, an If I am misinformed about something or am going off outdated advice, please do tell me! I've read and watched hundreds of guides and care videos and everyone has very different styles and opinions through their own experiences. All advice and criticism is very happily received and appreciated.

Side Note: I currently live in a house with my own large room so I will have plenty of room to upgrade his enclosure in the future for him to grow as well.

Breeder

• https://www.facebook.com/JessesJungle
• Jesse's Jungle

Hatchling Price

• 350 + S&H(60) = 410

Cage / Housing

• 45 Gallon Fish Tank (Temporary)
  • Cleaned with Diluted Bleach and Soap

Food

• Insects (Dusted with Calcium)
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Meat
  • Fish, Chicken, Turkey, Beef
• Boiled & Scrambled Eggs
  • A very Rare Raw Egg as a Treat

Water & Food Bowl

• Large Water Bowl
• Food Bowl / Platform

Reptile Supplement

• Zoo-Med Repti Calcium without D3
• Multivitamins
  • Are they needed if I feed a healthy variety of plants / vegetables / fruit (or at all) ???

Substrate

• Keep seeing reviews with Nats (insect), skin, and belly issues with Cypress Mulch.
• So I want to try Coconut Coir & Eco Earth.
  • Opinions & Advice would be nice.

Lighting

• UVB
  • Full spectrum lights (Still looking for the best brand)
• UVA
  • I see some people with and without this. Advice / Opinions?
• HeatLamp
  • As with the other 3 lights above, still reading about the best bulbs and set ups. Advice & Opinions Happily accepted. Looking for 2-in-1 set ups and then the separate heat lamp preferably.

Hide

• Large Hide
  • (On Cool End)

Basking Rock / Tile

• Large Basking Rock
  • (On Hot End)

Mister / Spray Bottle

• To Keep Humidity Up beside the Large water bowl

Vet Bills

• Put away $10-20 a month

Humidity and Temperature

• Is something needed to monitor this? I'm going to get one either way but opinions and advice would be cool.

Humidity

• 60 thru 90%
  • I live in California, so tips for keeping up humidity would be great

Temperature

• The basking spot should be between 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
• The rest of the enclosure should be in the 80s.

If I am missing anything. Pleaaaaaaaaaaase do not be shy and tell me. I have been reading about Tegus for quite some time and officially decided to pursue one recently. So I want to start this little guys life off right and happily for both of us.

 

[EnjoysWine]

Hi. Looks like you're collecting a good bit of information. There's lots more on this forum, so keep going.

I have a few comments:
-They grow fast, so be prepared for the Tegu to outgrow the 45 gallon tank fairly quickly.
-Dust all the food with calcium unless the food has bones in it.
-Add whole prey into the food list, starting with pinky mice.
-I personally also stay away from cypress mulch. Coconut fiber, peat moss, and organic potting soil works.
-MegaRay blubs are great for UV, and they degrade in UV output much slower than most other blubs so you can worry less about reduced UV output over time.
-Tips for humidity: Get one of those spray bottles that you pressurize with a hand pump. Some pet stores have them, or you can also get them from hardware stores. I give the enclosure a good spray (nearly a soak but not quite) at least once a day, and I've never had humidity problems.
-I would make the basking spot a bit hotter say around 110F. And having a cool area closer to 75F would be good too.

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

As the other poster mentioned they grow fast, and by fast I mean you can expect one to possibly go from a 10" hatchling to 20 inches in a month, I personally would do no less than a 75 gallon (48x18x20) however if you use the 45 gallon and then immediately start working on an enclosure it may work. Also may want to keep grow tents in mind if you don't care too much about how it looks on the outside. I personally use a 8x4x6 grow tent and so far it's worked great.

As far as substrate goes cypress mulch and eco earth are both great options, mixing them together would probably be best. I personally use a mixture of cypress mulch, eco earth, peat moss, washed play sand, and then organic soil.


As far as food goes i'd suggest buying the majority of the meat online, I personally use this raw dog/cat food site for my tegu and their food is pretty good. My tegu loves it, especially the sardines.
https://hare-today.com/

This is my tegus current diet,
Insects - Superworms, crickets, dubia roaches and hornworms.
Veggies/greens - Collard, turnip and mustard greens.
Fruits - Mango, blueberries, strawberries, banana, kiwi, apple, red raspberries, black raspberries, and blackberries.
Whole prey - Fuzzy-hopper mice and on occasion, I'll feed her a dead baby pigeon (that or one that's still developing inside its egg).
Raw meats - ground rabbit, ground pheasant, ground sardines, ground salmon, ground chicken feet, a ground venison beef bone blend, ground tripe with spleen, ground turkey, chicken liver, chicken hearts, chicken gizzards and of course chicken blood. (All ground items have bones and organs mixed in).
Eggs - Fresh raw pigeon eggs (wont accept any other form), and on the rare occasion I manage to get my hands on freshly laid chicken eggs she may eat that as well.


Multivitamins is definitely needed in my opinion, I personally dust 5x a week with calcium without d3 and then 2x a week with multivitamins.



As far as lighting goes I personally use a megaray 160 watt bulb alongside a halogen bulb. Works great so far, but will be adding a Arcadia T5 HO 14% 46" UVB tube light soon... that is once they get more in stock.


As far as humidity goes I personally have a spray bottle that I use to mist the enclosure every morning and night daily until the humidity reads 99%.
Which sucks... hand cramps aren't fun. So i'd personally suggest getting a misting system, a humidifier or one of those spray bottles that you just pump. I don't keep the humidity at 99% 24/7, I just mist until it reaches that point once in the morning and once in the evening, it normally goes down throughout the day.


I'd say keep the basking spot between 100-120. I currently have my basking spot mainly at 110-115 but there are areas that are around 90-100 if she wants to bask at a lower temp.
I'd also suggest keeping the cool side between 70-75 for the most part.


As far as monitoring both the humidity and temps go, I personally use a digital zoomed two in one temperature and humidity gauge with a probe to monitor the humidity and the air temps. I use a temp gun to monitor the surface temps.

 

[Zyn]

What’s the genetic makeup of a pink panther? I’m guessing it’s just a redxblue or some combo close to it.

I’d ask it’s important to know the cross going into the Tegu there aren’t huge differences but there are some.

Edit:
Reviewed the Facebook page and yeah it’s just a red x blue. Just review their individual needs and you should be good.

 

[Retics & Tegus]

Sorry I haven't replied! I read your comments while laying in bed at the ER and at home these last few days. So firstly thank you to everyone, I will reply when I get home today and have stable connection.

 

[Retics & Tegus]

Due to medical and financial issues. I wont be getting a tegu anymore. Although I was offered a smaller pair of bearded dragon hatchlings by a nearby breeder I was chatting with and am able to care for them. I will def be getting a tegu later when able. Thanks again for all the information and tips!

 

[EnjoysWine]

Take care, and hope to see you back here if/when you decide again to adopt a Tegu.

 

[Walter1]

Due to medical and financial issues. I wont be getting a tegu anymore. Although I was offered a smaller pair of bearded dragon hatchlings by a nearby breeder I was chatting with and am able to care for them. I will def be getting a tegu later when able. Thanks again for all the information and tips!

Glad you came here for answers to your questions. Best of luck.

 

[Guman]

Stay around and keep learning! I am sure when you get your tegu it will have a good home.