Question about my tegu Argentene B&W tegu.

[Adamsaller]

So I've had my Argentene B&W tegu for about 2 months. I got her at a reptile show and they guy I bought if from said he got the tegu from his friend who couldn't keep up with it. It dosent look like any Argentene I've ever seen and its my first tegu I've ever owned. I was just wondering if it was an actual Argentene. I've also noticed the white is very dull and looks grayish brown. I feed her ground turkey with egg and she seems to love that, I also have all the correct lighting for it and she is in a 6 by 3 foot cage. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong that is making the white fade or maybe it's that I haven't given it a bath. But she has a large water bowl that she soaks in a lot so I don't think she is dirty. Is there anything I can do to bring out the white in her or is she always going to look that way?

 

[Adamsaller]

I should also mention that she hasn't shed since I got her on November 28, 2015.

 

[snibborsirk]

Can you post a pic for us too see the coloration? The white coloration on argentines varies greatly. Some have a much more muted light coloration that's more of a gray, golden, or even a tan/brown. Give her the proper UVB lighting and living conditions along with a proper diet and supplements and you can bring out the best in her coloration. This is generally a slow growth time for tegus so it can def be normal for her not to have shed. How old is she? Remember to keep the humidity up to promote proper shedding! Congrats and good luck

 

[Adamsaller]

 

[Adamsaller]

Can you post a pic for us too see the coloration? The white coloration on argentines varies greatly. Some have a much more muted light coloration that's more of a gray, golden, or even a tan/brown. Give her the proper UVB lighting and living conditions along with a proper diet and supplements and you can bring out the best in her coloration. This is generally a slow growth time for tegus so it can def be normal for her not to have shed. How old is she? Remember to keep the humidity up to promote proper shedding! Congrats and good luck

Ok here's some pics and I built the cage myself.

 

[snibborsirk]

Def an argentine. Looks like one of the wild caught or captive hatched Florida population of black and whites. May get a little lighter in color as she ages but will prob not suddenly be a bright white! If you haven't already, be sure to provide some hiding areas and some cypress mulch or a comparible substrate deep enough for burrowing. They are a burrowing species so they can stress out severely not having hides and burrowing areas.

 

[Adamsaller]

Def an argentine. Looks like one of the wild caught or captive hatched Florida population of black and whites. May get a little lighter in color as she ages but will prob not suddenly be a bright white! If you haven't already, be sure to provide some hiding areas and some cypress mulch or a comparible substrate deep enough for burrowing. They are a burrowing species so they can stress out severely not having hides and burrowing areas.

Thanks for the info. I have a few hides in there and shese currently inside one pushing it around. Didn't know about the mulch though. I'll be sure to go out and buy some within the next few days. Just one last question, the entire cage is hardware cloth(really thick wire mesh) so how am I suppose to maintain humidity? Mist every day? I mist once a week currently but there is a very large waterbowl in there she likes to soak in.

 

[snibborsirk]

To be honest, you'll prob always struggle with humidity without having a solid sided, sealed enclosure. Perhaps running a humidifier in the room would help but it will still be difficult to keep humidity up unless you are in a naturally humid area. Some tegus still do ok without the high humidity levels, but more often than not it leads to bad shedding issues and can cause unneeded stress on them physically.

 

[Walter1]

Welcome. Maybe include a solid hide and partially fill with moist, not damp, sphagnum moss to help with shedding in case ambient is too dry.

Not surprised about slowdown of shedding this time of year. They have a strong seasonal componant to their life cycle. Growth, activity, etc. will pick up in the spring.

 

[OEFVet]

I can second Walter1. I got mine about a month ago and she shed everything but the tail. After speaking to Walter1, he said to get the sphagnum moss and place it in the hide. Worked like a charm. Just a couple days later the tail was shed and has shed again since then.