Riddle keeps climbing his tree to the light fixture

[mystiandcody]

I recently bought a baby Columbian Tegu and he's really chill as expected, but I have noticed some strange behaviors.

When he's in his tank, he's always - ALWAYS - either in his hide or trying to climb his fake plant to get to his heat lamp (unless he's hungry of course). I know staying in the hide is normal, but we're a little concerned about the climbing. We have a heat bulb on the top of his cage, and once he reaches the top of the plant, he just sits there and licks the top of the screen cover where the lamp is sitting.

Is this normal behaviors for Tegus? I searched the internet and found no luck with similar stories, so I'd just like some input for people with Tegu experience. This is our first, so we're constantly doing hard research on behavior and training tips.


A picture of our little guy climbing is included. (The tank looks dirty, but it's just the water droplets from misting his tank)

 

[KritterKeeper]

My Columbian likes to climb too..he likes to go to the highest point and look for an escape route. Maybe the plants should be moved so he can't reach the light..? What's your basking temp and how are u measuring it?

 

[bfb345]

what type of light are you using

 

[mystiandcody]

We still only have the 10gal starter tank for now (he's still a baby - maybe 6in long) (getting a bigger tank ASAP) and it came with the standard heat bulb and we bought separate gauges. The temp stays at 85-95 F. As of right now the tank isn't big enough to move it around to where he can't get to the light, but we will be changing up the setup when we get a larger tank.

 

[bfb345]

yeah his basking spot needs to be hotter around 110 and he needs uvb that standard bulb only gives off heat and soon enough your little baby will have metabolic bone disease and you will be very unhappy