Small update and a question

[Aardbark]

Godzilla is doing fine and is nice and healthy. She eats a lot everyday. Mostly ground turkey now, she has become unintrested in crickets. I think crickets are to small for her now, and she just ignores them. She is pooing fine too, though sometimes annoyingly in her water.

I sometimes let her wander around my liveing room, which is mostly empty. She goes exploring. Lately though, she has even been climbing up things too. She managed to climb up my curtins to get up to my windowsill. I think she wants to go outside, but she is still to small for that.

Which leads me to the question. She seems to dislike her cage. Whenever she is awake, she is skurrying about her cage, digging it up, and looking for a way out. Two times she has escaped the cage (due to me not closeing it properly) She climbs up the side of the glass with the help of the misting hose, and the thermometer.

What she does seem to like, is my bed. I take her out of the cage, and let her on my bed. I put come covers over her, and she seems happy and goes to sleep. I have even started just letting her spend the night there. I have a queen sized bed, so I just give her a section, and use the rest. When I wake in the morning, she is usualy up against my leg. She even crawled into my shirt this morning.

Is this a bad habit? Is there something that Im teaching her thats wrong? I think its kind of cute, but I just want her to be happy and she doesnt seem happy in her cage. Im getting a larger cage for her soon. Is this normal behavior of a tegu that wants a bigger cage? The tempatures and humidity are fine. Its odd, but she seems to perfer the cooler side of the cage over the warmer. Only after she has eaten does she ever go to the warm side.

 

[Steven.]

Maybe put something soft in her cage like a pillow or a dog bed... She might like the comfort. Everytime i hold prime, he'll lay on my chest.. When im in bed or on the chair. I personally would love to sleep with him but he like my chest and i sleep on my side... It would probably be the worst sleep ever...lol... I would definently look into a bigger cage though with a nice soft pillow under the basking spot...

 

[Aardbark]

Yea, when ever I hsve her in the bed and I try to sleep, its not a good or comfortable sleep. im to worried about squishing her. I sleep for like, little 30 min spurts.

 

[chelvis]

I found Bosco hated the second cage I gave him because he did not like the hides I provided. I had given him some cork bark, half log and a flipped over cat litter pan to hide under. I would come home or wake up to a tegu in the bed! I made a hut out of a 5 gallon rubbermaid container, simply cut a hole in the side of it. I filled it with moss and coconut husk. Now every night he goes in there and curls up to sleep. Another upside is I can keep the humidity in the hut much higher than his whole cage, trying to keep a 6x3 cage at 70-80% humidity is tricky.

 

[dragonmetalhead]

Your tegu is trustworthy enough to sleep in bed with you at night? That is awesome. There is no way I would consider doing that with any of my reptiles, lol. Kodo usually spends a good chunk of the time buried in the Eco Earth (unless I have him out with me) but typically lays down atop the rock pile directly under the heat lamps after eating. I call it his PBP, or post-brekfast bask. The heat gets their digestive system going so it makes sense Godzilla is doing that.

 

[Aardbark]

I dont know if she is trustworthy or not. I just know that as long as she is under the covers, she doesnt move about and wont jump off the bed. Or at leas she hasnt yet. Other than under my bed, there isnt much space in my room. So even if she did go exploring, I could find her later. There is nowhere for her to get lost, no holes in the walls or sometihng. Also, I always wait till she poos before taking her to my bed.

Im getting a 6'x5' cage for her next month, so untill then, I guess she can have a corner of my bed. I wonder if I can put a heat pad under the blanket or something for her.

 

[james.w]

What size cage is she in now? How long is she? What are the temps and humidity and how are you measuring them? Can you post some pics of the cage?

 

[dragonmetalhead]

I wouldn't stick a heat pad in your bed; I've heard too many stories involving fire and death when something like that is done. Cats and dogs have been known to wake their owners at the sign of smoke but I don't know if a lizard, even one as intelligent as a tegu, would do that. Please don't take the risk, man.

 

[Aardbark]

Oh, I wasnt going to put in a heat pad, just musing the idea, lol.

The heat is 80 cold and 100 warm, and the humidity is on avrage at 50% (low I know, but even with a mister its hard to raise higher) Im measureing the temps with thermometers (I didnt know there was more than one way, lol) The cage itself is a 35 gallon terrerium, with cyprus mulch. Tegu length is maybe 14" includeing tail (I think, that is just by looking at her. She wont stay still to measure)

 

[james.w]

What type/size bulbs are you using? I'm gonna guess the cage is a bit too hot since you use thermometers and get 100 degree temps. You should get a temp gun or a thermometer with a probe at least. Does the tank have a screen top, is it covered at all? What are the dimensions of the 35 gallon.