Tell me if I'm crazy...

[nhood97]

So its gotten to that point in time where my little boy is starting to get too big for his current cage. I've got a 9 month old Colombian, at almost 19 inches long a tank that's 36 by 18 just isn't gonna work for much longer. so I'm gonna meet up with a local cage builder in the next week or two and go over some design ideas. I know the standard for a tegu that I've heard is 6 by 3 by 3, but that just doesn't seem big enough, even forbade Colombian. And I want to go all out on this one. So I'm gonna inquire about building a cage thats 6 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 3 feet high. The front side will be sliding glass doors, but it will have a 6 to 12 inch substrate barrier. Due to its large size it will need to be capable of splitting for moving, into two pieces 6 by 2.5 feet. On the hot side I want a multi level basking spot, the lowest being about a two feet from the bulbs and the highest portion one foot or less. The inside of the basking spot will be hollowed out to make a hide. The back wall would be a living wall, with various types of moss and plants growing out of it. Then there would be ground dwelling plants as well. On the cool side, more plants, and a waterfall with a very large pool. I'm thinking somewhere in the range of 18 by 18 or 24 inches for that. And here's the tricky part, I would like to keep live fish and possibly frogs or newts in there for him to eat at whatever time he pleases. So obviously I would need a filter for it. And a drainage system. I was thinking a simple system that drains the pool like a bath tub into a bucket or something. Behind the waterfall, I want a fogging system. So here are my questions: how many bulbs (UV and heat) would be needed for this, and any heating strips to go underneath? What species of plants would be good, obviously extremely hardy but still edible...? What species of frogs are safe for them and yet still cost effective? Newts? Columbian native species are preferable but i dont think he minds much. Which species of fish are healthy enough to be eaten frequently? Cuz I know goldfish are fattening and often disease ridden (made a beginner mistake and fed him those, poor little fella was sick for a week, never again>.<) anyone have experience with fogging systems? Types of bulbs? I'm currently using power suns but I have heard good things about reptiglow. Opinion? Am I crazy for even trying?

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Sorry about the spell check errors. Also, if I were to later on breed my boy would this cage be able to temporarily house a female?

 

[nhood97]

Bump. My Colombians now 21 inches and its time to make the new cage official. And get it started. Im not sure about sliding glass doors, ive heard tegus can pop the glass off the tracks... I'm beginning to have some doubts about keeping fish in the pond area for him. But I'll still consider it. Does anyone have any advice for alterations before I go through with this?

 

[Jstew]

I wouldn't do the fish unless you're ready to spend alot of time delicated to keeping the pond clean fish really are nasty critters. Powersun = 2 thumbs up. Most live plants get dug up by curious gus' so I would stick to fake. I personally wouldn't put any newts or such animals in the set up but I like the 6x5 idea and I'm sure your gu will too. You're on the right track you might just have to tone it down a bit

 

[nhood97]

The more I dwell on it the more I dislike the live fish and stuff in the pond area. He likes fish so I figured an area full of them would be good but too much work, I'll throw some in once in a while for him to eat and that's it. The newts are a definite no at this point. A lot have toxins and I don't want to take that risk. And he might dig up the plants... though its worth a shot. If it works it works if not, i tried. Ya my gu is a spoiled little fella. How many lights do you think would be needed for a cage that size?

 

[HeatherN]

if you do still plan on fish, id suggest fish more related to large minnows, as theyre much healthier. i think he would really enjoy a pool, and a living vivarium would be super cool! but the folks are right about how they dig up most plants. in theory, you could try and work around it by attaching the plants' containers to the floors or walls, or by going with really large plants. and remember, all tegus have their own personalities and habits. i've seen a huge vivarium someone kept an argentine in, and they had things like small palms in heavy, raised pots and hadnt had an issue.

as for lighting, id suggest the tube-style uvb bulbs (tropical output) spanning the cage top parts not equipped with a basking spot. as for basking spot bulbs, i definitely suggest the mercury vapor bulbs like the power suns. just comparing it next to regular uvb/uva bulbs and plain heat bulbs, it just looks so much more like natural sunlight. and when my tegu roams, he will actually seek out my other reptile's full spectrum bulbs (heatless ones) so they definitely like the full spectrum aspect.

 

[nhood97]

I think I'm only gonna put in fish when he's going to eat them. Too complicated to set up the filter system and make it look natural... unless I integrate it into the waterfall... I'll think on it. And my boy digs burrows, but other than that he only digs when he's mad at me, so he makes a mess out of his cage and flings dirt everywhere, and even then its only the corners. So I'm not terribly worried about him digging up the plants. Especially if they're not in the corner. My only worry about the living walls is that he will try to climb them because someone forgot to tell him he's a terrestrial lizard, he's fully convinced that he's arboreal, climbed to the top of the shower curtain in about 20 seconds a few days ago. we'll see how it goes. I'm a bit of a dreamer with my grandiose vivarium plans.