Toho the tegu's enclosure

[Ambriel]

My first ever tegu and my first ever diy enclosure build. I did weeks of research. It was frustrating. I am in no way a carpenter, didn't have any of the needed tools, nor the space to work in. (Its winter up here in Montana and I live right in the middle of town. Wood workshop welcome to my living room!) After reading through dozens and dozens of how to articles, watching hours and hours of youtube videos, getting more and more frustrated at how complicated it all was in these tutorials, I decided to do what I usually do. I winged it, backed by hours of dedicated research I chose a diy tegu enclosure guide and tweaked it to make it my own. The outside is a little wonky and uneven, but the inside is gorgeous and Toho lives is grandeur. So, below are pictures of its freshly set up, along with more pictures followed weeks later when I added more goodies inside.

The top two were taken one day after setup. Below are the more recent pics.

I added a top layer of leaves and sphagnum moss. He loves it!

 

[Walter1]

It looks wonderful. How big?

 

[Ambriel]

Thank you! 8'long x 4'wide x 3' tall

 

[Walter1]

A good forever home.

 

[Ambriel]

I didn't realize what a difference adding the leaves and moss on top would make, but Toho was obviously delighted with it. He is much more active now and truly seems to enjoy foraging for insects in all the debris. It helps hold in the moisture as well.

 

[Walter1]

I think they benefit a great deal by having something to do, like poke around under leave and things, being active foragers.

 

[Waters]

Looks nice....good job!

 

[Ambriel]

Thank you so much waters. And Walter1 I totally agree. I think because they are so intelligent, its easy for them to get bored when they aren't out for playtime. Especially since he is from Tegusonly and was wild caught. Makes him feel more at home.

 

[Walter1]

Exactly! Sounds to me that you're doing good by your tegu.

When mine are out for the summer, feeding is mostly like slopping hogs. However. I'll withhold a few mice and set them here and yonder for thwm to find.

 

[Ambriel]

Live mice? I thought about purchasing one and setting it loose in the cage to see if he would get it. But I am not sure if he can eat an adult one yet. He is still fairly small. About 24 inches now. His head looks like he might be able to, but then again, maybe not.

 

[Walter1]

No. All frozen/thawed. They're fed communally, at a plate but I'll put a few far from plate so they work a little, tongues aflicking, snouts apoking.

 

[Ambriel]

nice. I only fed him a thawed pinkie twice. He only ever ate one. I have to get more.

 

[Terrreptiles]

Thank you! 8'long x 4'wide x 3' tall

Looks Fantastic ! I hope you foresaw this but. That won't fit through the door... Mine will be 2.5 ft tall so it can be turned sideways and go through the standard size door Might even be very tight if you take the door off the hinges.. Also won't the wood start to mold because of the humidity? Sorry if I'm just being ignorant I will be also taking on a project like this Anyway I hope you get around the issue somehow good luck and hope to hear from you... Greetings!

 

[Waters]

The wood is normally treated with a varathane or polyurethane...or multiple coats of latex paint. You are correct.....this wood doesn't appear to be protected though which will cause issues down the road.

 

[nightanole]

This is going to be hilarious once they are 3ft long and can really dig its going to be like someone took a roto tiller to the place.

 

[Waters]

True.....but it looks nice now I kept all my live plants in pots and stacked rocks around them.

 

[Ambriel]

I did treat the wood, I may need to empty it and apply a new treatment in 3 years. Though it could very well last longer. I just need to keep an eye on it. I built the cage to be dissembled easily in sections. That is how I got it in the room. And yes I have already received various mean, sarcastic and rude comments about the plants being bulldozed. If anyone were able to see the design, most of the plants are positioned on the small sections of the frame, area's he is already too large to burrow in. I did this in the hopes that there would be less chance of him ripping them out. So far it seems to be working beautifully. His favorite spot to burrow is in the wide open center next to his basking rock. I left the entire back of the cage open, but he doesn't like burrowing near the walls because of the frame. You can't see it, but a two by four board runs the entire length about 4 inches from the walls, and on the sides, he can't comfortably get in there. There is only just enough substrate to cover the board, so I stuck the plants there. And as he grows, if he eventually does away with all the plants, so be it. I like them and wanted the enclosure to be bio active and as real as possible so I chose hardy varieties that can survive the occasional uprooting and re-planting if need be. I hope to be able to get him out and exercise him enough that his enclosure will mostly be for sleeping and his brumation. Either way, I love it and don't mind changes as he grows. I just wish everyone else would have a more relaxed attitude about the plants. I researched and do realize that most people forgo plants because they get ripped up, it was a calculated risk that I took anyway. He is young and small enough that I am hoping the roots will be firmly established and will hold up against him when he is bigger, if not, it was a nice try. I don't mind a tegu being a tegu and I am sure he does appreciate real live plants rather than plastic ones to liven up his living space.

 

[bocacash]

You done good...and with Toho's well being in mind...don't let anybody tell you different ! Sounds like you will be flexible and on top of things as he grows...that is very important ! ENJOY Toho...while he enjoys his home ! Good luck !

 

[Ambriel]

You done good...and with Toho's well being in mind...don't let anybody tell you different ! Sounds like you will be flexible and on top of things as he grows...that is very important ! ENJOY Toho...while he enjoys his home ! Good luck !

Thank you! I am already so in love with him and I am thoroughly enjoying being a caretaker to such a wonderful reptile. :- )

 

[EnjoysWine]

The plants look great and I think it's worth the try to see which ones last long term. What did you use to seal the wood?