Unsure, need some help please

[Shackelford]

Hi guys, so i just bought my very first tegu last week. This is my first reptile i have owned sense a baby. I previously owned a bearded dragon, but i kinda took him over at an older age. Anyways my tegu lives in a 55gal tank right now. He has a corner to with rocks to bask in, some sticks and log to hang out in, and a water dish. He has heat lamps on both sides of the cage. The problem seems to be he never wants to be out. He buries himself and will stay there and never move. We have got him up and he will eat, but for the most part he just wants to stay buried. I talked to the store i bought him from and all he said is he sounds fine and i should think about buying him a friend. Is this normal for them to do this? Anything helps

 

[Toby_H]

lol @ buying him a friend. Selling you somethign is always the Pet Shops solution

Argentinean Tegus hibernate. So chances are he just trying to sleep through the winter.

They do not always go into 'full hibernation' you should at least expect him to slow down in the winter. Also, it seems the first winter they are more likely to hibernate more than subsequent winters.

Your experience doesn't sonud at all abnormal and buying another potentially 4' lizard probably isn't a good idea right now.

 

[brazilman93]

why do you have heat lamps on both sides of the tank? Tegu's are not like bearded dragons, they don't like constant heat. You should have a gradient where one side is high 80's/ low 90's with a basking spot of about 105, then the cool side of the tank should be low 80's. you should also be misting his cage daily to maintain a humidy above 50%.

 

[isdrake]

Brazilman93 has a good point. Maybe the Tegu stays burrowed to escape the heat.

(Bearded dragons needs a cool side too).

 

[txrepgirl]

You just mentioned about having two basking lights in there but do you have any UVB light in there, too. One basking light is fine. Here is some info for you to check out. This carsheet is from the best Tegu breeder out there.

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[kaa]

I agree with everyone, Do not get another until you are confident you are taking proper care of this one. Move the heat lamps to one side if you are having trouble getting the temperature up. I also recommend turning them off until the gu comes out, if it is hibernating, then it doesn't need the heat anyway, just make sure it doesn't drop below 60. Get the uvb if you don't have it, and follow that care sheet to the t, and you will be fine.