Reptile & Amphibian Forums

u guys really got me pumped for buying a tegus. lol. but i got a few qwestions. im a 15 year old kid and work at a roccy roccoccos. and dont make tht much money. how much is it to buy a tegus. and im lookign for a smaller kind of tegus. like one tht doesnt grow past 3'. i own bearded draogns. im making a cage for the bearded draogns and dont have tons of room for a huge reptile over 3' plus my mom is scared of big lizards tht are as long as her. shes 5'2. i have abut 100$ from my paycheck this week. so how much is it to buy one. i have a 46 gallon bow tank for keeping a baby while i work oon the big cage. also what d they eat and whats a good book to buy on them. and the most important part.... plz tell me the do tht awsoome tounge thing liek a snake. wow i talk (type) alot so im gonna stop typeing now.

Hi, you do sound excited! Their snake like tougue is always flicking when they're curious about something or active. I got my B&W from agama for 90$ pulse shipping. The thing is B&W males get to 4' long or maybe more. The blues still get to 3 1/2' or more. So you'll need like a 6' by 3' cage either way. Well even if you can't get one till you move out here is a few old videos of mine where you can see the tongue.
http://mavweb.mnsu.edu/wehner/Video20030420.MOV
http://mavweb.mnsu.edu/wehner/Video20030421.MOV

The dwarf tegus get to about 20" and they look neato. They are an active lizard and should be given a relatively large cage. Probably more incline to bite then an Argentine or blue would be.

I had a two of these guys. They are A very skittish lizard . They are the fastest lizard I have ever owned and scene. Good luck Russ

Remember that the least expensive part of owning a lizard is buying him. Feeding large lizards is very expensive, and vet bills can run quite high, too. If you can't afford such expenses, you will have to make sure your parents are supportive enough of your having the lizard that they'll be willing to help out. (I spent over $700 on my Sav when he suddenly became lethargic and stopped eating; he was about to go through almost $2000 worth of exploratory surgery when he took a turn for the worst and we decided he wouldn't survive the surgery). These lizards can live a long time, and if you're 15, your life is going to be changing a lot over the next few years. Be sure you have a plan for caring for your lizard. For example: Who will care for your lizard if/when you go to college? Feeder mice and crickets aren't cheap, and these guys are voracious. My tegus are still quite small, but my Sav used to cost me over $60 a month to feed. (Those black throats people are suggesting on the monitor forum would cost you considerably more than that.) Can your budget handle that? Will your parents help if you can't afford it? or need to take the animal to the vet? That said, tegus are fabulous!

food ist much of a problem as my parents help buy tht. but i have to buy the cage and lizard and stuff inside cage.