Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought him from and unknowledgeable pets tore then took him today to a store that deals mostly in reptiles, They gave me good info and I bought a book. Today I gave him a mouse to eat and he ate it no problem, the pet store said one mouse will be enough for a meal today. My ferret killed the mouse and he ate it with 5 bites

I bought a 4 foot by 2 cage not a tank and a real hide box and started his socialization in the pet store

I am not completely animal illiterate, I learn quickest when the animal is thrown at me that's how I started in ferrets now I have 4 of them. He will not be lacking in husbandry if you people will stop complaining answer my questions and give me as many tips as possible. Like it or now I have the blue tegu now and if it in your best interest to help HIM you'll help me with useful comments and not complaints though you can complain as well but when I'm getting complaints that's bothers me as much as what I did bothers you

Okay, so I just had to respond because I'm getting more agitated the more you post. What kind of feed back do you honestly expect when you come onto a forum for the first time and make a post saying that you did something incredibly irresponsible and bought an animal PERIOD without doing ANY research?! Then you go on to demand information about caring for it when you are the one who needs to get off your butt and do the research. People on this forum are not obligated to give you any information as you seem to think. By telling people who would ordinarily like to help that you need help or else just isn't the best way of going about things. That's great that you have such disregard for an innocent animal's life, but most people don't. So if you expect to get help, don't come across as though it would be the good people of this forum's fault if your tegu doesn't stay healthy. It's your own damn fault. You took responsibility for this animal the moment you bought it. It's YOUR fault that you didn't do the intelligent thing and do ANY research. And it's also YOUR fault that you're coming across with and crappy attitude and people don't really want to help you.

Lindsay

I didn't want to get into this, but we should pride ourselves on not being like the other forums here. I admit to purchasing on impluse before (years ago, and definitely not with a tegu either), but Mya you should know all the information is already here. Just click "Search" above on this page and you will find tons of info from past posts. Make sure you enter " tegu" (without quotes) and whatever you want to know. Good luck and I hope you're prepared for a relatively large lizard (that could eat your ferrets )
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-reptilian9

There should have been a plus sign before " tegus", and I was kidding about the ferrets - although it is possible.
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-reptilian9

I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU, LINDSAY! this is rediculous. not only have you done something incredibly stupid, but you have disregarded all of the info we have given you! whats the deal? besides, the tegu forum is a friendly place.
ian

I've been on this forum for well over a year and I think this is the first time I've ever seen you get mad Blakes_girl! I don't blame you though, I totally agree with you, and I think it's appropriate in this case. It's not just the impulse buying but the thing is MyaLynn seems to be getting mad at us for not writing a book to help. And people have been responding, giving advice and care sheet links. I know I’m grateful for anyone who even tries to answer my posts. No one here is getting paid to respond, they do it out of the goodness of their heart, it really shouldn’t be expected or demanded!

he he....yeah, I honestly try and keep my temper most of time, maybe letting a little irritation show through once in a while. However, this topic just happened to hit the right nerve, the right way, at the right time, and it unleashed part of the beast.

Lindsay

Feeding pre-killed, frozen/thawed mice has its benefits, including no mouse bites on your lizard, it kills parasites, and a bag in the freezer is quite convenient.

Having your ferret (or cat, dog, monitor, etc.) pre-kill your mice may introduce other parasites and/or disease to your tegu.

Some stores will "process" live mice purchases, if you're not yet ready to do it yourself. Your store might carry frozen rodents, or check the kingsnake.com home page for a list of vendors.

Good luck,
Ripley

ferrets/mammals are VERY different then reptiles....trust me. I had 5 ferrets (still have one) and it's walk in the park next to tegu care.
I did research before getting my tegu, but my tegu was not my first reptile so I learned I needed to do this already.
Have you read all the pages you were given? They hold most of what you need to know. Blues, red and B/W's get similar care but it varies a little bit as far as diet and temps.
As you might be finding out, pet stores are a horrible source for info...try and read some books and ask questions before you jump into a buy next time...you might find you can't afford to care for the animal once you really look into it. Ferrets are very inexpensive next to any reptile. You have higher electric bills, food bills, vet care (reptiles are more money)if something goes wrong, lighting and space. You need to gage humidity temps and gradients.
It's much more involved, but if you are willing to make the commitment it's worth it.
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Yours,

NiCoLE

"Trying to save someone from their own stupidity is like trying to teach a pig how to dance: it wastes your time, and annoys the pig."

- Robert
Heinlein

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