Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am going to be getting an arg. tegu hatchling from Bert and i would like to know what size cage i should constuct that will be able to house it as an adult. also how deep should the substrate be? Thanks for your help.

With sufficient warmth and food, young Argentine tegus grow extremely quickly. My daughter purchased a 14" Argentine in January 2003; we initially housed it in a 20 gal. long tank. Big mistake! The animal is now almost 3 _feet_ long. About a month ago I finished making a 4 ft. x 2 ft. x 2 ft. enclosure, using 1/2" plywood, 2 x 2 lumber, and plastic coated 1/2 hardware screen (galvanized only for the top, because of heat lamps). The animal is comfortable, but the cage is _still_ a tad on the small side. If I had to build it again (which I will if this tegu keeps growing!), I would make it at least 3 ft. deep (so 4 ft. x 3 x 2 overall). By the way, adding a separate door at cage floor level is a big help for feeding and cleaning.

Great choice going with Berts tegus! Assuming he's going to get 4' or more I would recommend a cage at least 6' by 3'. Of course bigger is better if you can. I also recommend putting a door that opens on floor level. That's what I've done so they can go in and out as they please. The substrate should be 6" or more deep so make sure you put a 8" barrier on the bottom so the substrate doesn't fall out if you put the door on floor level. Check www.bluetegu.com for a sort of care sheet. I checked and I'm surprised that Bert didn't put the housing requirements on his site. Good luck with him, you won't be sorry!
P.S Don't be surprised if he's a little wild at first from being kept outside, mine was.