Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a hatchling B W Tegu (hatched at Agama July 2003). I have had him about a week. I received him in a hibernated state, but I live in an apartment and am not able to keep him at the 50-60F that Bert recommended. He seems to come out from under the substrate about every other day for a short period of time. I have only seen him once, but I can tell because there is substrate in the water or on the backing rock. Since he is being a little active and, to be honest, I want him to come out of hibernation, I turn the heat and light on every day for about 13-14 hours. Basking spot is 105F, ambient on the warm side is 82F, ambient on cool side is 73F. I was wondering if anybody else has a similar experience and/or advice. I never plan on breeding, so I am fine with the animal never going into hibernation again. Also, since he is a hatchling, maybe he does not yet understand what hibernation is and can be motivated to come out some time soon. I was wondering if anyone knows a way to "persuade" hatchling tegu to come out and play?!? P.S. This is my first posting, but I know from what I've read so far I can count on you guys! -Bill

i currently have 2 tegus--male is active -female hibernating-both tegus are in same enclosure -female has buried herself deep in mulch and i have checked in on her a couple of times--i don't think there is a way around it--it's all instinct--she is out for the count-the male is opposite -he eats crickets and rat pups frequently and basks everyday--try a 150 or 160 bulb -try to get temp up to 120 degrees-he hides under mulch but comes up daily--when he does i turn on basking light until he goes back under -usually 4 hours or so---take advantage of the hibernation(save money!)good luck-brian

Thanks for the reply. Are you sure about that high of a temp? Everything I have read said that the basking spot should be 95F - 105F. So you have two different tegus behaving completely differently? What about if I just leave some food out every day just in case, and also leave the heat and lights on 24/7 for about 2-3 weeks? How often do you check in on your hobernating female? I have checked on him a couple of times, but I have to dig for him, and I don't want to check too often for fear of upsetting him too much. What do you think.

It depends on how you measure the basking temp. The reason 120 sounds high is because we're used to seeing the ambient air temp like on news. The surface temp is a different reading all together. I put the probe from my digital thermometer right on the surface of the basking spot and get 120. It's not extreme for a surface temp at all. I was getting higher readings off the road surface here in Minnesota. I can keep my hand on the surface, it’s not going to burn a tegu.

What I did was place a thermometer on the surface and it read about 102F. The thermometer was not actually touching the surface though, so that probably mean my surface temperature was around 110-120 then, correct? Temperatures here in Kentucky reach around 100F in the air, and the rock felt much warmer than that, so it should probably be ok then. Thanks for the replies.

If you put your hand on it and you can keep it there then you know it's not too hot.. but it should be hot like the road surface, your cars steering wheel, or a rock's surface outside on a sunny day. I don't know if the 15$ digital thermometer with the probe right on the basking rock is exactly the surface temp ether but my tegus have grown up with that setup and it worked. I'm hoping to get a 30$ temp gun for Christmas to see how that reading compares.
BTW when I first got my tegus they hibernated it was frustrating and I couldn't stop them from doing it. I didn't see them at all, not for about 5 months! I just basically left the lights off after awhile so it was in the 70s. After they woke up I left the light on 24/7 so it was low 80s in the cage all the time. Now I've turned back the lights decreesed the temp and they don't want to hibernate

from what ive learned their lazy during the hibernating months you can keep them from hibernating (thats what im doing with mine) but they will be still lazy. did you drive up there to see bert's setup?? when i got their it was too late so i didnt get to see it, i heard it was really awesome. also its off the subject but thought ud like to know or try, but if you go to a pet shop or even online you buy with stuff called eco earth (coconut fiber) it holds humidity awesome. you need to post some pics. good luck, justin

For substrate I am using Jungle Earth, I forget who makes it. It seems to hold moisture well also. I can mist inside his hide box, and 3-4 days later it is still quite moist. I am still looking for a good camera, but once I get one and he comes out to say hi I promise I will post some pics!