Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering how to tell if my red tegu has eggs in her because she has been breeding with the male. I was also wondering what to put in her cage so that she will lay her eggs. I help is greatly appreciated.

Some female tegus show obvious signs of being gravid while others do not. If the animal isn't showing obvious visual signs the most often sign I notice that tips me off to whether or not a female is gravid is a sudden cease in eating habits. Most females will not eat within the last 2 weeks or so before they deposit their eggs.

Nesting females are easily accommadated by adding roughly two 5 gallon buckets full of suitable substrate (I use Cypress Mulch) in a pile in an area of the cage. They will then manipulate this into a suitable nesting area and deposit their eggs when ready.

Ron St Pierre
RSCBR

Also one more thing about how long before she will lay the eggs.

Around 30 days or so following a successful breeding. The tricky part is knowing when that took place...something that I still cannot do reliably since observed copulation is not a reliable indicator.

Tegus, like other lizard species, will apparently copulate to instill dominance. I have seen males breeding males, females copulating with other females, and females mounting males in what usually would be an opposite manner.
RSCBR