Reptile & Amphibian Forums

...What would be the best sized enclosure? And how big do these guys get? I am very interested in one but cannot seem to find much info on them... I heard they are one of the easiest tegus to take care of since their diet is soley carnivourus and they can be easily tamed. Can anyone answer my questions and/or point me to a good website?

Thanks.
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Lover of Albinos

They are not solely carnivorous. You must feed your blue a healthy portion of fruits as well. Its size will depend on whether it's a male or female. At the bottom is a pic of my adult female in my lap taken a few months ago. I've got her in a 6x2x2 horse trough that has been working great. Blues do have a reputation for being tame and mine certainly is. I've got lots of pics and info...feel free to ask away. There's a link to some picture galleries of her and her cage.

www.villagephotos.com/pubbrowse.asp?selected=516086

Nice looking tegu

So a good sized living quarters is 6x2x2.. As for their diet, do they eat insects as well as turkey? What do you feed your blue tegu--sorry for such a newby question but I cannot find a site on the husbandry of these cool lizards. Where did you purchase yours? I've noticed that they are not as readily availible as B&Ws and reds... how much should i expect to pay for a blue tegu? I may have luck finding one at the Reptile Expo in Raleigh, NC--but that's in may and I would enjoy getting one sooner than that

After seeing Rollin's videos, I was curious whether or not blues act the same as the B&W's... I know very few lizards would allow you to take him for a swim in a river and walk him around outside similarly to a dog And lastly, how long do they hibernate for?

Sorry for the FLOOD of questions, but these blues interest me and I wouldnt want to get one without knowing the proper info first.
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Lover of Albinos

I feed my Blues very little fruit. On Ron's website he states that fruit is rarely taken by Blue Tegus. They do very well on a diet of insects and fuzzy mice as juveniles. Of course, dust the crickets with a good CA/Vitamin supplement and provide a good source of UVB.

My blue, now adult, never ate any fruit until he was over a year old and then just an occasional grape. He likes the way they pop I think, wierd critters they are. Other than that small rats and ground turkey. In my opinion the most important thing to provide as they grow up is good exposure to UV lighting and well supplimented prey items. The Sticky Tounge Farms Minerall indoor seems to be the best and its what was recommended to me by Stella StPierre from BlueTegu.com. Tegus grow so darn fast in their first year they need good calcium and vitamin suppliments for strong bones and UV to process the D3. I dusted prey with the calcium every meal and used repti-vite once a week. Tegan is still chunking up but is right at four feet now. Take a look at my webite (link in signature) if you would like to see the growth or a Tegu from hatchling to moose! I took a series of pictures over a years time. I put Tegan in a 20L when he was a hatchling but only for a couple of weeks. He was then placed in a 8'X2'X2' enclosure. I used a divider to make his living space about 3' long at first and moved it out to the full 8' as he grew. I have noticed with many herps that they like a lot of room but too much open area can stress them out. So i expanded as he grew and he seemed OK with that.**Diclaimer: This is soley my opinion, not THE ONLY WAY to do it. It worked for me.**

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Peace!
KofSeattle
Reptile-Like
Here lizard lizard.........

Very nice looking blue! Do you let him walk around outside like rollin does? I noticed he actually lets him swim in a creek... These guys must not get stressed out very easy. I unforunatly had a leopard gecko die because of stress (i took a 400mile trip and took him with me because no one was availible to care for him at my house). I am fascinated on how tame these huge lizards are! Can they free-roam? It would be really cool to let him walk around my room everyonce and awhile so he would be able to excersize more than he would in a cage..

Hibernation--another question... How long do they hibernate for?

Thanks!
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Lover of Albinos

I started letting my blue "Tegan" out for free roams on occasion once he was about 6 months old. He was pretty flighty before that and startled easy. I did not want to freak him out. They seem to settle down very well after that, especially with regular handling. Now he gets to free roam the living room in our house more frequently but always with supervision. Our living room is Ferret proofed so our ferrets can run about when we let them out so it is also Tegu proof. They will find any hole they can and climb in, usually where you don't want them. My blue once ended up in the kitchen and found a hole big enough under the kitchen cabinets. Luckily I saw his big fat tail and got ahold of it. I had to hold on until my wife came home and could get me a hammer for me. Then I proceeded to take apart the molding around the cabinets so I could retrieve the fatasaurus. He was only about 7 months old then and now he is simply to fat to fit into any hole His favorite place is on the couch with me, he likes to burrow between me and the cushion. They really are great pets!
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Peace!
KofSeattle
Reptile-Like
Here lizard lizard.........

Haha, great story... Hopefully I can find one soon... Know of any places to get them? the best i saw was LLLreptile for $189...
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Lover of Albinos

I highly recomment "bluetegu.com" unfortunately they appear to be sold out there. LLLReptile has a good reputation but I am not sure how Tegu Savvy they are? I got great support from the folks at bluetegu.com (The St.Pierres). As a new keeper one will always have a dumb question or two and they answered them all, quickly! Best of luck!
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Peace!
KofSeattle
Reptile-Like
Here lizard lizard.........