Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,

I have been lurking for about a month now. Here is a picture of Tijolo (means brick in Portugese). We have had him just over a month and he has grown an inch per week! He is now 6" STV and 17" STL. He is such a little piggy and eats every day. I switch off between crickets, turkey with fruit and Reptivite in it, and fuzzy mice. He will only eat the same thing 2 days in a row and then not eat unless he is offered something different. Has anyone else noticed this "pickyness" in thier Tegu? I don't mind cause I know the variety is good for him I just think it is funny. None of my other "kids" are like that. (2-WaterDragons ages 6 and 5yrs, Green Iguana age 3 1/2)

Here he is. Gotta love those pudgy little legs!!

Donna

Yes I have a blue and a columbian B&W the blue she will eat anything and everything you put in front of her. I do change it up about every other day though. But the B&W he will not touch crickets I feed him the San diego zoo diet and he seems happy although he will only eat every other day. I offer food every day he just does not want it. I tried mixing fruit in with his meat and he will spend hours digging around the diced fruit carefully so as not to get any. It is very funny to watch him it is almost an artform. Good luck and your little one is very beautiful.

Crikey, it's a beaut. I'm trying to figure this picture thing out. The technology eludes me...until then, I enjoy all the pictures on the forum.

Mike

Great little red you have!!! Our 5 are not picky at all and will eat the SDZ 7 days a week if we fed them that. :0)
The 6th one we'll have to see.

Greg

YES, my red (looks exactly like yours and is 17" is PICKY. He's been a good eater, but he loves pinkies more than anything. He's eaten lots of different fruits, but it sucks because he'll only eat a couple of pieces of each fruit and not touch it anymore. I have to cut up like 3 different kinds of fruits and throw the rest away or eat it myself. He will almost always eat pinkies, won't eat crickets (too fast for him?), and is picky about mealworms - only eats like 1 per sitting occasionally, won't eat any more, but then goes straight for the pinkies. He loves anything that has meat. Congrats on the pretty tegu - we should compare how big they get since they are probably the same age. Do you know when yours was hatched? I don't know how old mine is, but I'm guessing like 3 months old.
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-reptilian9

I am not sure when Tijolo was hatched. The store I got him from said that he had been there about 4 months. That would put him at 5 or 6 months now and if that is so he is just catching up on his growth! I told my husband that his new cage better be ready within 2 weeks 'cause he is RAPIDLY outgrowing the temp tank he is in.

Yes we will have to see if they grow at about the same rate. I live in Denver, CO and it is a CONTANT chore to try and keep all the critters humidity up. Luckily as long as I give them all tubs big enough to soak in they all have done it, including Tijolo! He sits in his water for some time every day.

Thanks for responding! Won't talk your face off!
Donna

Wow, it must be hard in Denver to keep the humidity up. I'm in Louisiana, so no problems here. I have yet to even see my red in the water, and he's just completing his first shed since I've had him. I went to Breckeridge (first time in CO) in April and I couldn't believe how dry and hard to breathe it was. My tegu doesn't seem to be growing too fast but I've only had him 1 1/2 months, and he is noticably bigger than when I got him. I'm just gonna say mine is around 5 months old - you are the only person who's given me a clue since ours are the same size.

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-reptilian9

Thanks for sharing the pics! Yours does look just like my Tijolo! They could be twins! LOL

Humidity is always a issue here. We have all the lizards in one room so it is easier to maintain temps/humidity in the smaller area. We are still ALWAYS too dry and I have to watch sheds on everyone really close. As I said though, luckily everyone seems happy to soak themselves on a regular basis and I soak them in the tub once a week too. (The Waterdragons HATE the tub but it is good for them!)

Thanks again
Donna

I just got done moving so I let the peat moss in my cage completely dry out so it wasn't as heavy. I had expected to move earlier but it kept being pushed back so it was dry for quite awhile. It really wasn't a problem because the peat moss in their rubbermaid hide box was moist. They both shed just fine, one did twice. I don't think cage humidity is a big concern with tegus because they spend so much time in the hide box. As long as you keep the substrate in the rubbermaid hide box moist I'd bet you could keep em in a room with a basking spot. A lot of tegus are kept outside in dry climates because their burrow is moist.

i have to admit thats a great name. i named my argentine red 'brickhouse' and call her/him 'brick' for short. i don't think she is particularly 'picky' with her eating. she has dirt substrate and constantly kicks it all around getting it into her food bowl, so i feed her outside the cage. i put the cutting board covered w/ diced fruits in front of her and she eats what she likes. occasionally she'll get distracted by my big toe or knee and try to attack it, so i'm not sure if that qualifies as 'picky' or not but she is a great eater. she is more of a chocolate red, and not too bright yet. she'll turn 2 this august.
but your red is absolutely lovely!! good luck w/ her/him and keep posting pics - k

Cute red. Love the name!

My red is a picky eater, too, and doesn't like the same thing every day. She'll eat a certain fruit one day, then refuse it for several days/weeks. Same with meals/kings. She likes SDZ diet thawed/raw one day, then a few days later will only eat it cooked. On days where mice aren't on the menu, feeding time is a challenge.

My gold is the opposite and eats whatever's in his food dish.