Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got this guy at the expo today (may 1st) and he seems healthy and friendly...

I have him in a temp. setup right now with an undertank heater and overhead light til i get UVB... So far he's already eaten quite a few crickets... My main question is I have him on pine shavings right now... Is this ok?

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Lover of Albinos

How long is temporary gonna be? I'm pretty sure most people are gonna tell ya to use cypress. Is that a colombian? It's cute, I remember when mine was that size, he's grown 4-5 inches in the last month or so.

Temporary is until i can get out and buy the supplies to build a nice enclosure... The pine is also just temporary... I just wanted to make sure it wouldnt make him sick... And BTW--it is an argentine, thanks for the compliment

PS. It is possible to find out whether or not it is a boy or girl when it is this young?
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Lover of Albinos

OH MAN! Congrats.

I was at the show today and saw all the tegus being sold. Anyways i though about picking one up but decided to make sure it wouldn't be an impulse buy by waiting untill tommorrow to buy one and kind of sleeping on it. Oh and tegu fans, don't worry i have been haunting this forum as well as blue tegu.com and agama international's website for a while and have a good idea of care reqs. Anyways, if I had a question i know where to go to look for an answer. All you folks are great.
Also I wanted to go back to the Langerwerfs' site to look and check to make sure that the tegus advertised as Argentine B/Ws really were. Um, from my memory and this site

http://www.agamainternational.com/merianae-vs-teguixin.shtml

(a visual comparison of the columbian and argentinian tegus) they were.

Oh and by the way which dealer did you buy from? There were at least three vendors selling b/w tegus and i only remember that one was LLLreptiles or something like that.

There were also a few "gold" tegus for sale and a buttload of monitors (mostly nile and water)( it's just great that baby monitors that will eventually grow up to be HUGE monitors were being bought up like iguanas were for the longest time...hmmm...how big will this get? oh ok let me buy this ten gallon aquarium and go on my way with my new pet.grrr anyways)

Anyways. Congrats, and sorry for the long post, i really need to be more concise. Either that or get a publisher.
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hAuNtEr oF fOrUmS

0.0.1 Morelia spilota mcdowelli

"I am not Charlie Brown on acid."-Bart Simpson
"I am not high."-Me

to be honest? I forget which dealer i got him from! all i remember is there were 3 B&W's and they were $55 each... This man also had some timors and next to him were TUBS of beardies and savanahs... They were all hatching savannahs, i easily picked up 5! tiny tiny tiny...

Another, fairly big, dealer had 2 bigger B&W's... even though the one man tried to tell me they were gold... (rolls eyes) $75/each...
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Lover of Albinos

Yeah i know where you got your tegu from, i remember the spot perfectly. I'll probably hit him up for one tommorrow. If I make to the show, i.e. i come to the conclusion that i can handle this pet and afford it and take care of it and all, i'll post the vendor's name. Do you remember two huge (maybe asian) water dragons?
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hAuNtEr oF fOrUmS

0.0.1 Morelia spilota mcdowelli

"I am not Charlie Brown on acid."-Bart Simpson
"I am not high."-Me

Hmmm, no i dont... Only because I am not too familiar with water dragons... This guy was almost directly straight when you come in the entrance... Goodluck, I hope you get one! I was looking for blue tegus there, since they are my favorite... But I am overly joyed with my new tegu and and really excited about him/her... Tonight he already ate a ball of ground turkey and 2 crickets! So hopefully that's a good sign...

BTW: Where do you live? I live in Wake Forest--a little bit north of raleigh...
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Lover of Albinos

I live in raleigh to NC State (I'm taking a break from studying for exams right now). I know Wake Forrest, my girlfriend actually lives there. I'm from Richmond, Va and I'll be heading back there next week for the summer.
Yeah the only reason i asked about the water dragons was b/c they were next to one guy who had two b/w tegus.
It's awesome that your's already ate. Unfortunately I didn't make it back over there today, but I'll maybe go to the Northern Va Reptile Show on the 8th and look for a tegu. It's where I picked up my python. For a long time i was undecided on whether i liked tegus better than snakes but after holding several yesterday (i did use hand sanitizer too) tegus are now my favorite.

Congrats and how about some pics
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hAuNtEr oF fOrUmS

0.0.1 Morelia spilota mcdowelli

"I am not Charlie Brown on acid."-Bart Simpson
"I am not high."-Me

typo, i go to NC State- i really need to get some coffee... Congratulations
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hAuNtEr oF fOrUmS

0.0.1 Morelia spilota mcdowelli

"I am not Charlie Brown on acid."-Bart Simpson
"I am not high."-Me

Ah, I actually work in Raleigh at a resturant called Sweet Tomatoes... Donno if you've heard of it. I want it to stop raining so i can snap some outside pictures... Or i gotta figure out how to make a 'baricade' so i dont have to worry about him running under my furniture... Taking pictures out of the cage would be better
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Lover of Albinos

I've always stayed away from pine with any critter. The aromatic pine scent can irritate the eyes and the nasal membranes. Cypress is probably the most popular, as it holds moisture better, but I have used orchid bark as well. Cypress is a lot cheaper here in Florida.

Really cute tegu. Congratulations. Enjoy.

Leslie

dont know if it is still on sale but cypress mulch was $1.49 at home depot
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Bennett

Home Of The Florida Orange
www.beardiedragon.com

Ok, after work today I am going to go get some cypress and uvb lighting! Hopefully his first day wasn't too uncomforitable... Seems like he slept well, He is awake now and already ate a ball of ground turkey for breakfast! She/he seems to like being held, and likes to roam around my room a bit also... Very curious but friendly too!

Ok, im getting too excited, I'll calm down now. Does anyone else have any suggestions for me?
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Lover of Albinos

You probably already know this, but make sure to supplement with calcium and occasional vitamins. Even with the UVB, I usually use a calcium with D3, as there seems to be some question as to just how much UVB some of the bulbs put out. I use Minerall indoor, but everybody has their favorite, so if you can't find one type, there are lots of others.

Enjoy your very pretty tegu, and someone here will answer any new questions you have.

Leslie

Couldnt get to the pet store since it's not exactly close to my house... (10 min drive) since there was a tornado warning I didn't want to end up getting stuck or anything.... I was considering getting a mercury vapor bulb... What do you guys think about these?
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Lover of Albinos

Who is using what for UVB bulbs?

Reptisun 5

Leslie

I use a 160 watt Capture the sun from Big apple in the winter time . It puts out more Uvb then the Zoo med or the TRex do. In the Spring Summer and early fall ,They go out side for 4-6 hrs a day .I think It dosent hurt to offer them this ., And the jury is still out wether it makes a difference or not. Just my opinion. Thanks Russ

I've never tried them, mostly because of the price x the number of lizards I have, but the idea of both heat and UVB in one has it's benefits, if they last any length of time. I've seen some places are advertising a guarrantee of bulb life, but I'm still not sure. Since with the standard UVB tube lights you are supposed to change them every 6 months, if the same is true of the mercury vapor, that would be expensive. As it is, a lot of the reptile basking lights i've tried have miserably short lifespans, and some do not seem to put out the heat I would expect for the wattage.

Maybe someone else will chime in who has some first hand experience with mercury vapor...

I just got a 15" 14 watt reptiglo 8.0 but I cant find a fixture that is that size! anyone know where i can find one? I looked at home depot, they dont have anything smaller than 2ft and I couldnt find any mercury vapor bulbs at the closest pet shops...
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Lover of Albinos

Can you exchange it for an 18 inch? I got my 18 inch fixtures at home depot, there like under cabenet lights. As for vapor bulbs, I buy mine online, yeah ya gotta wait a few days, but they are cheaper.

I just went out and baught a 18" one... If anyone wants a 15" reptiglo 8.0, email me.
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Lover of Albinos