Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am pretty excited. I have wanted a Tegu ever since my iguana died last year. He was 12 years old. I finally got my chance at having a Tegu when the Reptile store I work at recieved one from a private breeder here in Colorado. The store is selling him cheap for 40$ even, but with my employee discount, it is only 33$

I paid for him 2 weeks ago, and since I have been working with him after hours. He was skittish at first, but now is mellowing out, he is only about 15 inches right now, but he is very chubby. Since I had him paid for, I spent the two weeks up until now getting all his stuff together, like the cage and stuff. I have also been doing all the research I can do while waiting.

I just have a few questions left. How long do these guys tend to live? I plan to have the temp in the basking spot at 95F, and because of all the desert species I have, uromastyx, beardies, chuckwallas, the ambient temp will be around 75-80, are these temps okay? And finally, if I choose to offer him chicken eggs, how do I offer them to him? I am not sure if I need to break them open for him first or will he do that?

Thanks guys. I will take a picture or two when I get him in tomorrow.

Phil

the basking spot needs to be around 125F. keep in mind that is the SPOT. make sure you have a lot of hides and deep substrate for it to dig in. and i hope you didnt mean you were going to keep it like a desert animal. i keep my Argentines at 70-85% humidity. i dont know about everyone elses humidity, but this is what i use and it works great for me. at 50-60% they were having problems shedding on their tails. now i dont have any problems. i also have a water bowl big enough for both of them to soak in. its a 2' circular water bowl. my tegus also use this DAILY. i have to change it out a lot because they are always flipping dirt up into it or knocking it over and sitting in the mud. (they really like that) and for age i talked to Bert and he said his tegus live in the 20yr range. those are Argentines though, not Colombians. how you keep it will decide a lot on how long it will live.
good luck.
later

Oh no, I was not going to keep it like a desert animal. I just mean that they add extra heat. Yes the humidity is up high so that is not an issue. He does have a deep water dish, and deep cypress mulch to burrow in. Im getting the heat bulb today when I go to get him anyway, so I will just buy a higher watt bulb. Easy enough. Thanks

Phil

Hi Phil,

be cautious with eggs. they can get used to them and turn down other food. I only offer eggs once a week. Just scramble them in a fry pan and let cool. I have reds so I mix in fruit. If you get smaller eggs (I get fresh pidgeon eggs) they eat them whole and raw. they just gulp them down. When they break they will lap up the mess.
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Bennett

Home of the Florida Orange
www.beardiedragon.com

Okay cool. Sounds like a plan. Where do you get pidgeon eggs? Thanks

Phil

I have a neighbor who raises racing pidgeons so I get the eggs he does not want to raise up.
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Bennett

Home of the Florida Orange
www.beardiedragon.com