Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello attatcked to this message youll see a picture of my good pet (oreo)

i have owned him a little over 2 years and hes still about a foot long

throughout my time owning him he has always been a pleasure, showing intelegence, and was always as tame....verry tame

i have put him on my head, i let him walk around and so one for over 2 years.

HOWEVER

today i took him out and i decided to see if he grew in to his leash which was always a little big to where he can squeeze out of it.

but now he has gained enough weight and size to fit in snugly.

ive heard of tegus loving to go outside and will evin scratch at door to go for a qwalk....so i decided to bring oreo outside.

at first he stood up real high looking around
and then laying
and then standing back and forth

he looked like he was enjoying him self

now this was always a slow slow lizzard
i mean like turtle speed.

well i was walking next to him
and every time i approached he would open mouth and start acting up

i tried to calm him but he just tried to bite when i got close.

then
he had mouth open and i sat like 5 feet from him.

and zooooom he must of hit light speed with his mouth open and tried to jump up at my face to bite. luckily i moved and decided to bring him in
he tugged against me the whole time and hit light speed again when we got near the bushes.

i got him back in to my room and he calmed down and i put him back in his cage (his large cage).

ive seen a columbian tegu this but this is an argentine tegu b/w

some little kids came and i warned them that he was acting up.

what should i do to solve this problem?
1: take him out more often to more understand of the freaking consept that he aint getting away from me? OR

#2 get him a higher watt basking light to help him more understand real heat. the sun outside was hot and im in florida!

or #3 whatever yall suggest!

I read a book on tegus and monitors recently, and it said that tegus that have been raised under artificial full spec lighting may sometimes react aggressively when exposed to real sunlight. I dont remember why this is; perhaps the greater range of waves that they receive boosts them in a way full spec cant. I have no real idea as to how this may be combatted; perhaps more frequent exposure may help.

First off, if the subject of my message is true, it saddens me. I don't see how an argentine or even a columbian could be a foot long after 2 years unless it has not been fed enough and had proper temperatures.

That aside, what are the ambient temps of the cage? Basking temps? How much do you feed him? All of these factors come in to play when dealing with "attitude" and personality.
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well i have a reptisun light over his cage 12 hours a time.

which he uses to bask.

hes in a 4 foot long by 3 foot high 3 foot deep cage.

i put in 3 to 4 fuzzies in his cage once a week when i feet my snakes.

his tummy is always fat.

I'm pretty new to tegus... but it sounds like you don't have a high enough basking spot for him...
"well i have a reptisun light over his cage 12 hours a time.

which he uses to bask."

If the repti-sun is the only source of heat you're using, then you need a real heat source like a heat lamp...

My tegu is a foot long at a month of age and she's eating 4 fuzzies a week along with roughly 250-300 calcium-dusted crickets.
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Kylie

AIM: pixie babe love

I usually don't like to gripe about how people take care of their animals, but this just isn't right.

Is the reptisun the only light and "heat" source you have in the cage? A reptisun is NOT used for basking, and for UVB, they aren't very effective either. You didn't mention the temps in your cage. You should have a basking spot at least 120 degrees and the rest of the cage around 80-85 degrees.

3 to 4 fuzzies a week????? It should be at least getting that much A DAY, if not insects or fruits.

Sorry, sometimes I just can't control my temper for such ignorance.

>>well i have a reptisun light over his cage 12 hours a time.
>>
>>which he uses to bask.
>>
>>hes in a 4 foot long by 3 foot high 3 foot deep cage.
>>
>>i put in 3 to 4 fuzzies in his cage once a week when i feet my snakes.
>>
>>his tummy is always fat.
-----

[I usually don't like to gripe about how people take care of their animals, but this just isn't right]

now is not the time to start gripeing

aside from keeping a tegu i keep green tree pythons green basilisks and a friends water dragon.

ive been keeping reptiles for over 7 years.

all my animals and healthy have clean water the proper lighting and heat.

best idea is not to come at me without all the details and not to go off subject.

i worded my old post a little bad the head light is a HEAT light not uv

the animal is not going to die and next time i would stay on subject instead of intentionally "gripeing".

always a flamer out there trying to attack you on these forums.

thats for all the other positive posts guys.

and sickle you can sit there and stfu, we will like you better that way.

PS. dont gripe,wine,cry about stuff u dont know

I would say that you have dwarfed this tegu badly. Just because you have kept reptiles for 7 years does not mean that you did not keep this tegu right.You should have fed it Insectes only till it could eat a hopper size mouse.mabye give a fuzzie to it only 2 times a week at most.When you post a post like you did you should know that your going to get alot of heat from people.My Argentin grew at a avereg of 4" a mounth in his first 6-10 mounths. at 2 years he/she should be adult size-3-3.5 feet for females and 3.5-4.5 for males.You deserve what you got. This forum is tame compared to the monitor forum . Good luck Russ

Heya,

Ive had my arg b&w tegu about 2 weeks, and hes about a year old. He currently measures about 23-24" total length, which I now see is very small for a year old animal. The only positive side I can see to this is that he is literally growing before my eyes; hes bulking up incredibly quickly (I dont notice so well - its only since my boyfriend came over and remarked on the increase in size that it became obvious, since I see the tegu every day).

Will he catch up? I was feeding him 2 small mice or several morios/dish of crix daily when I got him, but my rep vet has suggested to cut this down to every other day as hes a bit fat. I have a beardie that I have had for a year, so am familiar with the dusting/lighting/heating methods, and have read a couple of books on the temps etc (obviously tegus like it hotter in the basking spot/most humid than the beardies). Do you think it will be ok?

Can anyone give me a feeding schedule that they would typically use involving crix/giant mealies/small mice (not fuzzies) for a year old tegu, involving supplementation etc? Id like to compare notes, as it were Please dont tell me to visit agamaint or bluetegu - I have posted two topics and both times been told to go there, and while I think they are good sites I really want more specialised info.

I would still mainly feed it gut loaded dusted kingworms,crickets roaches every day,Also are your shure it is a male?If you hibernated it it may catch up.also I have a growth chart for Santiago my male 3 year old 4'3" 18 lb tegu.You can email me at russpettit@yahoo.com and i will send it to you.Take care Russ

Hey, Russ,
While I agree with you that the tegu in question seems very small for two years of age, and sure should be eating more, tegus do vary in size for many reasons. Food supply and temps are two of those, but genetics and just general personality are also factors.

My two were only about 10 inches when I got them in February. They were from the previous July's clutches, and were still hybernating when I got them. They had a long hibernation, but started to eat almost immediately after they woke up. Loiosh woke up two weeks before Rocza. Both have the same temps, etc., as they live together, but Loiosh is 31.5 inches long and Rocza is 18.5 inches. Loiosh is male, and I'm pretty sure Rocza is female, which accounts for part of the difference. They are also from different clutches, and Rocza's line is smaller than Loiosh's. They are fed separately, so there is no bullying over food. The main difference seems to be that Rocza does not like mice and must be coerced into eating them by dipping them in egg. She still prefers crickets and hunting them. If crickets are fed in a dish, she will take one out, drop it, and then chase it. When given turkey and fruit, she will cease eating before her stomach is bulging. Loiosh is a pig. He will gulp down anything set before him until he looks like he is about to burst. And then he looks for more food!

I post this not to disagree with you, but to point out to new keepers that it is very difficult to say that a tegu should be a certain size at a certain age. Those that hibernate will be smaller than those that did not because they do not eat while hibrnating.

Leslie

I know that if you hibernate a tegu it takes longer for it to reach muturity(3years), if you dont 18mounths.My post was about the tegu in question,not about how long they take to get to adult size.this person needs to do more reasurch on the animals he takes in .There is plenty of info ,and people on this forum who would of help if they would of asked questions 2 years ago.Thanks Russ

Don't misunderstand...I agree with you. But I just wanted to point out for new keepers that there is some variation that is not due to necessarily due to underfeeding.

Leslie

il explain more about the "tegu in question" more when i get the chance.

il show pics and life story soon as i can so everyone can calm down.

dont jump the gun on me. il post more later

well first off my lizzard was always doing ok and will only eat as much as he wants to eat. and then stop.
i fed him based on his responce to food.

and buddy my 1st post was about his attitude in natural sunlight.

not his size

il keep my questions for my local petstore where i bought it rather than this flame filled forum.

k-thanks-bye

flames flames flames flames flames,
give me a break, people here so quick to jump down someones throat.

i diddent get what i deserve, i love my animal and he will be fine.

for all i know he was dwarfed when i got it. he stayed about the same size from when i got it.

it only eats so much before it starts to refuse food.

i made my feeding scedule based on what he would eat.

hes staying healthy and im going to maintain him as long as i can.

i enjoy my reptile experience no matter what you negative people think..

flame elsewhere

and for the positive feed back. thanks once again for the people who care.

flamers = lamers

So keeping reptiles for 7 years makes you an expert on Tegu's? Obviously it doesn't or you wouldn't be feeding your young tegu only once a week. Your husbandry speaks for itself, and yes, I did "gripe" but I also asked specific questions about your cage setup which you did not answer and I did give good advice. If I don't know what I'm talking about, why do I have a healthy Argentine B&W at a year old being 4' and 16lbs, and why do I have a Argentine Red at 1 year 2 months at 56.5" at 20 pounds (never been weighed and both were raised from hatchlings) Sure, some of my methods aren't the same as everyone elses, but looks like they get the job done. I can't see one being that small after 2 years even if it hibernated both years.
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I would love to see a picture of your monster red tegu.Russ

yea but you dont gotta be a prick about it =P

i just dont like ya.

Hey your the one who should of known better .you deserved what you got . Your languge is a good way to become band on this formue. mabye you will learn a lession in doing reasurch when you get a new animal instead of being so sure you know everything about every animal.piece

My B&W “Lucky” is just under a year old and is about 32” tip to tip. I have only taken him out side twice and he totally freaks out. Lucky has free roam in my home and most of the time just wonders around the house at an easy pace. That said, the first time i took him outside I made the mistake of not having a leash on him. After about 2 minutes in the grass he hits warp speed into the bushes! I was very fortunate to have even caught him. The second time I had him on a leash and in about a minute of being outside he starts trying to get away. Since he couldn’t get off the leach he went into a death roll like a gator caught in a snare. Both times he calms down as soon as he is back in the house. I have now started trying opening the front door when he is near it and let him get used to looking out. Needless to say he will not spend much time looking out and high tails it in the other direction. I assume over time I will be able to get him out as I know once he gets over his fear he will like the real sun much more then his basking lights.

how often do you feed him. mines like a foot and a half il post a more reacent pic soon.

whats the diet and how often

One foot at 2 years old !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Your kidding right.A saw the picture, it looks like a Argentin. Santiago was 47" and 11 lbs at one year.Did you ever feed the think Insectes.If this is true I will be surprized it lives much longer. mabye Its a true dwarf tegu , the Stripted tegu? If this is true it is sad . Thanks Russ

My tegu is over 2 years old and not 2 feet long. The pet store who had him before me did not take care of him and this resulted in MBD. I was thinking he might be a dwarf, but I doubt it. Since I've had him he has had a growth spurt and is still growing. I am so mad at the pet store because also because of the MBD, Tika has had many health problems including abcessed jaw, which resulted in a misaligned jaw. He is doing beautifully now though. But your tegu should definately be fed way more often. When they are juvies you feed them once a day at least. Then as they get older you can shorten it, but I still feed my tegu more than 4x a week.
-Beth