Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone..im not new to the forum..i dont talk much..just read..well ive ben researching tegus over the past year or so and today i finally got my little guy> Hes a baby argentine black and white.His name is hannibalhes only about 14 inches long and hes a chubby little boy.how long should i wait before attempting to feed him..cuz with leopard geckos your supposed to wait a few days after you get it cuz its to stressed to eat..and for right now is crickets and superworks and tegu diet ok for him..i want to wait till hes about 16 to 18 ionches before feeding him mice and things like that.
Thanks alot
Steve

Steve,

You do not need to wait to feed hannibal.

Buy a couple dozen crickets, some calcium and vitamin suppliments made for tegus. I'd personally avoid tegu diet or other processed tegu food. Crickets should be his main staple diet. At his age/size you should give him about 6 to 8 crickets a day. Make sure to dust as directed with the calc/vit suppliments.

You can treat with a few large mealworms as well for variety. At his size he is ready for pinkies. Buy a few prefrozen pinky mice and thaw under warm water until fully thawed and warm. You do not need to dust the pinkies as they have calcium in their bones and in their belly (they were weening and have milk in their digestive track). It isn't good to wait to long before feeding him pinkies as it's a better source of natural calcium and if you wait too long before getting him eating pinkies he may not be as interested in them later.

Until you get used to a feeding schedule I would do this..

Daily: 6 to 8 crickets (dusted)
Every other day: 3 to 4 mealworms (dusted)
Every week: 1 or 2 pinkies

When a Tegu starts getting older you need to watch it's weight, but while young you want to make sure to feed it very well. Right now he is doing some serious growing and needs lots of nutritional foods and variety. If you don't feed him enough to grow, he will not grow to his full potiential.

Since hannibal is new to you what I would do is record the date you got him, how long he is nose to tail and also from vent to tail. Measure weekly or monthly, I'd take pictures when you do his measurements as well. This way you have a nice visual guide to look back on and you can share your info with others.

If you would like to create an online photo album you can do it right on my side. If you need help just message me.

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Rick
theTegu.com

New Tegu Community: theTegu.com - Webcam: Tux.theTegu.com

I got a few pinkies and some superworms(they were out of crickets) and in put one pinkie and 2 supers in his dish..he ate one superworm..but then he got scared because i moved and he hasnt touched the other food.Hes not sick is he?Hes very skittish..But i expected that as hes a baby in a new place with a big moster trying to pick him up. I have him in a 4x2x2 cage.Is that to big..or is that ok? he is on cypress mulch and he has a hide a water dish im cleaning some old driftwood i have to put that in for him to bask..and i am trying to find a big rock he can bask on as well.Anything else i should put in there for him??Im scared cuz i had a red tegu a little bigger than him before and that never ate and eventually died.I hope he doesnt die..Hopefully hes just still scared
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0.0.1 Argentine Black and white tegu Hannibal
1.1 Leopard geckos Blaze and pheonix
1.0 African Fat tail Suade
0.1 Bearded dragon Elvira