Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Do I have the right setup for a hatchling/juvi tegu?

Enclosure: 55 gallon, with screen top.
Substrate: 3-4" SuperSoil(A steril potting soil, no perlite, not fertilizers)
Decor: Probally some fake plants, maybe some philodendrens or pothos. Large piece of drift wood and two hides on each side.
Lighting: Flourescent fixture with reptisun or whatever brand it is. It's the 5.0 I believe.
Heating: 100 watt day bulb, either heating pad/ceramic emitter for night heat.
Food/water: Bowl for greens/fruits and worms, and large water bowl.

Not sure what species I am going to get. The red is tempting, but have always favored the Chacoans... The blues are cool too, but don't dig on the complete meat diet. I like the variety in the Argentinians... I live in Northern California and will probally get it at East Bay Vivarium if they have them in season. I have always wanted a large, mellow lizard and I think with the proper housing, diet, and interaction I can make a tegu just that, Opinions?

Thanks.
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Cheers,
Michael Starkey
Arboreal Addictions

Hey there. Your setup is okay for the most part. Just make sure that you have a good basking area with temps at about 110-120 F and a cooler are in the mid 80's They need the warmer spot for proper digestion but the whole cage should not be that warm. Maybe test that out with a thermometer because having that temperature gradient is really important. For the basking area, it works good to shine a basking light with a tight beam onto a flat rock the tegu can sit on, so it can get heat from the rock as well as heat from the light. Using potting soil sometimes can get really messy. I started mine out in potting soil but soon changed over to mulch (don't use cedar). Mulch kept his cage cleaner and made his environment less dusty. Other than that maybe throw in a hide box and you should be set. Good luck, tegus are awesome pets.

your setup sounds good but there is room for corections. one thing you can change is your substrate i would recommend cypress mulch it holds humidity realy well and it doesnt create mold easily if youw ant you could put some top soil on to of that or mixed in.. also make sure your reptisun 5.0 reaches the bottom of the tank the 10.0 buld reaches 55 inches or around that so the 5.0 must reach about half of that. make sure you have aenough ground spacew for the tegu to roam there ground dwellers... ok good luck and i recomend either blue tegus red tegus or argentines the chacoans can tend to be a but agresive..
good luck kevin

Hey there, I live in northern calif. too. I I've bought three tegus at the East Bay Vivarium, and have three that came to me from other homes. The vivarium tegus have not been particularly the best/healthiest specimens. Just so you know. I would buy a baby from the St. Pierre's if you want a blue, or the Langenwerfs if you want a black and white.

Or, if you can't wait, check out Sebastopol Pet center. they have a cute baby argentine for sale right now.