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tyler1055 May 09, 2005 07:17 PM

And I just purchased a juvenile Columbian B&W and I was wondering if there is anything I should know thats not obvious. He's in a 20 long and I feed him calcium sprinkled large crickets. THe temperature in his basking spot is about 100 and the ambient temperature is about 80.

Replies (4)

kofseattle May 09, 2005 09:53 PM

Hello and Welcome!

You will definately need a bigger cage and the temps will need to be upped in the basking spot to about 120. I am amazed you are able to achieve a 80 ambiant with a 100 basking spot in a 20 gallon. That "little" fella is gonna grow to a whopping 4' plus in size really quickly and could use at least a 4'X 2'X 2' cage as a juvi. More like 8'x 3'X 3' at about 8-12 months. Should probably be eating some meat (turkey/hoppers) and fruits if it's not already. Crickets will not be enough soon. Also be sure to provide good UV lighting and suppliment well with calcium to make sure those growing bones are healthy and not soft. Best of luck to you and your new friend! Paruse some care sheets. You can read mine but it is for a blue tegu. Never the less it is similar in many ways. Link is below. Also take a look at the photos of my blue. That should give you some indication of growth potential and keep in mind the blue is the smaller of the species
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Peace!
KofSeattle
Reptile-Like
Here lizard lizard.........

dragonfruit_85 May 10, 2005 12:34 AM

Good luck getting him to eat fruits. Mine will not eat any fruits and I have to hide fruit in meat so he will get some. But you never know so try a lot of different fruits and when he shows interest in a particular one, give it to him whenever you can. Mangoes are always a good one to try, and banana. Columbians are said to be more skittish and untrusting than Argentinians, so I would hold him as much as possible to avoid a mean 4 foot reptile. Mine loves mice, ground turkey, crickets, mealworms, hard boiled egg, and tuna. Have fun with him and yes you will need a bigger cage in the near future.
-Beth

tyler1055 May 10, 2005 07:58 PM

What kind of vegetables shoud I give him? I already turned up the temps and I am looking into getting him a bigger cage.

theTegu May 17, 2005 12:45 AM

Colombians don't generally eat much, if any, fruits or veggies, but you can offer them and see how it goes.

Here is a caresheet for your tegu and it also lists some foods you can offer.

http://thetegu.com/colombian-black-tegu-care.html

Note that though Colombian tegus can make great pets they require a lot of attention and handling. If you do not handle your Colombian tegu on a daily basis you will start to notice it becomes more flighty and may even bite at you, so spend lots of time with your new pet.

Rick
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