Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all,

I have been reading this forum for about two months and am very thankful for all the helpful info that is put out. I currently have a 6 week old B/W and an approximately 4-5 month old red tegu. They are housed seperatly and my B/W is doing fantastic, but I am not sure about my red. I have only had him for about ten days and he basically moved in, explored, then ate right away. The next day he dug himself a mansion of a burrow and he hasn't been seen since. He did eat the fuzzy mouse and 2 grapes I put right at the entrance to his burrow, but then he closed up the entrance and has not eaten or even come out as far as I can tell for about 5 days. I was able to see him in his burrow by moving the background and his hole was right against the glass but after I did that, he blocked it off with dirt. My temperatures are an ambient of about 85 degrees and a basking spot (that he used the first day) of about 115-120 degrees. In addition, since I got him we have been in the mid to high 90's every day, so I don't think he is hibernating but I am not sure. Basically, I am just trying to figure out if this is normal behavior for a young red, or if something is wrong. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Eric

I wouldn't be too worried, especially since you just got him. I hardly ever see my little red tegu unless I take him out. He is always in his hide. I even set up a surveilance camera and recorded him during the day while I was gone, so I found out that he actually does come out (for a few hours each day), just not when I'm around. Mine used to burrow a whole lot and "close the door" to his hide, but now he stays in his hide and not burrowed as much. He's very tame and isn't scared of me, but I've had him for almost 3 months and have only seen him basking in front of me twice. Recently I reversed his light cycle so he would come out while I'm home (at night), and I haven't seen him out once, so I hope I didn't screw up his clock too much. Anyway, I think it's normal behavior and mine is about 6 months old I'm guessing. I hope they will be more social as they get older, and mine does seems more used to me then when I got him. I'm still curious if mine mine be hibernating, but I don't think so since I caught him on camera. I have the video all compiled into one clip if anybody wants to see what my tegu did one day. Good luck with your tegus.

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-reptilian9

I forgot to mention that I feed mine outside of the cage. Sometimes mine won't eat anything I offer inside his cage (like when I'm out of town), mainly because he prefers meat over fruit. When I came back from the beach last week he hadn't eaten any fruit in his bowl for days (fruit was offered daily by my roomate), but gobbled down 6 pinky mice as soon as I fed him. Try more meats, even though fruits are great. Mine is very picky about fruits and will only eat 1 or 2 pieces and at least 4 pinkies at one sitting. He loves mice more than anything I think.

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-reptilian9

Hey,

Thanks for the quick response. I figured everything was OK its just that he is so different than my B/W. That one adjusted his clock to mine and sleeps from 10-11 at night until 2-4 in the afternoon and then comes out for at least 5-6 hours. I guess I will start feeding the red out of his cage, do you just dig him up or what? I have about 6 inches of soil and he has burrowed into that under some rocks. Anyway, I knew that they spent a lot of time in their burrows, but I just didn't know how much. I hope he comes out more as he gets older, he is already pretty calm around me when he is out. Thanks again for the help.

Eric

One more thing, what do people think about keeping my red and B/W together when they are older and about the same size?

Thanks,

Eric

Yeah sure if they get along good why not.

Yes, I gently nudge him so he knows I'm there. He's not burrowed much anymore, so I lift his hide and pick him up. Some peoples' tegus are cranky when burrowed, and mine used to get annoyed, but nothing aggressive. I hate disturbing his hide, but I rarely see him out, so he's got to eat sometime. I recommend feeding outside the enclosure. Mine never thinks I have food when I get him out, but as soon as I drop him in the feeding tank, he knows what time it is!
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-reptilian9

Hi to you and your Tegus!

I have a Red that is about 6 months old. He (guessing!) came to live with me on my birthday on May 12th. He was 15" total length at that time and is now 24"! They grow so fast! I feed him every day on a plate. He is usually burrowed under his cyprus mulch when I feed him. I have to feel around until I bump into him and then he comes out to eat. After huffing at me a couple times for bugging him! LOL

I think you are doing fine with yours. Just make sure that you offer them plenty of food as I am finding mine LOVES to eat!

Donna
P.S. Need to take a newer pic as his tail has gotten much more red this last shed!