Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey i want a tegu because they are cool. I have an extra aquarium. I have a water and dunerills monitor...they get in excess of like 8 or 9 feet. How big do tegus get?

3-5 feet

Russ I am just admiring your tegus. They look awesome and I noticed in some of your other pics you have them in encolosures that are outside. If you don't mind me asking what state do you live in and during the winter months do they hiberate or you take them inside.

Thanks

I live in the Sf bay area(california). I take my guy in every day, even in the summer. In the winter he stays in a 8-4-2 tall. I have a exturnal hide box for his indoore Incloser.This lets him have the whole cage .Her are some more pictures of my indoore cages

those tanks look nice. Did you build them yourself? I know pretty soon within the next 6 months or so I am probably going to have to change my tegu out of its 60 gallon that I have it in. I was thinking about ordering a custom tank/enclosure otherwise making it myself. I have been told that wooden enclosures have problems with heat... i.e. keeping in too much. Do you know of a place where i can get blue prints for an 8 foot eclosure like yours thats exactly the size i want. I figure the next tank/enclosure i get will be big enough for it once it gets full grown.

thanks

It is just a rectangler box 8' long-2' tall-4'wide. I use side doors on all of my cages .And yes I built them my self.Take care Russ

Too big for an aquarium, but not as big as a water, about as long as a dumerils but they are very stocky, in my mind I view them as the Pit bulls of lizards, not that tall but very robust. My red is about a year old and it is almost 3' but my water is about 7 months and a little larger than 3'. It also depends on the species with the argentine black and whites getting over 4' sometimes, reds getting around the same sixe but a tad smaller and the blues and colombian black and whites(golds) staying towards 3'. If you do get a tegu try to stay away from the colombians, they are very defensive and always wild caught making them hard to acclimate, much like a dumerils monitor. I recomend the Reds they eat more fruits and need higher humidity. But they tame just as easy as argentine black and whites.
sorry to go on and on
thanks
tony butler

My guy is 4'4"tl(missing1-2 inches of the tip of his tail).21 1/8" snt to vent and 17lbs.Reds are the biggest Spieces.