Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've looked on some of the breeders' sites and skimmed thru past posts here, but still have not found some answers to questions I have. Here it goes!

1. Feeding, I'm starting to breed & feed lobster roaches to my BD and Crested gecko, would a tegu be able to eat these as well instead of crickets?
2. Males/Females: which is easier if you just have one? Do the females lay eggs if they have not been cycled/hibernate? Do you HAVE to hibernate your tegu even if you do not plan to breed or is there just a certain time during the year they'd just slow down naturally? (we live in VA)
3. We have kids who would want to be "hands-on" with the tegu, are there any that would tolerate gentle handling and little hands "petting" them? Are kids and tegus a bad mix? I am aware of the nails/scratching issue if they were to try and lift them as well as the tails whipping. No hand feeding. I also do various educational programs during the year... would a tegu be able to goto different venues without being too stressed out?
4. What is their maximum life capacity barring accidents & bad keeping?

I'm NOT thinking of running out and getting one in the near future, but wanted to have some of my major questions answered before I took it any farther... just something that is running around in the back of my mind that was of interest.

Thank you for your time!

-Bonnie
1.0 husband
1.3 2-legged kids (10mos-11yrs)
1.1 maltese & husky (6yrs & 1yr)
1.0 tabby cat (8yrs)
1.0 pionus parrot (13 years)
1.0 bearded dragon (0.1 awaiting shipment)
0.0.1 crested gecko

Hi there-

In answer to your questions:

I don't know if females are harder than males to keep because of egg possibilities. I have five females, never had a problem yet.

They will hibernate whether you plan for it or not. No special set-up required.

My tegus have different personalities when it comes to how safe they are around children and other pets. My most reliable is my male blue tegu, who you could safely let play with toddlers. He is completely trustworthy with all people and appropriate for school visits, ect. Most of my girls are nice and polite, but more shy sort of like a cat. One of them is not trustworthy because she guards her "nest" and is very bitey around food or anything she percieves as a possible food items, including toes. Basically you can imagine them as cats: some you could take to the kindergarden class, some you could'nt. Some would enjoy it, some would be freaked out.

1. Feeding, I'm starting to breed & feed lobster roaches to my BD and Crested gecko, would a tegu be able to eat these as well instead of crickets?

-Absolutely.

2. Males/Females: which is easier if you just have one? Do the females lay eggs if they have not been cycled/hibernate? Do you HAVE to hibernate your tegu even if you do not plan to breed or is there just a certain time during the year they'd just slow down naturally? (we live in VA)

-Males seem to be a little friendlier in my experience but thats just me. I don't think females lay infertile eggs w/o hibernation but to be totally honest I'M NOT SURE, hopefully someone here knows. You don't have to hibernate them...if you keep the cage hot and the light cycles the same it is unlikely they will try to hibernate.

3. We have kids who would want to be "hands-on" with the tegu, are there any that would tolerate gentle handling and little hands "petting" them? Are kids and tegus a bad mix? I am aware of the nails/scratching issue if they were to try and lift them as well as the tails whipping. No hand feeding. I also do various educational programs during the year... would a tegu be able to goto different venues without being too stressed out?

-My tegus are all tolerant and even seem to occasionally enjoy petting (especially being scratched around the neck). IME, it takes until they are around 3 ft. before they will become completely tame...when they are smaller they tend to still be nervous (but not agressive).

Tegus are without a doubt the closest you can get to a "dog with scales" and if they have regular human contact they will become completely tolerant of humans, and some people (myself included) swear they actually enjoy thier owners company.

-HOWEVER-

They are WILD ANIMALS and should always be treated with RESPECT. Tegus have very powerful jaws and could do SERIOUS, CRIPPLING DAMAGE to a childs hand. So obviously if your children have contact with the lizard it should be a closely supervised session (but I'm sure you already intended that). I ussualy take one of my tegus out with me when I got to pet stores, parks, etc. Invariably, the "big pretty lizard" attracts a small crowd of children and adults. I always let the kids pet the Tegu and I haven't had a problem yet...but I always keep my hands on the Tegus head just in case.

4. What is their maximum life capacity barring accidents & bad keeping?

15-20 yrs I believe. Who knows how long they can live...most tegus are feed a diet of almost nothing but whole rodents, but it seems that more research indicates that this is MUCH too high-fat of a diet for them and they would probably all be living a lot longer with a more appropreate diet of bugs, fruit, and vegetables.

Anyway....sorry to get so preachy about tegu child safety there...I hope I answeared your questions fully (except the part about egg laying)