Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone!
I'm new to this forum and I got my first tegu last Saturday on birthday. It was a birthday present to myself. I've been reading and researching about tegus for awhile now and finally bit the bullet.
Well, here's my new 3 foot male argentine black and white, ROY. He's a nice guy and doesn't mind being picked up. I'm currently baking all of the orchid bark I have to kill all the bugs I found in it.
I'm thinking about keeping a shallow 3' X 18" pool of water in his 6 X 3 X 2 cage. Is this a good idea? I've let him roam outside on my patio with the pool of water and he likes to soak himself in it.
Anyone else keep water in their enclosure?
Does it get messy?
Thanks,
Tristan

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Tristan
1.1 Blood Pythons (Rambo and Medussa)
1.2 Egyptian Uromastyx (Dog, Cleo, Slo Mo)
0.1 Suriname Red Tail Boas (Stoney)

Roy eating a mouse

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Tristan
1.1 Blood Pythons (Rambo and Medussa)
1.2 Egyptian Uromastyx (Dog, Cleo, Slo Mo)
0.1 Suriname Red Tail Boas (Stoney)

He's very stout but not fat...
My full name is Tristan Roy Egualada. You could see the word Tegu in my name from the first letter of my first name and the first three letters of my last name. Naturally, I named him after my middle name Roy.
Hope you enjoyed the pics!

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Tristan
1.1 Blood Pythons (Rambo and Medussa)
1.2 Egyptian Uromastyx (Dog, Cleo, Slo Mo)
0.1 Suriname Red Tail Boas (Stoney)
1.0 Argentine Black and White Tegu (Roy)

You will LOVE your tegu. Enjoy.

Mike B

hey mike,
i have 1.2 egyptian uros. my male's 3 years old and my two females are 1.5 years old. they will be part of a breeding project someday. each have their own personalities. i love them too!
do you have any uros?
how big and how old is your red? (rufus??)
tristan

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Tristan
1.1 Blood Pythons (Rambo and Medussa)
1.2 Egyptian Uromastyx (Dog, Cleo, Slo Mo)
0.1 Suriname Red Tail Boas (Stoney)
1.0 Argentine Black and White Tegu (Roy)

..
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Tristan
1.1 Blood Pythons (Rambo and Medussa)
1.2 Egyptian Uromastyx (Dog, Cleo, Slo Mo)
0.1 Suriname Red Tail Boas (Stoney)
1.0 Argentine Black and White Tegu (Roy)

I love it man. You look like a very proud "poppa." Happy bd btw! =)

I too just got my first tegu about a week ago. A sub adul blue female. Ive had monitor lizards for years and years, but never a tegu, until now. I love her. Its a totally different experience.

For monitors, it not necessary to bake anything. For large logs, i simply rinse them off, to prevent excess bugs from coming inside, but other then that, just put em in as is. Maybe tegu keepers handle it differently.

Good luck with your new tegu! Are you planning on getting a gf for him?

thanks norcalherps. that's a beautiful blue you have there. i'm not sure if i will get a gf for Roy. maybe sometime in the future. i'm not sure if a 6X3X18" is big enough for two.
What do you think?

Roy is definately ready to mate though. found some sperm plugs in his poop today.

do you plan on getting a bf for your blue? with a face like hers, every male tegu will be falling in love with her.

tristan

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Tristan
1.1 Blood Pythons (Rambo and Medussa)
1.2 Egyptian Uromastyx (Dog, Cleo, Slo Mo)
0.1 Suriname Red Tail Boas (Stoney)
1.0 Argentine Black and White Tegu (Roy)

..
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Tristan
1.1 Blood Pythons (Rambo and Medussa)
1.2 Egyptian Uromastyx (Dog, Cleo, Slo Mo)
0.1 Suriname Red Tail Boas (Stoney)
1.0 Argentine Black and White Tegu (Roy)

If he is sitting in his bowl your ambeint temp may be to high. They just need a water bowl to drink out of and a moist hide box to chill in.take care russ

cool. i'll just keep the water pool for him outside on the patio. i've never put in his cage, just on the patio. the temps are 80-85 ambient and 105-110 basking (in 6X3X18" vision). i was hoping he'd develop a habit of pooping in it everytime i let him roam out there. it would save some cleaning time.

Santiago looks breathtaking! how old is he now? what type of feeding schedule do you have him on? I hope Roy gets that big some day.

Any suggestions for a feeding schedule for a 3 ft. 2 yr. old male blk & white?

i'm currently feeding him either rodents or ground turkey every other day and fruits in between those days. he loves grapes and bananas! is it too much feeding him everyday? i wouldn't want him to get overweight and obese. he's a pretty good thickness now.

thanks,
tristan

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Tristan
1.1 Blood Pythons (Rambo and Medussa)
1.2 Egyptian Uromastyx (Dog, Cleo, Slo Mo)
0.1 Suriname Red Tail Boas (Stoney)
1.0 Argentine Black and White Tegu (Roy)

He is 4 years old 4'4"tl-21 1/8"snt to vent and 17lbs. When he was young as much as he would eat.Were did you get your tegu ? Did they hibernate him? He should get another foot on him .Nice tegu .Take care Russ

i got him from prehistoric times in moreno valley. i live about 45 minutes away from them so i drove there to check him out and ended up bringing him home.
i'm not sure if they hibernated him but my untuition says no.

should i hibernate him this winter? is this a good idea even if i'm not gonna be breeding him anytime soon? if so, do i just put him in a box or keep the lights off?

thanks,
tristan
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Tristan
1.1 Blood Pythons (Rambo and Medussa)
1.2 Egyptian Uromastyx (Dog, Cleo, Slo Mo)
0.1 Suriname Red Tail Boas (Stoney)
1.0 Argentine Black and White Tegu (Roy)

I would not force hibernation on him. If he does it him self thats fine. Santiago has only bermated for 9 days since I got him. he is 4 now. Other wise he just eat the same year round

Keeping some drinking/soaking water in the enclosure is a good idea, but make sure it's not too deep. Tegus burrow and bulldoze through stuff, so it is likely to get knocked over. Here is a tip for you, get two small cat litter boxes. Move the substrate where you want the water to be. Sit the first litter box into place. Use a drill and some wood screws to screw it down. Then sit the second litter box into the 'holding box'. Now it will be fixed in place but you can still take out the water container for cleaning.

Rick
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The Tegu Community - theTegu.com

lol thats funny rick that is exactly what my water bowl is too.

congrats tristan your tegu looks great have fun

i'm definately gonna take your advice but where should i put the water for soaking/drinking?
on the cool side? or in between the cool side and the hot side?

thanks
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Tristan
1.1 Blood Pythons (Rambo and Medussa)
1.2 Egyptian Uromastyx (Dog, Cleo, Slo Mo)
0.1 Suriname Red Tail Boas (Stoney)
1.0 Argentine Black and White Tegu (Roy)

I put mine on the cool side. The reason is that if it's on the hot side it takes up basking area. If it's on the cool side it gives them a place to soak to cool off and by being on the cool side it doesn't evaporate as quickly.

This is my personal preference, it does not mean this is how it needs to be done. You can experiment and see how you or your tegu likes it.

Rick
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The Tegu Community - theTegu.com