Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi All,

Today, much to my surprise, I purchased a juvenile Argentine B&W Tegu from the Midwest Reptile Show. I'm not a big fan of what I've called "reptile swap meets", but today was an exception since this animal was fiesty and in seemingly good health, and I have to admit, he was priced very reasonably as well.
For myself, I have been a monitor lizard enthusiast for 8 years and have kept various herps for 18, this is my first tegu however.
Currently, the little fellows setup is a 7L X 3.5 W 3.5 H oak cage. I have placed a foot and half of cyphress mulch in his enclosure, current temps are 110 F basking spot, hot side ambient temps are between 88-92 F, and the cool side is ambient 78 degrees F, I also installed a Zoo Med Powersun UV 160W along with a 75 W halogen floodlamp to make up the heating and lighting of the basking area. Overall cage humidity is at 70%. I also applied my monitor husbandry skills and created several hide spots made from clay flats.
The tegu appears to be a male around 19inches in legnth (need to measure him to be sure). His previous owners unfortunately fed him cat food, crickets, and occasionally pinkies, no fruits at all.
So based on all the information I listed, what is right about this setup, and what is wrong about it?
Finally what about diet? I have read the FAQ at Bluetegu.com and the information at Agama International, my concern is how do I wean my tegu from cat food?
All feedback is welcome, bear in mind I have much to unlearn in order to give my tegu the best possible care.

Many Thanks in Advance for your guidence and advice.

-Kit

I have to say that setup sounds good to me. I particularly like how you set up the lights with halogen and UV-heat. It really isn't that bad that he didn't get feed fruit because they usually don't until they're a little older. But if you can, start him early. If he's eating crickets and pinkies then that solves the cat food problem. It sounds like he's got a good home. Welcome to the tegu forum

Your set up sounds great. The humidity level could be increased by 10%, this will help with shedding. His hide/sleep box needs to be kept moist as well, not soaking wet, just moist to the touch. Everything else sounds good.

Regarding the diet? Rollin is right on about the fruit. Tegus tend not to eat fruit until they are close to adulthood. B&W's may take some now and then, but reds must have fruit. One diet thought is to feed the San Diego Zoo diet every other day or third day. A main staple of boiled chicken dusted with supplements is good as well and most tegus love it! Cat food is fine one or two feedings a week. You just want to make sure it is high quality.......real meat and no, or very little meat by-products.

Keep up the awesome work!

Greg

Your set up sounds great. The humidity level could be increased by 10%, this will help with shedding. His hide/sleep box needs to be kept moist as well, not soaking wet, just moist to the touch. Everything else sounds good.

Regarding the diet? Rollin is right on about the fruit. Tegus tend not to eat fruit until they are close to adulthood. B&W's may take some now and then, but reds must have fruit. One diet thought is to feed the San Diego Zoo diet every other day or third day. A main staple of boiled chicken dusted with supplements is good as well and most tegus love it! Cat food is fine one or two feedings a week. You just want to make sure it is high quality.......real meat and no, or very little meat by-products.

Keep up the awesome work!

Greg

Thanks for the replies (I must say this forum appears much friendlier than the monitor forum)
One approach that works for monitors and snakes with high humidity needs is soaking them for one to two hours once a week to increase hydration and make shedding easier.
I've had great success with this in the past, do you folks do this as well? Is it recommended for a tegu?

In the meantime, I'll construct a hidebox out of a rubbermaid tub that I have following the guidelines you guys have provided me.

Thanks Again,

-Kit

We soak ours approx every other day for about 15-20 mins. You can get away doing this less. This is a way to "potty-train" them though so they do not create huge messes in the house while roaming about. If you have room, a large shallow pan/dish with water will help as well. Tegus will drink from this and also soak in it once in a while.

Greg

Yes, I agree that this place is definitely friendlier than the monitor list! There seem to be quite a few of us here who started with monitors and discovered tegus. Welcome aboard!

Congrats on your tegu, Kit!

I soak mine in the bathtub 10-60 minutes a few times a week. Sometimes they spread out and sleep, sometimes they do a quick perimeter check then claw the sides to get out.

I'm still working on potty training. The gold usually goes in the tub, but the red likes to wait til she's out & towel dried then goes on the floor (on paper if I'm lucky!)

Looking forward to seeing some pics of your little guy!