Apparently my new tegu is a colombian black, not a merinae. It was an early xmas gift from my in laws, and they know little of loreal scales or linear stripes down the back. It is a really cool lizard, nonetheless. It's approx 20 inches in length and extremely robust, especially in the tail. It is also very friendly contrary to what I'd expected from my net research. I'm keeping it in a 75 gal with 6 inches of mulch and several new cork hides. I'm also using a 100 watt peralco emitter as well as a couple of repti sun bulbs for uv. I'm holding off on feeding, as I want to avoid scaring the heck out of it. I'm going to give it a day or 2 to settle. Anyone think I should use a UTH in addition to the Peralco? Ambient on the hot side is about 85 right now.
thanks.