Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I am a snake guy and really never noticed Tegus until this past weekend. I was in a local pet store and they had a beautiful Red Tegu for $249. I thought (he?) was really awesome looking, the way he was foraging around under the log they had. I liked that he looked really intelligent.

Could someone please give me a brief rundown on how big they get, what they eat, ease of care, are they mean ect... Also, if someone could recommend a good starter book I would be really greatful.

Thanks alot!!

Alan

I keep 1.1 reds
males top out at about 4ft. and get some good weight to them, about 16-20 lbs. as adults a 4x8 cage is prefered, dirt or cypress mulch are the best substrates. there is no good book for tegus, but there is plenty of info online, thetegu.com has some good care sheets.

I was afraid someone would say 4'. Wow! Where do you keep them? I live in the north east, so outside is not an option. Do you set aside a seperate room? I, unfortunately, dont have that much extra space to dedicate to them.

I would hope the pet stores that sell them let the customers know what they are getting into. Its like all the people who by baby Iguana's and are unprepared for them.

Thanks for the info.

One to two feet I can handle, 4' must be like keeping a Caimen.

Alan

4fo is big that would be a male the argentinas tegus get the biggest but are the best 1s black and white argentina's are the most tame 1s i hear reds are more agressive but i had the choice between a red and black and white i chose another black and white. but ya i agree w the iggy thin i thats how i got started in reps is my 1st iggy i realy had no idea ad it actualy bother me that peep are making th smae choice i did 2 years ago gettin in the same thing w no info i know everythin i need now but i need it before i git the iggy i have a great book on iggys its 650 pg everythinud ever need to know lol tegus i have found are the most gental tame and smart reptile so far but they do grow quick w the proper care w does variy between the kind og tegu u get there are also blue and gold tegu's some get mice and bugs fish and othersn need veggies too but when there closer to adult age lol sry i ran on!

Ahhh....a non-impluse buyer. You, my friend, are a herpers dream come true lol...Yeah thetegu.com is probably the best place to start.

I have always enjoyed my Argentine B/W Tegus and their temperament makes them great educational animals. When we got this male Red into the rescue I decided to keep him. He's an awesome lizard and has joined our team of education animals.