Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I am getting a blue tegu in a couple of days, it's my first tegu. He is about 5 mos of age, and if there is any information and or advice regarding these type of tegus I would love to hear it. I just picked up a 75 gallon tank for him, got a 3' 10.0 uvb strip bulb, and a red heat (150 watts) bulb for him. Regarding his substrate, is sphagnum peat mixed with bark ok? Is shredded redwood ok? I probably have too many questions to post.... I'm all ears for advice. Thanks!

Regards,
Greg

Congrats on your blue tegu...they are gorgeous!

That size tank should hold him for a bit, and the lighting sounds good. I've never used that substrate myself-I always use Cypress. However, I've heard others use peat/bark and are happy with it.

What I do with new tegus is let them get used to their surroundings for a week or two when they arrive. I house them in a place where they see a lot of people. After the two week mark, I start handling them in a calm manner. I'm not sure how tame your little guy is already. I try to avoid the chase and grab method, but sometimes that's unavoidable. Since I feed outside of the enclosure, being picked up soon becomes a positive experience. In the beginning I just pick up, feed, pet a bit, and put back. As the tegu gets a little calmer, I let it walk around on my couch or in the bathroom (make sure there are no little nooks and holes to escape) until it gets used to me and being handled.