Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I am new to the Tegu world. I had a store credit and found this columbian tegu that I liked so I bought it. Was this a mistake? I read that they can be a handful. Any helpful tips will be greatly appreciated!
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-Kyle
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I have two columbian tegus - I have had them for about 8 years. I worked with them a lot when they were very small... both are dog tame. In fact, one of my tegus comes out with me whenever I do an educational talk
How old/big is your tegu?

Looks fresh from the egg, so about 8 inches with tail.
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-Kyle
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I also have two tame Colombians that have done presentations with me. It's a matter of handling and persistence.

I keep mine warm...basking temps 100-105 and cool side 80-85 with a drop to high 70's at night. Humidity should be a minimum of 60%, ideally 70-80%. They eat F/t rodents, ground turkey, egg, organ meats, chicken necks cut to size, papaya, mango, banana, berries....calcium added to anything that doesn't have bones. UVB is a must, not filtered by a screen lid. I use cypress mulch for bedding which holds humidity and allows for burrowing.

As for taming, there will be a bit of huffing, maybe a tail whip. I pick mine up to feed outside of the enclosure so that being picked up is a good thing. It may take some time to get to that point (eating out of the enclosure). But handling for a few minutes a few times a day will help in the beginning.