theTegu.com - Tegu information, photo gallery, forums, caresheets, diet & nutritional info, taming tips and more for the argentine black and white tegu, argentine red tegu, blue tegu, colombian black tegu and the colombian gold-phased black tegu. Tupinambis merianea, teguixin & rufescens.
Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 1:36 pm Post subject: New member! YAY (No Tegu Yet)
hey all, just wanted to say hi before i start lookin around =D
I've been looking into buying a Tegu, and it just so happens tha a store a few blocks down has a Black tegu.. I think. It is roughly $60 ... Is that a fair price??
Anyway... what should i be looking forward to?
What is good health in a Tegu...
What should i expect out of his behavior? How fast do they grow?
Tank size?
Hey and welcome to thetegu! We're here to answer all your questions, so ask as many as you want.
As for that tegu in the store near you, chances are that it is a colombian black and white tegu. Since you're new to tegus (as am I), I would suggest getting an argentine. Argentines are easier to tame, more intelligent, and get bigger Check out this page for the differences between the two: http://thetegu.com/contentid-10.html
If you are interested in an argentine, you picked a good time because the eggs are going to hatch in like a month and a half. I'm getting my first from agamainternational.com. Check them out.
Joined: Oct 20, 2005 Posts: 270 Location: Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 3:04 pm Post subject:
almost all your questions can be answered in the "helpful info" section.
$60 bucks sounds a little cheap to me.. what kind is it? I paid $200 canadian for my argentine.
They grow fairly quickly, but it depends on whether or not they hibernate. If they don't hibernate, they can become adult sized in less than two years. If they do hibernate, it will take a little longer (3-3.5 years).
Cage size depends on the breed of the tegu. An argentine black and white or argentine red will both reach lengths upwards of 4', so they require an enclosure at least 8x4x2. Columbians and blues get about a foot shorter, and only require around 6x3x2.
Tegus have an enormous amount of personality, they're highly intelligent (relative to that of a cat). They can learn their names, learn different colours, be house trained, and many people believe they can actually learn to crave human contact. They're a great lizard. _________________ Visit www.reptileontario.com
- Scott
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They pretty much touched all the bases, but welcome to the site.
Now my imput... Arg.'s are much better. I tried to tame a gold columbian with little success and wayyyy too many headaches and bit fingers.
My boy measures in at 46" and will be a year old in July, but he wasnt hibernated this year, so it does make a big difference. They're wonderfully intelligent, and based on the size, make a good pet (not too fragile) Plus they have a borad array of food choices, and maintence is fairly low. Ideal lizards
Joined: Jun 09, 2006 Posts: 43 Location: Sacramento, CA
Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 12:32 pm Post subject:
RainbowParty wrote:
They grow fairly quickly, but it depends on whether or not they hibernate. If they don't hibernate, they can become adult sized in less than two years. If they do hibernate, it will take a little longer (3-3.5 years).
What decides if they hibernate? Is it possible they will one year and not the next? _________________ 1.0.0 Green Iguana - Bhruic
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You pretty much decide if you want them to hibernate or not. If you want to, when the time comes gradually lower the temps, photoperiod, and feeding and they'll hibernate. (right?)
Joined: Mar 25, 2005 Posts: 1354 Location: Denver, CO
Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 1:49 pm Post subject:
agallegos37 wrote:
You pretty much decide if you want them to hibernate or not. If you want to, when the time comes gradually lower the temps, photoperiod, and feeding and they'll hibernate. (right?)
That's a reasonable statement, however they still can sense the changing in the seasons and go through a slow down in activity and feeding regardless of lights and temps... _________________ 1.0.0 Ball Python "Albino"
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That's a reasonable statement, however they still can sense the changing in the seasons and go through a slow down in activity and feeding regardless of lights and temps...
Agreed, I was just saying that if you want them to hibernate you could follow through with their declining activity and consumption.
You can make it so they don't hibernate too, right? Would you just up the temperature a little bit. You can't force feed em (why would you anyway?), so I guess that would be the only thing to do?
Joined: Mar 25, 2005 Posts: 1354 Location: Denver, CO
Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 5:36 pm Post subject:
agallegos37 wrote:
Teiidae wrote:
That's a reasonable statement, however they still can sense the changing in the seasons and go through a slow down in activity and feeding regardless of lights and temps...
Agreed, I was just saying that if you want them to hibernate you could follow through with their declining activity and consumption.
You can make it so they don't hibernate too, right? Would you just up the temperature a little bit. You can't force feed em (why would you anyway?), so I guess that would be the only thing to do?
Just keeping the temps and lights at a consistent heat/light schedule would most likely keep them from going into hibernation - I've noticed a slowdown in activity and feeding in mine last fall which I would expect even with the constant temps and lighting, however it seemed by the time full blown winter was here, they were more active than in the fall.
Perhaps although their natural instinct was telling them to hibernate, they adjusted and came back out and activity resumed due to keeping up the heat and light period. Although the heat is kept up in my house in winter, you still feel the cold and I'm sure they would as well, maybe even more-so, unless they were enclosed in some kind of climate controlled chamber.
Can they still go down in a hibernative like state under these conditions - Well I believe a few members here have gone through this last winter to where keeping the heat and lights up daily led to no sign of their Tegu's for weeks or better - The best definition of this "state of being", I would say has come from Tupinambis and makes complete sense to me as "Brumation" - Hibernation independent of temperature.
While the duration may not be as long as a Tegu whom has been "cooled down" for hibernation, it is still possible for them to go down for periods of time, and I know a few have gone through this and would agree.
So with that said, keeping your heat and lights up would most likely keep your Tegu from going into hibernation although there is a possibility of Brumation - I personally would not up the temps any higher to try and keep them up,"The Tegu's" however would let nature take it's course... _________________ 1.0.0 Ball Python "Albino"
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