New Tegu owner

New2Tegu06 · Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 4:09 pm Post subject: New Tegu owner

Hey Everyone,

I just purchased an Argentine over the weekend and I am very pleased with how tame the little guy is. I am currently keeping him in a 25 Gallon Rubbermade coantainer that I modified for maximum humidity. However, I am using a heat slash UVB buld that is 60 watts. The basking area stays around 106F and the shaded area is areound 90F during the day. Humdity is around 60-70% during the day and jumps to around 80-90% at night. Just wanted to get some insite on these figures and find out if I am cooking the poor thing or if he is finding it to his likeing. Thanks.
_________________
Chris Bisson
New2Tegu06
Huntington Beach, CA

0.0.1 Argentine B/W Tegu

"I believe that my purpose in this world is to save wildlife, and I thank you for coming with me." -Steve Irwin

RehabRalphy · Banned Joined: Feb 01, 2006 Posts: 403 Location: Missouri

Hello and welcome.

So far that sounds like a good temp enclosure.

One thing I might suggest, if you got that 25watt UV/UVB coil bulb from petco/petsmart, its no good.

I also suggest either using a Mercury Vapor Bulb (expensive but well worth it. Produces excellent amounts of heat and UVB) or using a combination of a UVB flouresent stripe light and a heat source such as a regular UVA house bulb (75 watts for that size of rubbermaid).

On the side of the rubbermaid, make sure to drill lots of holes in the sides. Humidity can stay up with misstings of the cage. But dont slack on venhilation just because you dont want to squirt the cage often

But once again, welcome to theTegu. Enjoy your stay and ask as many questions as you want.

-Mike

New2Tegu06 · Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 7:47 am Post subject:

Thanks for the advice, the Mecury vapor is actually the bulb that I purchased. Expensive is right. The cage is not very tall, that is why I went went the 60 watt bulb. I did not want the dude to be basking under a 75 watt'er when it is that close to him. I do need to drill more holes in his cage though I did not really think of the whole misting thing. Thanks again!

RehabRalphy · Banned Joined: Feb 01, 2006 Posts: 403 Location: Missouri

Depends on how many holes you drilled.

Can you get a few pictures of the cage. I can tell you right now, you better "fix" the MVB (mercury vapor bulb) onto something. Mount it to your wall so then it never gets bumped, touched, wiggled, etc. They'll burn out fast if you tamper with the bulb.

Let me draw you a diagram of the wall mount I'm talking about. I'm using MS paint

This way the bulb wont get tampered with and it'll have a long lasting life.

Also, consider using a lid on your rubbermaid. Tegus can jump pretty high....

What I did was I cut out a big 10" hole in the lid, then I put mesh on top of it securing it with twist ties. This way the light can get through, but the tegu cant get out

New2Tegu06 · Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 3:36 pm Post subject:

Nice Graphics my friend. The scarry part of it is that you pretty much designed my current enclosure. I actually did the same thing and cut a 10 inch hole and fastend mesh to it. The light is actually sitting on top of the mesh. I will rig it up as you have shown when I get back from work in a couple hours. Thanks for the response.

Regards,
Chris
_________________
Chris Bisson
New2Tegu06
Huntington Beach, CA

0.0.1 Argentine B/W Tegu

"I believe that my purpose in this world is to save wildlife, and I thank you for coming with me." -Steve Irwin

RehabRalphy · Banned Joined: Feb 01, 2006 Posts: 403 Location: Missouri

Well with it "rigged" up like this, you'll have a longer lasting MVB. Those puppies arent cheap

VARNYARD · Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 12:05 am Post subject:

I must disagree, 90*F is too hot on the cool side of the enclosure. Your basking spot is fine, but 90*F on the cool side is much too hot. Tegus in the wild and in outdoor enclosures do not bask during the heat of the day. they do not like real hot temps. They bask in the morning and evening. If you could get the cool side down some it would be perfect. At 90*F your tegu has nowhere to cool off. Your tegu could over heat, this can lead to death.
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www.tegu.com and www.Varnyard-herps-inc.com

nicolerussell · Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 6:23 am Post subject:

I agree. I think the cool side should not be higher then 80....a large gradient is always better then no choice at all

But the enclosure is a nice use of space.
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Yours,
NiColeRuSSell

"I'm gonna do what I should've done in the first place. I'll find her, wherever she is, tie her up, torture her... until she likes me again."
-Spike

RehabRalphy · Banned Joined: Feb 01, 2006 Posts: 403 Location: Missouri

Ya I didn't say anything about the cool side because I don't know what the temps will do when you wall mount your MVB. They may change on the cool side.

New2Tegu06 · Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 7:49 am Post subject:

Well last night I made some adjustments and took some readings. My buddy Mike said the same on the ambient Temp. topic. I wall mounted the light and angled it slightly to direct the direct rays from the far side of the tank. I checked the temps after about 2.5 hours and the basking was about the same. However, I managed to get the cool side down to about 83F and his hide box was around 78F. I will double check the temps again when I get home after a fulls day of exposure and see what changes need to be made at that point. All in all in just comes down to putting together a custom cage for this dude and stop cutting corners with this Rubbermaid container. What are some good dimensions for these guys as far as a cage goes for at least the first year?
_________________
Chris Bisson
New2Tegu06
Huntington Beach, CA

0.0.1 Argentine B/W Tegu

"I believe that my purpose in this world is to save wildlife, and I thank you for coming with me." -Steve Irwin

VARNYARD · Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:50 pm Post subject:

Everything sounds much better now.

As for the size of the enclosure, this would depend on if it is going to hibernate. A tegu that does not hibernate can reach three feet in one year. It you let it hibernate it will be much smaller in one year.

The smallest enclosure for a three foot tegu or larger IMO, is 3ft x 3ft x 6ft.
However, a 40 gallon breeder tank should be fine for the first year if it is allowed to hibernate
_________________
www.tegu.com and www.Varnyard-herps-inc.com

New2Tegu06 · Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:19 pm Post subject:

He is definitly not going to Hibernate. I want this guy to grow fast and be healthy and happy. I am turning my closet into a cage for him so the dimensions should be more than sufficient.
_________________
Chris Bisson
New2Tegu06
Huntington Beach, CA

0.0.1 Argentine B/W Tegu

"I believe that my purpose in this world is to save wildlife, and I thank you for coming with me." -Steve Irwin

RehabRalphy · Banned Joined: Feb 01, 2006 Posts: 403 Location: Missouri

That was a bit of a contridiction, but ill let that fly
(its known to be healthier to hibernate)

As far as the closet cage, it wont work. Tegus must have more floor space than height.

New2Tegu06 · Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 5:21 pm Post subject:

Its a walkin my friend! Trust me, it's big enough.
_________________
Chris Bisson
New2Tegu06
Huntington Beach, CA

0.0.1 Argentine B/W Tegu

"I believe that my purpose in this world is to save wildlife, and I thank you for coming with me." -Steve Irwin

RehabRalphy · Banned Joined: Feb 01, 2006 Posts: 403 Location: Missouri

That would be neat. May be a bit difficult to provide the tegus needs though. You'll need lots of cypress, and you dont want your floor to wrott with all the water. Heating may be a problem. But if you can figure out a way to do it, go for it. I do believe people have done it before, so its possible.