New here, with some questions.

tiffykins · New Member Joined: Feb 10, 2008 Posts: 4

Hello, my husband and I just bought a Black and White Argentine Tegu from Petco. It had been there for a few months and we finally couldn't stand seeing it there with not much human contact, and living in an enclosure that didn't seem to be cleaned as much as it should. We know that it is going to need a pretty big enclosure for when it gets bigger which is fine, because we have already been planning on making our own 4.5' x 2.5' x 2' enclosure for my Bearded Dragon. From what I have gathered it would be ok to make a 6' x 3.5' x 3' enclosure for the Tegu. We have it in a 20 Gallon long tank, which seems to be perfect for right now. How many times a week should it eat? The lady that worked at petco told us they feed it 2 pinkies a week and some crickets. For something that is going to get so big that doesnt seem right to me, my Beardie eats well over 100 crickets or phoenix worms a day and her collard greens, and she isn't going to get anywhere near the size of a full grown tegu. I measured him and he is about 13" snout to tail, if someone could tell me how much our Tegu should get fed and how many times a week, that would be great. Right now He is on aspen snake bedding, because that is what the lady at Petco said was best for him. Is this substrate good or should we buy a different kind? We have a florescent light fixture with a reptisun 10.0 and a basking light with a rock as his basking spot for now. The temp on the cool side is around 75 degrees and the temp at the basking spot is around 105 degrees. Are these temperatures ok? Any other helpful tips that anyone has would also be greatly appreciated.

angelrose · Moderator Joined: Jan 05, 2008 Posts: 1455

hi

welcome to theTegu, stick around you will love it here. everyone is friendly and helpful

Congrats on your new tegu but I have to warn you one leads to another and so on .....

to help you the best way go under 'Search' above at the top
look for the article by Rick Sisco (the Admin) called:
"Rick's tegu care sheet"
T. Merianae (argentine B&W tegu) Care
you will read e v e r y t h i n g you need to know lighting, heat, bedding and what to feed him
lotsa luck and welcome

keep us updated, ok

tiffykins · New Member Joined: Feb 10, 2008 Posts: 4

Thank you, that helped me out a lot. My hubby named him Hank, and he seems to be settling pretty well, still a bit jumpy when being handled but I had figured he would be like that after being at petco for as long as he was.

Tegster · Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:27 am Post subject:

Welcome! Just about everything you need to know is posted here somewhere. You just have to read, read, read.

We offer Tegster food every day. More than he can eat. He knows when he is full. And some days-he doesn't eat. Once you figure out his intake you can cut back or add more.

Your temps sound within the normal ranges-but some would say the warm side could be 5-10 degrees warmer.

If your tegu seems happy and healthy go with it.

As for the substrate you are using, I don't know anything about the product you use now. Most people here use 100% cypress mulch. And I can tell you a 20 gal long is hard to keep humid. Don't let your substrate dry out. Mist, mist, mist. And when you think you have misted enough, mist some more. You don't want swampy-just thoroughly moist.
_________________
Renee

tiffykins · New Member Joined: Feb 10, 2008 Posts: 4

Thanks, I had a feeling the lady at petco was wrong about how much food to feed him every week. Once my hubby gets home I will see if I can get the cypress mulch, cause the aspen snake bedding isn't moist at all its kinda like the shavings you would use in a rodent cage. I didnt see a basking light in the top of his tank at petco so I don't think he has ever really had a place for it to be over 100 degrees. But now that he is with us he will be able to have all the things that he is supposed to have. The sad part is that we had one person helping us and then when we told her that we wanted to but Hank she went and got this lady that supposidly knew everything about him, I guess she doesn't really know that much after all besides that he is going to be big and needs it to be hot in his tank. Oh well, I guess that is what can be expected of petco.

angelrose · Moderator Joined: Jan 05, 2008 Posts: 1455

I hope you found the forum ok by Rick I forgot to tell you it was under the forum 'helpful information'.
the place where I got my tegu they were starving him, they told me they were feeding him up to 2 doz crickets a day ...... he was ready for some meat. not the proper lighting at all ...... I felt so very bad and it was love at first sight

I brought him home I started with pinkies right away ...that was not enough I got fuzzies then hoppers within that same month she was eating small mice like they were going out of style. she is with me for three years now.
currently Angelrose is into raw eggs so I make a puree. one raw egg, sprinkle with calcium/D3, minced up ground turkey or chicken or fish sometimes steak to thicken it up a little more and sneak a fruit in there I smash a bananna or cantelope or butternut squash. it took me some time to find what she was looking for next. I use the cypress mulch and mist and she likes to get misted a little also and loves a warm bath I do that about once a week. I use the big UVB & A bulb 160watts.
and she has free roaming around when I am here and she likes to sit in front of the stove when I am cooking.
not to bore you .... maybe you can get some more ideas. I wish Hank the best

tiffykins · New Member Joined: Feb 10, 2008 Posts: 4

Oh no you arent boring me lol. I have a whole routine with my Beardie and she gets a little upset if I dont follow it, so I know all about catering to the animals lol. I did find the article it was very helpful. When the lady told me how much he was being fed it was kind of like What!? We had to decide between Hank and the Savannah Monitors they have there, and since from what I seen the Savannah Monitors get bought pretty fast and Hank had just been sitting there we picked him. If I could afford it I would get the Savannah Monitors too since there are three of them in the tank and they definitly don't have enough room and their tank isn't cleaned enough, and they look pretty skinny. I can only imagine what petco thinks is the right amount of food for them, and if they are even making sure that each one is getting enough to eat. They arent small either each of them is probably close to about 2 feet long. I tend to see an animal in need and then feel the need to save it.