i'm new and with some questions

Sicki · New Member Joined: Dec 02, 2007 Posts: 9

Hi all,

I've been reading this forum for a few months now, and after i got all excited about these wonderful animals I decided to get one.
After a long search i found someone who breeds captive tegus, who doesn't live half a world away.
But i've got a few questions. First my plan was to get a babytegu and raise it, and then after a year maybe get another one to raise. But the guy who breeds them only has two left, one is half a year old and the other one is almost a year. So do i wait until he gets another nest of tegus or do i buy the one that's 6 months old (i read that they're harder to tame if not handled from a very young age)?
Can i safely put a one year old and a 2 year old tegu together or will they have problems because of the age difference?
I often read that the food bill for tegus is really high, but how high is it? can anyone give me an estimate?
And a last question, I'm going to move in the next couple of months, is it better to wait with the purchase of the tegu so that he doesn't have to move again after he's settled here, or do they adjust well after a change of surroundings?

Tegster · Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:37 pm Post subject:

Sicki,

Welcome!

I am too new to tell you about age issues. But if these tegus have been well handled they might already be tame. How much do you know about them?

I can tell you it's been really hard for us to gauge food costs in these first several months. We buy food every two weeks. We never know how much Tegster will eat or if he will eat at all. Some days he cleans his plate, other days I have to throw food out. I can say, they have expensive taste. Fine fruits and meats. But the food lasts a long time in the freezer.

You can buy frozen rodents (dietary staple) in bulk. Over the long term you are saving money. We haven't done it that way because Tegster is growing so fast, his meals are as well. We've been through pinkies, past fuzzies, and are on hoppers now.

As for getting your tegu before you move, I wouldn't recommend it. We had Tegster basically three months and he grew so fast we suddenly found ourselves on the fastrack to building a permanent custom enclosure to meet his needs.

There is so much to taking care of these guys in the beginning-while you are getting to know them and their needs. And moving is stressful enough all by itself. I'd wait until I was settled if I were you.
_________________
Renee

Ben3233 · Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:12 pm Post subject:

For the food estimate I would say, that an adult Tegu eats 2 mice or rats per week. If you buy on internet rats are like 2$.

2$ rats
2 rats per week
52week

2x2x52=208$ (for meat)
you can also buy fruits and veggies (buy them and freeze them so you won't lose it)
buy some cricket,mealworm,turckey,chicken and fish.

I would say that the average would be 350$ per years for the food.

For the rest, I recommand to buy a Baby Argentine Black and White Tegu.They will be easier to tame.

good luck!!!

_________________
Ben3233
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Uresaii)

txrepgirl · Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:13 am Post subject:

Welcome to the Tegu forum ( family ).It is nice to have you on board.I would wait until you are done moving.They need a lot of your time if you want them to be tame.I would recommend to get some hatchlings.They are much easier to tame.We have two black and white argentine Tegus.One we got him when he was 2 1/2 weeks old in October 07.The other one we got him when he was a few months old and that was in December 07.I didn't put them together yet because Zeus the older one has been hibernating.I buy my crickets and most of my other food for them in bulk.I pay about $20 for 1000 crickets ( I have them in a 10 gallon tank and they are juveniles so they don't chirp and I pay about $20 for 500 super worms ( they are also in a 10 gallon tank on oat meal ).You can check out the Rodents on Rodentpro.com.I use cypress mulch and you can get a 3 CU FT / 8.5 L ( they don't have the pounds written on the bag,sorry ) at the feed store for a little over $5.00.The lean ground turkey is about $6 or $7 and I put some in a ice try and than food save the chunks and put one chunk in the fridge for the next day.Hope that helps.Good luck with the move and finding the Tegus you want.Oh,if you want to breed them one day I recommend to get the hatchlings from two different breeders.

Sicki · New Member Joined: Dec 02, 2007 Posts: 9

I've read a lot of post about the fact that you have to spend a lot of time with your tegu, but how much time per day do you spend on your Tegu? I want to make sure i have enough time to keep one (or if i need to make more time .

). I've just had a mail from the local reptile shop that a new baby tegu will arrive in 2 weeks so I'm super excited

For totally unrelated reasons i've postponed my move till next year. So now i can dedicate all my attention to the new baby

Ben3233 · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:15 pm Post subject:

For me, 30-60 minutes a day is enough for a baby. When they are older, much mature, calmer and tame you can spend with him more time.

I have in mind to spend 3-5 hours a day with my adult tegu. (a lot of free roaming, petting and giving him some attention).

Have fun!

_________________
Ben3233
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Uresaii)

Tegster · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:49 pm Post subject:

Unfortunately, my son only spends about 20 minutes in the morning with Tegster before he goes to school. And most of that time is Tegster eating while my son changes water dishes or mists or clean poo. Then Tegster is asleep by the time my son gets home.

I let Tegster out for an afternoon snack, and he really doesn't want me to touch him. And we can see a difference in him.

We spent tons of time with Tegster over February vacation and he really got accustomed to us. I took him to school on Thursday, March 6th and he was amazing. He layed down on a heating pad while six 5th graders touched him all at once.

But after a few days of only 20 minutes a day - he's back to being standoffish. I did notice he is starting another shed. So maybe he is just grumpy because of that.

You need at least 30 minutes a day - but you'll want much much more!

_________________
Renee

txrepgirl · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:32 pm Post subject:

If I don't have a lot of time I just spend 30-60 minutes with him.If I have a lot of time I spend hours with him.Including taking a nap with him

.