new to the tegu lizard and would like a little help please

davebelcher · Member Joined: Mar 17, 2008 Posts: 41

hello all, i've just bought a lovely black and white tegu lizard from this pet shop which was closing down so sold it cheaper than i should of got it, he sold me a 4ft tank by 2 ft high and just short of 2ft back, it came with the basking light,and he used soil as the bedding in the tank, the tegus quite big in there and im going to be building him a new one i think, i've thought bought keeping the 4 ft long dimension pushing the back further by 3 ft,and keeping the 2 ft high, just so theres more room for him to take advantage, this is the first time i've ever owned a tegu. when i saw it i fell in love with the thing, and didn't think about how much the guy wanted to took the cash out and bought him,

now when i bought him as i mentioned he only had a basking light in there and i think its 150 watt bulb, the £35 ones and a cave he couldn't even fit in, but unbelievable enough hes get every inch of his body in there, but looks coocked up in there, so tight i made him a wooden box hide to go in his tank, plenty of room now,

the shop keeper said that he doesn't need a heat mat as that bulb will be enough for him, but i have my doubts about what he said, surly the tegu wouldn't be warm after the light goes out, i've got the light cycle on 10 hours on 14 hrs off at the minute as hes been acting up,i only bought him on the friday, and its now monday, on saturday he wouldn't settle down, he kept digging and wouldn't stop moving about, nocking the water bowl over constantly filling his food bowl with soil and just acted really odd. id really like to know how and what these lizards need and would like, such as heating at night, light in the day,and how to stop him tipping the water bowl over and his food dish filling up with dirt.

i really want to make him feel at home, but somethings bothering him, weather its a heat problem or anything like that, what could i do to make him more chilled out and happy,

dave

txrepgirl · Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 2:51 pm Post subject:

Hi Dave.Welcome to the Tegu forum family and congrats on your new Tegu.I have been very sick lately so I have to apologize for making it short.I'll try to get you some more info as soon as I can.There are also a lot of very nice and knowledgeable members here that would help you,too.It would help a lot if you would let him free roam in your home for a
while each day.That will calm him down.I also recommend feeding him in a separate empty clean bin.That helps with him not getting aggressive with you when he sees you putting your hand in the enclosure to feed him.He would need a enclosure 8x4x4 or 8x4x3 when he is a adult.He also needs a UVB light.I recommend to leave the lights on 12 hours and of 12 hours.Turn them on when the sun comes up.You can buy a timer for like $4 at Walmart.No they don't need a heat mat.Since they are digging in to the mulch they can get to close to the heat mat and can get burned.If you want to you can buy a red heat lamp for at night.He also needs some calcium and vitamine powder.Hope that helps for now.

http://thetegu.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=34545#34545

http://thetegu.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=36228#36228

http://thetegu.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=35948#35948

http://www.cityreptiles.com/web_pages/care_sheets/lizard_care_sheets/tegu_care_sheet.htm

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/feeders/

http://www.rodentpro.com/products.asp

http://www.rodentpro.com/qpage_articles_01.asp

meanah · Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 8:16 pm Post subject:

well welcome to the family/forum it looks like Txrepgirl has already beat me to the welcome.. haha well if there is anything else thatd youd need to know just feel free to ask. we all are here to help one another. see you around
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txrepgirl · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 1:42 am Post subject:

you beat me at this a lot of times Daniel.I'm still really sick so I'll be of the computer for a while.Now you don't have to worry about me beating you to welcome new members

.How is Gavin doing ? take care.

Tegster · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 1:22 pm Post subject:

Hello Dave!

Your tegu may take a while to adjust to his new surroundings. His habitat might be the same, but I'm sure his view isn't. So he might be trying to burrow because he's stressed. He'll get over it. Be patient.

There is so much great info here! Read on

_________________
Renee

davebelcher · Member Joined: Mar 17, 2008 Posts: 41

ive been to my local hardware store today and picked up 2 big 8-4 ft sheets of mdf wood, and have just started making a new home for the guy, its going to measure 5 ft long by 3 ft deep -going back , and 2 ft high, ive got the basic measured wood all cut out and just awaiting some glue to dry on an of cut i had to make due to lack of maths and was a tad too short, so flushed the wood with one another and you carnt even tell its an of cut, i think i might buy that red bulb for night time as theres no heat in there at night,and i was thinking he must be warry of the new surroundings in my bedroom, so that answers that question, and thankyou for the reply on that.is there any thing id need in the tank needed as extras, i want to make one end of the housing as a bath area and the other as a batheing area under the basking light with a nice big chunk of patio slate for him to lay on,the other end , the bath area id like to make a ramp going down into a long water tray for his bath, but am going to off cut wood to go around the ramp and the outside of the water tray, so he carnt lift it up, this water tray will be sitting flush with the wood, so its like he,ll be able to walk up the ramp going down the ramp into the bath and relax in there, ill be buying fake plants to go around the water he lies in and make his bedding with wood chippings the type to you use for other lizards like gecko,s ect the light brown stuff, and make him a wooden house to live in, but camouflage it with fake leaves and overhanging branches, just like a hide in the wild, ill be using a dogs bowl for his food dish and again outline it with wood so he carnt turf it out, again sitting flush with the wood, the next thing i need for the tank it some metal runners, and some glass, for the front, i decided to use metal rollers as they are easy to open unlike the plastic runners that have to rub on the glass to slide, that would wake him up, if i had to maybe just change his water whilst he,s asleep, useing the metal runners would be really quiet and easy access, would i need to buy maybe a controlled fan thats on all the time for the cooler area, or anything else, if theres anything else that id need dont hesitate to let me know guys and gals, im really looking forward to making my tegu happier than ever with this setup, hope he and i like it just as much,

all the best for now,

dave

Tegster · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 2:09 pm Post subject:

Dave,

When you have a big enclosure like that you won't need a fan for a cool spot. And I don't think a tegu should be in a constant draft created by a fan.

We have a 6x4x3. It required a 150 watt shatter proof floodlight to warm the hot side to the required temps of 105-115 degrees. The opposite end is cooler all by itself at 75-80 degrees.

Make sure the basking area also has a UVB bulb close enough to the tegu to be effective. A 5.0 reptisun bulb is for reptiles basking within 8 inches of the bulb. A 10. bulb is for reptiles basking farther away than 8 inches.
But UVB is an absolute necessity for these guys.

The area in our enclosure where Tegster sleeps is 68 degrees at night.

Oh we also shine a 75 watt basking bulb on our soaking bin in an effort to create humidity. We only have to mist every other day or couple of days now in order to keep up the humidity. Humidity is another absolute necessity for these guys.
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Renee

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

Hi dave

let me jump in and say welcome to theTegu

chausse1 · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:33 pm Post subject:

mdf is not the best choice to use in any enclosure. It is made up of small wood fibre that will brake down quickly in that type of environment. every time the water dish is spilt or when the tegu goes to the bathroom the mdf will brake down. One thing you can do is seal it with a 2 part epoxy or polyurethane. Just something to block/prevent the moisture from getting in.
Matt

davebelcher · Member Joined: Mar 17, 2008 Posts: 41

i was thinking bout varnishing it ,that way that would protect the wood from spills , mdf is just as good any any other wood that has water spilt on it, any wood that gets water will eventaully break down, its 18mm thick so its got alot of breaking down to go through , its strong as hell, and very very heavy, trust me ive just build up the top and bottom and the sides, and back today, and blimey is it heavy specailly with just me moving it about , well.......sliding it, im going to get some metal runners tomorrow and work on the front some more, needing glass also. so im in no rush , just going to take some time on it, and make it a good enclosure.