Help with setup

Wooly · Member Joined: Mar 05, 2007 Posts: 26

I am getting my tank ready for my baby tegu. I have a 20 gallon long with a heating pad underneath. I was wondering which lights I should use also. I heard alot of people talk about the ReptiSun 5.0 UV light so I'm thinking of getting that. Do I need additional lighting during the night? Thanks.

worldeater · Respected Member Joined: Mar 06, 2008 Posts: 505

honestly if i could do it all again id use one of these:
http://www.reptileuv.com/megaray-sb-160-watt-self-ballasted-flood-uvb-lamp.php

and like a 100 watt purple light for night time.

i'd maybe bump down the wattage on both bulbs for a 20gal long.

right now i have a 150watt halogen an 18" 10.0 uvb flourecent and a ceramic heat emitter. it works, but word is that tegus need alot of uvb, so 10.0 uvb flourecents or murcery vapors are the way to go.

meanah · Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:46 pm Post subject:

id say get a uvb bulb, a basking bulb, and a night bulb, only reason being thos big 2 in 1 bulbs are 1 really pricey and if it blows ur out a bit of money and have no lights.. with the other 2.. they are far cheaper.. and easier to replace. but thats just me.
_________________
0.1.0 Colombian Tegu
1.0.0 Arg. Tegu
0.1.4 Bearded Dragon
0.1.0 Royal Python
1.0.0 Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Kingsnake
0.0.1 Painted Turtle
0.1.1 Spotted Pythons
1.2.0 Tokay Geckos
2.3.0 Leopard Geckos

angelrose · Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:44 pm Post subject:

Wooly, Congrats on getting your tegu.

heating pads are dangerous for tegus. they borrow and dig under the substrate (cypress mulch). they can get serious burns which can lead to infection. the ceramic heat bulbs or the red are the better way to go.

you may want to look at larger enclosures, they grow fast into larger lizard and a 20 gal they have no room.

with UVB bulbs read the box for the distance from bulb to tegu to be effective.
_________________
0.1.0 B/W Colombian tegu
2.0.0 Gold Colombian tegus
1.0.0 B/W Argentine tegu
1.0.0 super tiger retic
0.1.0 tiger retic
0.1.0 colombian redtail boa
1.0.0 Brazillian Rainbow boa
1.1.0 Ball pythons
1.0.0 Burmese python

Wooly · Member Joined: Mar 05, 2007 Posts: 26

Yeah I'm jus going to use the 20 until it gets a little bigger then my gramps and I will built a suitable cage for him when its needed. I'll probably take off the heat pad or look into placing something at the bottom of the cage to prevent him from burrowing all the way to the bottom. So my best bet is to get a uvb bulb and a basking bulb then a purple night bulb...So I should get 100 watt purple night bulb, a 10.0 uvb bulb (at a correct distance) and which watt should the basking bulb be? Also should the basking and uva bulb be at opposite ends of the cage orsome what close to eachother, Thanks everyone.

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

the basking bulb will have to be at one end,and the uva can be in the middle of the tank, if you can get a perfectly long one fitting straight across the top then do that, making sure its in the 30cm range from the top to were your lizard is or the uvb may decrease....i have a big 100cm one in my tank from one end to the other. maybe use a concrete slab for him to bask on......and id say go with 100w bulb and have it around 15 inches above the slab to see how the temps go, im saying this because you can start from that height , see how the temps are if there below 30 degrees celcius then lower it, basking spot should be around 38-42 celcius. it will average from day to day.....then at the cool end make sure the temps are around 23-25 degrees.......try not to use the heat pad as the bulb will give enough heat to warm the tank up, at night there should still beb enoigh heat in there for night time alone, remember in a home the temps are around 20-25 alone so thats no object, if you feel like you want a night bulb then id go with a 40w-60w max, as they really dont need much heat at night,they like a cooler temp to sleep in....mainly why they burrow at night to stay cool,if you have a 20 gallon tank there shouldnt really be enough room for a fogger. so id get something that withholds moisture when you drench it, making sure that if you do soak it daily to stare up the substrate so all of it damp not just the top...as this will dry very quick.you want humidity levels around 60-70% any lower say 50% is fine, but anything beleow this then its time to soak again..remembering the more humidty you have in the tank whcih remebering should be a sealed tank, so no humidty should escape. this helps with shedding there skin, the dryer the humidity the problems of shedding. make sure you have a constant change of water say every 2 days , people say every day but mines fine for 2 days, you can get this liquid that mixes with water to provent it from going stale, iron in the water etc. its really cheap and has vitamins in the liquid also.make sure you have a good hide one that he-she can fit in without troubles, what i did woth mine was get soem atificial grenary , plants etc, and layed them over her hide box, so it looked more like in the wild and shes fine with that...maybe a few little stones or rocks so she can climb onto, also they come in handy for when the time comes when he does shed, theyll use them to rub on , making it easier to shed there skin.......make sure you have there light cycle on when the sun comes up and have it for 12 hours and turned of for 12 hours, they can live with the light constantly on as theyd just burrow and wouldnt see light, but stick with the 12 hour cycle, mine comes on at 7am and of at 7pm. hope ive cleared a few questions up with you, if theres any more help or info you need, please dont hesitate to pm me, all the best for now,

dave .

Wooly · Member Joined: Mar 05, 2007 Posts: 26

Hey thanks really helped clear up a lot of questions. Nice to know this forum is supporting and patient. Also thanks for the pm offer...I'm sure you will be hearing from me sooner or later, most likely sooner haha.