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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 2:32 pm Post subject: newbie here, got a question?
for the bedding what do you think of crushed walnut shells? forgot where i got it but from a pet store. Also have two juvenile tegus (black and white) in a 40 gallon breeder they are about 8 inches long how long will this tank be big enough? Also is a 75 watt heat light enough?
Joined: Nov 06, 2004 Posts: 972270 Location: Central Maine
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 4:50 pm Post subject:
A 40 gallon breeder will work for several months, but tegus grow quickly. The enclosure should be as wide as the tegu is long and twice as long.
The lighting is a trial thing. Read the caresheets and try to get the basking and ambient temps right. You may need to experiment with the lighting to get the heat right.
I have never used or heard of anyone using crushed walnut shells for tegus. Keep in mind that tegus will want about a foot deep of substrate to allow for digging and burrowing. I imagine the crushed walnut shell substrate costs a bit more then cypress mulch.
Also consider the size and shape of the substrate. If it large? Sharp? etc? Could cause external or internal damage or blockage? Is it digestible?
I hope I answered some of your questions and hopefully someone else will have more answers on the substrate question.
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 613 Location: The Netherlands
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 3:12 am Post subject:
I would make that heatlamp a UVB heat lamp.
Or get an UVB lamp to bask under _________________ 1.0.0 T.rufescens
0.1.0 T.merianae
1.0.0 Testudo horsfieldii
1.0.0 Stenodactylus sthenodactylus
0.0.1 Ceratophrys ornata
0.0.1 Geocholone elegans
0.0.1 Python regius
2.0.0 Mustela Putorius Furo
0.1.0 Bouvier des flandres
I have never used or heard of anyone using crushed walnut shells for tegus. Keep in mind that tegus will want about a foot deep of substrate to allow for digging and burrowing. I imagine the crushed walnut shell substrate costs a bit more then cypress mulch.
Also consider the size and shape of the substrate. If it large? Sharp? etc? Could cause external or internal damage or blockage? Is it digestible?
I agree with Rick on the expense issue, and would like to add that its not a good choice of substrate; there are already reports of tegus damaging their feet on wood chips that I have read online, and something like crushed shell is far sharper and smaller and can do a lot more damage to a heavy terrestrial animals feet. The fact that its pretty small also means that it is far more easily ingested then mulch; obviously tegus flick their tongues a lot to "taste" their surroundings, and the volume of substrate that will probably accidentally get eaten doesnt bear thinking about. There are many stories of it damaging the digestive tract of herps like beardeds, and looking at the fragments its easy to see why. Tegus are generally more robust than some herps, but a shard of shell in the eye or stomach can still be a massive problem. Mulch is relatively inexpensive and makes a safer alternative that your animals will enjoy digging in - I suggest that you invest in a bag
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