New Tegu owner

Leesdog · New Member Joined: Jun 18, 2008 Posts: 6

Hello all!

My name is Shawn and I have recently adopted an 8 month old Argentine B&W Tegu, from my brother-in-laws friend who was moving and could no longer keep it. He is possibly the coolest pet I have ever had. Right now he is a little skiddish, but I think it is the stress of moving to a new environment. The second night at my house I was able to take him out and hold him for about 45 mins while I worked on the computer. He just kinda hung out. Was pretty nice. I am hoping he will be tame as my daughter and I would like to have him/her out as much as Dozer can tolerate.

So I have been doing a lot of reading on here about lighting, feeding, humidity, shedding, etc... and realizing slowly but surely that I have a little bit of work ahead of me to make Dozer as comfortable as possible.

As far as humidity goes, I think his current setup is pretty terrible. It is a 50 gallon aquarium, with a screened in top that you can slide out to access the inside of the tank. The substrate right now is coconut shavings. I plan on keeping the coconut, but putting a layer of cyprus mulch on top of it. I am misting the tank daily and struggling to stay at 45-50% humidity. I understand how important humidity is to their health as far as shedding, and losing nails goes, so I want to make this a priority. I like the video done by steve2187 (i think that is right) on youtube that shows his setup with the Habba Mist. Very practical and easy for me since I work full time and can set it and forget it. So i will be adding that shortly.

As far as feeding....I don't get this guy. He hasn't eaten much and he is not at all interested in crickets. I know he has eaten something though because there have been a couple poops in his tank. Three crickets sat right in front of his face yesterday and he didn't care at all. They run back and forth across the tank and he isn't interested at all. Not that I mind though. I also have a Tiger Salamander that LOVES crickets, so they will get eaten. The previous owner gave me some calcium powder to coat the crickets with, and the gel cubes of water and cricket food to keep them fed, so I am assuming he will eventually start eating them. I know that he needs fruits, veggies, vitamins, and some protein, so I have tried giving him some chicken which he loved. But I don't think I can feed him nothing but chicken. He doesn't seem interested in fruits or veggies at all either. I don't want to give him anything live besides crickets, because I don't want him to get aggressive, and associate my kids fingers with baby mice or something. I might try superworms and just keep them in a bowl for a few days and see what he does with them.

Lighting...one of the bulbs I was given was burnt out. Don't know for how long, but I do know it was his UVA/UVB light. So going to get a new one of those. He has a flood light I am assuming is for basking/temp regulation but I only have one thermometer in the tank on the oppossite side of the tank and it reads 70-75 degrees all day. It is also a hygrometer and it shows 40-50% humidity throughout the day. One of the other lights I have is a black light, was told for night time use. I am afraid it will get too cool overnight in the tank if I turn off the floodlight. So for now I have been running it 24/7 and he seems to burrow when he gets sleepy.

Other things I have are a half log, that he likes to lay on more than crawl under. There is a branch in the middle of the tank that goes up from the ground about 6 inches and then angles to the left for him to climb on which he seems to enjoy. I have a water dish with about a 12-14 oz bottle that keeps his bowl constantly full. I have changed that one time so far. Figure every 2 days or so will be alright to keep it fresh. And that is about it. Like I said, the previous owners didn't have a great setup, nor do I think they really understood what they were taking on. Eventually I will move him to a bigger enclosure, but for now I have to make due with this tank.

He is a treat to have at the house though. My daughter and I let him out for a little bit in the office and he took off through the house checking out all he could for about 10 minutes before he made it under our couch. He doesn't seem to be overly aggressive, just skiddish right now which I am hoping he will get over when he gets used to us.

Anyways if anyone has suggestions, pointers, or anything I am all ears. Like I said I want him to be happy and comfortable, and I am willing to put in the work to make it happen.

One last thing. Out of curiousity, would it be a bad idea to put my salamander in with the tegu? Dozer doesn't seem to want to hunt and my salamander is about half the size of Dozer. The living spaces for the two are very similiar, and it would be nice to save some space by having one habitat. Just let me know your thoughts on that. I haven't done it, just curious if it will work or not.

Thanks ahead of time, and hope its not too long of a post.

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Dozer the Argentine B&W - Born Oct 2007

angelrose · Moderator Joined: Jan 05, 2008 Posts: 1474

Hi Leesdog and Welcome to theTegu forum family. Congrats on getting a tegu !

you have been doing alot of reading; your doing very well. screen tops are difficult to hold heat and humidity in. however, you could place a towel or even better tin foil over half of the screen.

as far as placing your salamander in with the tegu I definitely would not do it especially your salamander being half the size. I have experience with my daughters parakeet landing in the wrong area and I thought that my tegu would never do such a thing. like they say they are lightning fast.

we are happy to have you here. I look forward to seeing you around.

Ben3233 · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 1:19 am Post subject:

Wow, you have enough information to take care of your Tegus.

As for the humidity problem, buying a humidifier is a great idea, even with a top opening screen it works good.

As for eating, I have a trick that I told some people here and it seems to work well. Many Tegu will be capricious and wont eat veggies and some fruits. My trick is simple, put all the fruits and veggies into a blender. Wait until it makes a kind of pudding. After just put it on something he likes a lot. (pinky, turkey etc)

As for Taming work. To socialize him, try to put the enclosure where people walk near. Let him see you often, they are curious and will socialize quickly. Also, let him free roam a lot, they will understand that your visit gives him a chance to feel free outside his enclosure.

Good luck and have fun!
_________________
Ben
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Uresaii)

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mistery, but today is a gift...that is why we call it the present". -Tortoise Oogway

Leesdog · New Member Joined: Jun 18, 2008 Posts: 6

I'll definitely try the trick with the food. I put some tin foil on the screen and left openings for the lights. The humidity within an hour went up to 58-59% Huge difference. And the temp stayed the same. Last time I let him out he escaped through the kiddie gate and scared my wife a little. She isn't too fond of him quite yet.

But I can fix that pretty easy and let him out again. Thanks for the responses. This forum is literally a wealth of knowledge, glad I stumbled accross it!
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Dozer the Argentine B&W - Born Oct 2007

Ben3233 · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:32 am Post subject:

Give me some news, if the tricks work!

glad to hear that your humidity is better now!

_________________
Ben
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Uresaii)

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mistery, but today is a gift...that is why we call it the present". -Tortoise Oogway

Leesdog · New Member Joined: Jun 18, 2008 Posts: 6

I'll let you know about the trick in a few days. He has been burrowed for a couple days now. So last night I left some chicken and artichoke hearts in his tank. He ate a little bit of the artichoke and destroyed the chicken. About 1/3 of a chicken breast. But he then burrowed right after. Is this normal? Something I should worry about? I would assume it is not a problem as long as he eats. Is it alright for him to eat meat all the time? I know they need the veggies and fruits but how often of each? I was thinking of feeding ground turkey/chicken every other day and fruits/veggies with it every other feeding. (so every 4 days) Any tips or pointers on feeding menus would be appreciated. We'll see if he doesn't come out for a little bit today and I'll let him cruise around the office for a bit. Thanks again for all the help.
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Dozer the Argentine B&W - Born Oct 2007

angelrose · Moderator Joined: Jan 05, 2008 Posts: 1474

Hi Leesdog, it is ok if they eat meat. some tegus won't touch fruit and / or veggies and they are perfectly healthy.
here is some foods they will eat:
captive raised insects
crickets
mealworms
super worms
silk worms
horn worms
earth worms
snails
crayfish
quail hatchlings
baby chickens
mice
rats
hamster
gerbil
feeder frogs / toads / lizards
RAW MEAT: turkey, lamb, venison, fowl, beef (not alof of beef and if you do make it very lean)
fresh fish fillets
Organ meats: liver, hearts, gizzards
Seafood: crab, scallops, shrimp

FRUITS -
tropical - mango, papaya
melons
some bananas
some apple
concord grapes
and berries

I hope this helps

Leesdog · New Member Joined: Jun 18, 2008 Posts: 6

thanks angel. he ate 2 nights ago and then burried himself. came out today and burried himself when i fed him. gave him turkey and grapes. i am just going to leave it out and see what happens.
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Dozer the Argentine B&W - Born Oct 2007

txrepgirl · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 4:35 am Post subject:

Hi Shawn.Sorry it took me so long to reply to your post. Welcome on board and congrats on your new Tegu

.It is nice to have another family member here on the forum.I hope you will stay in touch with us.
I recommend to feed Dozer in a big clean empty bin and not in his enclosure.They tend to pick up the food out of the dish and drag it around.He could get his food in the mulch and end up eating the mulch,too, and get impacted.I also don't recommend to have crickets in a enclosure because when the reptile is done eating and there are still crickets left they will bite the reptile and it also stresses them out.A lot of Tegus when they are that young don't like to eat fruits and veggies yet.One of my Tegus ( Leonidas ) doesn't eat it but the other Tegu ( Zeus ) eats some fruits.They both are under a year old.I have a 200 gallon tank and a 55 gallon tank with screen tops.What I did is I put a shower curtain on the screen top ( plastic holds humidity very well ) and have some holes cut out for the lights.Just in case you want to try this don't have the plastic to close to the light or it will melt.I also recommend to have a plastic bin with water in it in the enclosure so he can soak in it ( have a heat light above it to keep the water luke warm to warm so he will not take a bath in cold water and get a respiratory infection ).
Try to give him some fresh cut up fish fillets,like salmon,cod,tuna,catfish.Do not use the feeder fish from the store because they carry bacteria.I have noticed that both of my Tegus like the catfish and the cod the best.Here are some infos.Hope that helps.Take care and thank you for doing your research so you can give him a good home

.Keep up the good work.Oh,do you have any pictures of Dozer ? we love pictures

.

http://thetegu.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=35969#35969

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

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/feeder-crickets-worms-rodents-roaches-and-more/

http://rodentpro.com/qpage_articles_01.asp

http://www.anapsid.org/constipation.html

http://www.bluetegu.com/tegu-faq.html

http://www.hagen.com/pdf/reptiles/Exo_Terra_Lighting_Guide_EN.pdf

You can enlarge the reading about the lighting by clicking on the plus sign on top of the add.

http://anapsid.org/handlingreptiles.html ( angelrose posted that for us )

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4415540530596912913&pr=goog-sl ( this video is made for us by jose2187 )

http://thetegu.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=40780#40780

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/skintests.htm

http://www.anapsid.org/shedding.html#myth

http://www.animalhospitals-usa.com/reptiles/lizard_diseases.html

Let me know if you would like to have some more infos

.

Have fun reading

.

Leesdog · New Member Joined: Jun 18, 2008 Posts: 6

thanks for the post txrepgirl. i will get some pics up soon. just moved into our new house a few weeks ago so still unpacking and stuff. and thanks for all the links...thats a lot of info

I will keep trying to give him fruits and veggies just to see if he will eat them or not. he is definitely a huge fan of chicken though. and he picked all the chicken out from between the chunks of artichoke the other night. a finnicky eater already.

tried handling him again yesterday and he threw a fit. a lot of thrashing, twisting, turn his head to the side as far as he could with his mouth wide open like he wanted to bite even though he couldn't reach my hand. beat the snot out of me with his tail too. i kept holding him though thinking maybe he would calm down when he realized i didn't want to hurt him but he kept up his "tantrum" for about 10 mins...so i put him back in the tank cause i thought i might be over stressing him.

what is this t-shirt trick that has been takled about a few times on here? i have seen it mentioned but never actually seen the original post that says what to do. i would be really dissapointed if he wasn't social at all. still a fun pet to have but not as nice as letting him out to socialize with the kids/guests.
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Dozer the Argentine B&W - Born Oct 2007

Ben3233 · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 1:31 pm Post subject:

The t-shirt trick was invented by Txrepgirl.

The trick is really simple, you have to put 2 t-shirts, and then you put the Tegu between the two of them (one will protect your skin of their claws). The Tegu, will be hiding between the two T-shirt and will feel secure. Also, he/she will know your scent and will remember that you are not a predator.

You can also sleep(take a nap) with him between the t-shirt, that will bring a trust between you and him.

As for a untame tegu, you have to be careful to not force a bad behavior. In other words, when the tegu is whipping or biting you, you DO NOT put him back into his enclosure. This will renforce a bad behavior (each time you will pick him and he will bite and return into his cage.) So, if he bites you, wait 10-15 until he calms down and after but it back into his enclosure.

Then, you can put a unclean T-shirt(that has your scent and not perfume on it) into his enclosure. You just have to put it into his hide, so he will understand that your scent do not represent danger.

Finally, if you have a side opening enclosure, this is good for you. When your Tegu is outside of his hide, you can open the side of the enclosure and put your hands in. Talk to him, and let him approach you. You can also try to pet him (very slowly) and touch him.

Don't forget to let him free roam. Let him free roam in a close room, sit and wait (he will approach you, they are very curious). He will socialize, be healthier and less nervous.

Good luch hope it helps!

_________________
Ben
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Uresaii)

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mistery, but today is a gift...that is why we call it the present". -Tortoise Oogway

txrepgirl · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 4:13 am Post subject:

Thank you Ben

.

Hi Leesdog.I will try to make a video of some tricks that I did with my Tegus that worked very well for me.Ben was right with taking naps with the Tegu.We still do

.Don't work to hard with the unpacking.Take your time with posting some pictures.Oh,when he opens his mouth again try to pet him on his head.That always calmed down my Tegus and put them to sleep.

Leesdog · New Member Joined: Jun 18, 2008 Posts: 6

Had a major breakthrough today.

Yesterday we let Dozer out around the office with me and my 2 kids in with him. He cruised around everywhere got into all sorts of things. He never really did come up to anybody but he didn't try to stay as far away as possible either. My son is 2 years old and doesn't sit still for very long. So even with my son jumping around a lot he didn't try to bolt.

So today my in-laws and one of my daughters friends were all over. Dozer happened to not be buried so I asked them if they wanted to pet Dozer. Took him out (he let me without a fight), and held him while everyone took turns petting his head. A couple times he closed his eyes like he was really enjoying being pet. No fighting, thrashing, squirming....nothing. When everyone was done I set him in his cage and he went peacefully.

I was totally and thoroughly AMAZED! He was content the whole time. He did claw the crap out of my hand once trying to get himself comfortable but no big deal really. As long as it wasn't out of hysteria.

So thought I would just update everyone...talk to you later.

P.S. Added a pic of Dozer to my gallery
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Dozer the Argentine B&W - Born Oct 2007

txrepgirl · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:05 pm Post subject:

I'm so happy for you.Good job Dozer

.Keep doing this and he will be really tame in no time.I know those claws really can hurt.What I did is I went to Target and got me some gardening gloves ( the ones you trim rose bushes with ).Those ones are not to thick and what I love about them is they have some velcro straps on the wrist and some stings to tighten up by the arm.So when he is crawling up your hands and arms they will not slide down.I also use some strong rubber gloves when I give our reptiles a bath.