My new Argentine, Modoc!

Daver · Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 9:03 pm Post subject: My new Argentine, Modoc!

I finally got my very first tegu! I had ordered an Argentine Black and White from a pet store near my house about a month and a half ago, but they never got one in. Discouraged, I let my boyfriend take me to the Northwest Captive Bred Reptile and Amphibian expo yesterday, hoping to find one there.

I walked throughout the entire show, and saw NOTHING other than geckos, chameleons, and snakes. I even had enough time to say "Nobody here has tegus!" before we checked the very LAST booth. Sure enough, the very last booth we checked had four or five baby Arg B&Ws! Now, I know that a lot of people advise against actually BUYING stock at a show, because they can be stressed out, and stuff like that, but I handled all five, and found one to be very much to my standards. He seems in great health, he's very alert and active, but isn't agressive.

I brought him home to the tank I had set up a good month ago when I originally had planned to get my tegu. (With new fresh bedding and a brand new UVB bulb of course!). Since I figured he'd been at the show all day, I put him in a feeding tank first (expecting him not to eat because I've heard so much about reptiles being too stressed to eat when you first bring them home) but sure enough he ate about 4 or 5 large crickets right off the bat! Then I put him into his fresh new tank, and he wandered around the whole thing before settling into his water bowl and pooping. Then he burrowed in for the night, but was up and about this morning, so I offered him a f/t pinkie, and he absolutely loved it.

Anyway, I know I'm rambling a bit, but I'm just so excited, I had to share! I named him Modoc (after a Monster Magnet song) and aside from watching him eat a little bit of his substrate (which I'm trying not to overreact about... All my other herps (except the chondro) are on cage carpeting, so I'm a bit nervous about the cyprus, even though I'm not feeding him on it.) and trying to get the temperature hotter for his basking spot, everything's going fantastically!

Teiidae · Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 9:38 pm Post subject:

Glad to hear you are happy with your new Tegu

- Even with feeding outside the enclosure, I've found 1 of my Tegu's eating the substrate after the fact of impaction, and pooped out 9 pieces of Repti-Bark...

I've observed him eating outside of the enclosure however, wiping his face clean inside the enclosure, than smelling it in the substrate, and subsequently chowing it...

I would prefer Cypress mulch as a substrate as it is not so small, over the repti-bark, however my Black, and my Ameiva are still in repti-bark, and have been for a long time - And have had no problems with it...
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DeadIrishD · Honored Member Joined: Jun 07, 2005 Posts: 265

Yeah I know what you mean, I found the perfect columbian still got the scratches on my wrist to prove it, but it had some messed up bone disease luckily Rick was there or else I would have wasted my money.