theTegu.com - Tegu information, photo gallery, forums, caresheets, diet & nutritional info, taming tips and more for the argentine black and white tegu, argentine red tegu, blue tegu, colombian black tegu and the colombian gold-phased black tegu. Tupinambis merianea, teguixin & rufescens.
Joined: Oct 16, 2007 Posts: 2555 Location: San Antonio,TX
Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 7:27 am Post subject:
Hi teguman1.We all like to welcome you to this forum.It's nice to have you as a new addition to our family.Congrats on Oreo.I recommend getting cypress mulch ( NOT CEDAR, because it is toxic).It is allot cheaper and you get allot more of the mulch,too.I pay about $3 for a 3qf bag from wallmart.If you decide that you want to get some I would call the wallmarts in your area first because some of them don't have it ( I found that out the hard way ).You also can try Lowes or a nursery.It also holds the humidity better.Hope that helps.Good luck with your new Tegu.We all like pictures.Do you think you could be so nice and post some for us ? thanks.Oh,before I forget.Do you need some care sheets by any chance or other infos ?
Joined: Oct 03, 2006 Posts: 561 Location: Central FL
Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 7:33 am Post subject:
Yes, tegus can get mites, but I don't hear about it as much as with other reptiles.
I would switch to Cypress mulch...cheaper, better humidity. I have no experience with Reptibark, sorry.
Be patient, the calm tegu will come in time. Is it an Arg? If it's a Colombian, it will just come in more time, LOL! _________________ Laura R (FL)
0.1.0 Colombian Tegu
0.2.0 Argentine B&W Tegu
1.0.0 Red Tegu
1.0.0 Green Amevia (yet another teiid)
8 other lizards
1 little gator
13 snakes
4 frogs
some bugs
and a partridge in a pear tree
Joined: Oct 16, 2007 Posts: 2555 Location: San Antonio,TX
Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 8:02 am Post subject:
I posted some info about my T-shirt trick on a nother post.If you want to you can go check it out.It helped me allot with both of my two Tegus and they got tame in no time.Here is some info about the mites.
so is fur ok and i just put another topic consurn thing up because my tegu wont stop whipping me its title is PLEASE HELP!!!! and thanks for the link txrepgirl
Joined: Oct 16, 2007 Posts: 2555 Location: San Antonio,TX
Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 8:55 am Post subject:
Where would you get that fir bark mulch from if you don't mind me asking ? the reason I'm asking is if you get it at a pet store than it should be fine but if you get it some where else like Home Depot I would have to do some more research to make sure that it's not toxic.I don't know much about the fir bark.Sorry,but I'll look up some more infos later.I have to go to work in a little while.
Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 3:05 pm Post subject: Yes
I believe all reptiles get mites but once you eliiminate them they do not come back. They usually piggyback on pet store reptiles. I went to petsmart and bought the herbal mite spray. Sprayed my snake when it came with mites and cleaned the terarium. When mites attack you have to throw away all porous materials that arent rocks. In order to kill the mites that may have laid eggs on the rocks you clean the rocks with soap and water then bake them for an hour or two. As far as anything made of wood, throw it away. Empty the terrarium and clean it with clorox. Then clean the animal by giving it a betadine bath by mixing 1 part betadine to 2 parts water then massage on mineral oil and use a Q-tip to push off any attatched mites. If you do this dont glob on the mineral oil. Just make them a little shiny. Repeat this twice a week until they arent coming back. Hope this helps out anyone who has mites, they def agrivate you plus its weird when you want to hold your pet and your covered in tiny lil black skin riding sailboats. _________________ 1 Varnyard H.C. Red Arg. Tegu
1 N.E.R.D. Spider Ball
1 Vin Russo Pastel Jungle Ball
1 Normal Ball
Hey, that is good information, guy with the monkey picture. I would add, if you have wood things or even rocks with crevices, you can boil them for 15 minutes and it kills anything. I use a huge pot like for canning or making tamales. You can find them cheap at garage sales. I boil Hernando's stones everytime I change out his substrate. Make sure everything is completely cool before putting it back.
Mites can come in with mealworms and live rodents as well as substrate. That's another reason not to like live rodents. I usually bake my substrate (orchid bark [fir] and fine ground peat) before using because of mites and molds, even from a pet store.
One question, where did you learn about that mineral oil step? That would scare me. Would it interfere with their natural oils?
Joined: Oct 03, 2006 Posts: 561 Location: Central FL
Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2008 9:45 am Post subject:
Another mite treatment...
First of all, soak the reptile in warm water with just a drop of dishwashing detergent. Keep him in there for 30 min. The bath is to drown some of the mites, but the soap is needed to cut the surface tension of the water, breaking the air bubble around the mites so they will drown. Not too much water, or the little guy will drown, too! Just up to the armpits is good.
The cage needs to be completely emptied of any substrate. Go to Wal-Mart and buy Equate Lice Bedding Spray. Ideally, Provent-a-Mite is safer, but it's also $20 a can vs. $5 for Equate. Wash the cage, and then spray it with Equate Bedding Spray. It is Sooooo important to follow the directions. You don't want to soak the cage, just a mist. Hold the can the appropriate distance and make sure to spray the crevices well. Also, spray some on a paper towel and coat a strip around the outside top of the cage. He should spray the stand and the carpet around the cage as well. Use newspaper as bedding and spray the paper, too. Everytime the paper is changed, spray the new paper. Mites should be gone in about 7-21 days. He may want to re-treat in 30 days when new ones hatch out. Spray the cage furnishings, too, branches, hidey logs, etc. Don't spray the food bowls, but wash them in soapy water.
It is very important to realize that this spray is harmful to reptiles and other animals when wet. All spraying should be done outside. The reptile should not be put back in until the cage has had a few hours to dry and air out. A water dish would be fine, but no misting. I would consider feeding and watering outside of the cage for a time.
Mites are like mosquitoes. They feed on a blood meal, then go lay eggs somewhere in the enclosure. They walk in straight line until they run into something or find a good spot. Spraying the paper helps when they walk off the host dragon. Spraying the cage all over helps when they start traveling up the walls. _________________ Laura R (FL)
0.1.0 Colombian Tegu
0.2.0 Argentine B&W Tegu
1.0.0 Red Tegu
1.0.0 Green Amevia (yet another teiid)
8 other lizards
1 little gator
13 snakes
4 frogs
some bugs
and a partridge in a pear tree
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).You also can try Lowes or a nursery.It also holds the humidity better.Hope that helps.Good luck with your new Tegu.We all like pictures.Do you think you could be so nice and post some for us ? thanks.Oh,before I forget.Do you need some care sheets by any chance or other infos ?
.I'm sorry but you got me lost with if fur is ok 
.I just posted another link on your other post.
