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mmebwilliams
09-28-2006, 04:57 PM
Hi i'm mike and if the photo's uploaded properly this is binxie. According to the pet shop's age he's about 5-6 months old, He's 23" long head to tail and i've had him for a couple of weeks now.

http://www.www.thetegu.com/modules/Gallery/albums/album213/S4020227_001.sized.jpg

http://www.www.thetegu.com/modules/Gallery/albums/album213/S4020216_002.sized.jpg

If they don't show properly I'm on page 17 of the album.

I'm ecstatic at the mo, as he has just eaten some fruit with some mealworms scattered over them as he hasn't been eating any fruit, UNTIL NOW.

I will add a link to a video in the near future when i've uploaded them on another site.

Just one question really do you think the age is right for his length? as i am currently feeding him everyday and have slowly changed his diet from solely mice(which is all they fed him in the shop) to large insects, fruit/veg and ground turkey/chicken aswell as the treats like eggs, etc.

Thanks.

eradi
09-28-2006, 05:42 PM
Welcome and Nice tegu! I like the large black area on his sides.
Depending on how much and what you feed it, Tegus (while young) can grow anywhere from 2" - 4" a month. At any rate, I think everyone here
will agree that he/she looks good and healthy for it's age.
Variety in their diet is the best thing you can do for your new friend.
There are plenty of old posts you can read to inform you further.
Crickets, mice and fruit are most commonly fed. They also love nightcrawlers if you want to give them a treat. Don't forget to dust your
crx with calcium/vitamins and get a good bulb that emmits UVA & UVB
if you don't already have one. UV for tegus is a neccessity!

E

mmebwilliams
09-28-2006, 06:50 PM
repti 8.0 uv light, and i try to vary the insects as much as possible and will be changing from large mice to baby rats soon aswell.

I also wanted to say that getting him out of the cage is still a bit scarey at the moment as he still huffs a bit and whips his tail on occasion but once he's out he's o.k.

Is there any advice on introducing another tegu, arg b&w of course and hopefully i will be getting a female, and would i need to do it soon.

eradi
09-28-2006, 07:46 PM
Sounds like you just need to work with him a little more. If you handle it
1 or 2 times a day for 15 minute periods you'll notice a difference inside
of a few weeks. That is what I did with the 2 I had from hatchling size and
they are as tame as you can get. Don't overdue it on the handling because you can stress them out. As they settle in and get comfortable you can take them out for longer periods.
If the tegu is sleeping or in it's hide box it should be left alone until it's up and out own it's own. That will frighten them, make them grumpy and they will lose their trust with you.
Take your time with this one and get to know each other first. You can usually always find another tegu to pair him up with. You want to be sure
of the sex too. Two males will fight as they grow older and mature.
We're all junkies here and it's almost impossible to stop at one! :P

Good luck and enjoy!

E

blair0228
09-29-2006, 01:13 AM
that is a beautiful teguu! I love the pattern

varnyard
09-29-2006, 04:31 AM
eradi, I hate to disagree, but males do not fight as you have suggested. I have several males housed together, and I might add there is never any fighting between my males. Males are very laid back in this species, even during breeding season. :) The closest thing I have seen between males is mock breeding, and this is not done in aggression. :roll:

mmebwilliams
09-29-2006, 07:08 AM
Here's a video of him on his basking shelf taking mice.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6MwSlvLo1g

Bye

nicolerussell
09-29-2006, 10:20 AM
my female is much more agressive then my male...he's a giant marshmallow with legs :)

eradi
09-29-2006, 01:21 PM
Maybe my friends experience was a rare occurence then?
He had two adult males and they absolutely did not like each other.
It did start out as a mounting dominance thing then over time it turned into
total tegu turmoil when a full on brawl ensued. Now they are kept separate...

nicolerussell
09-29-2006, 02:44 PM
I try not to keep males together because of the whole dominance thing--with other species in general. I have to admit I never asked anyone about tegus specifically and currently I have one male....but Varnyard has many tegus and would know more then an average hobbyist of such things.

varnyard
09-29-2006, 03:26 PM
Bert also keeps males together. His breeding groups are made up of seven males to five females. This is done to keep the fertility rate higher in the eggs. When breeding a 1.1 group often times many of the eggs are not fertile. With the ratio of more males then females, the chances are much higher.

Nicole, you are also correct. Females do show signs of aggression, Mine must be housed separate after breeding. they can and will attack other tegus over guarding the nest. Bert also houses his females separate after breeding.

Also mmebwilliams, You have a very nice looking tegu. Looks like you are doing a great job with him.

eradi
09-29-2006, 04:09 PM
So a little competition keeps the males strong and virile to ensure
better fertility of the eggs.? Interesting and makes sense.
Nature is awesome!

varnyard
09-29-2006, 06:28 PM
Actually no, it gives the females a chance to breed with more than one male, thus having more fertilization for the clutch. So it is not about competition between the males as one would think. I agree in most lizard species there is fighting and competition between males, but this is not the case with these. Males in this species are real laid back as adults and I have never seen a fight or display of aggression between courting males.
If adult tegus are fed together, than yes they will compete for food, but so will young tegus that are fed together.

mmebwilliams
09-29-2006, 10:04 PM
Also mmebwilliams, You have a very nice looking tegu. Looks like you are doing a great job with him.

Cheers. Haven't sexed him/her yet but either way i'm happy. Thank you for your compliment.

Ezekiel
10-01-2006, 05:00 PM
yer youv'e got a real nice looking tegu there, we will have to meet up some time and get them breeding, considering you dont move out of England.
p.s hows the tegu room idea going?

mmebwilliams
10-02-2006, 10:30 AM
I'm actually near Cardiff in south Wales. The room didn't work out as well as i'd hoped, i set the light up emptied the room sealed it and tried out the heat, unfortunately it takes about an hour or two to heat up and i'm only just breaking 90 degrees so i'm going to go with the idea of making an 8x4x4 viv and putting a partition shelf in so that i have two 8x4x2 viv's and i have already put a deposit on a lovely little red and ordered another black and white. By doing this they all have their own tanks and in time i will be putting the two b&w's together and then eventually the red, basically because the red is a hatchling at the moment and i'll need to wait for him to grow a bit. And then hopefully cause i will have 3 viv one maybe two of which will be empty i have a spare for the female to go into after laying, obviously this is two to three years off depending on how frisky my male/s are.

One question though is your lazy or could mine start hibernating. The reason i ask is because he seems to be still on the times of the shop, i'vv got the lighting on for 13 hours a day as i've been told both 12 hours a day in the summer and 14 hours. He goes and digs himself in about 6 o'clock and then doesn't wake until 11.30 maybe even 12 o'clock. Is this normal or is he starting to hibernate?
Thanks

worleygurl
10-02-2006, 12:59 PM
It sounds like your tegu may be getting ready to hibernate. Tegus do not simply decide one day "Okay, today I shall hibernate" and immediately go to sleep. This happens over several weeks. They start to eat less and less each day, and sleep more and more.

As long as your tegu is healthy, alert, bright eyes, not underweight, etc. he/she will be fine hibernating. Hibernating is a very base instinct for them and you really can't stop them. A lot of people say if you raise their temperatures and offer food daily, they won't hibernate. This is simply not true. It is instinct for them to hibernate and if they choose to hibernate, they will do so.

Read up on some of the other posts re: hibernation to get more information :)