New to the thread and a new tegu owner.. LOADS of questions!!

[JohnyB]

Hey im john and im new here and new to owning tegus.
Let me start by saying i own two ball pythons a male and female, one is about 4 feet and they thrive and are very happy and very friendly.
I belong to a ball python forum and a few car forums so the thread thing is not a new idea to me.

I just received my first tegu (black and white) about a day ago for my birthday. I helped pick him out at a reptile store.. the very best on long island.
The tegu is not sex'ed yet and im not sure male or female.. But they said the tegu is about 2 years old.

I have not yet encountered any real issues or problems. I have held him and let him walk around on the bed so far. Hes very agreeable to being touched and what not.. He is alittle hard to hold onto at times.

This is a lot different then my ball pythons.. I have him in a 100 gallon tank, with a hide make out of wood and a huge water bowl. maybe about 5 to 6 inches of the recommended bedding.

Soooo..questions i have...
1.is this tank big enough (he is very into exploring every crevis of the tank and burrowing) the guy at the store said that was good for life
2.i fed him ground turkey and cut up baby tomattos. put the dish in the tank. He only ate the tomattos... lol should i use a separate tank or bin?
3.he can fit his body into the water he drinks but should i bathe him further? how?
4. Is it bad to wake him up and unburry him? also he wakes a huge mess when he burrows (even throws bedding in the water bowl, does that need to be cleaned asap?).. makes lines and uneven parts of bedding.. i always fix it back to flat.. is that bad?
thats all i can think of right now.. Please please please throw in any extras you think i should know! i wanna eventually train him to wear a leash and be able to come with me places.

if you have any questions for me just ask.. I can try to figure out how to post some pictures of my tegu, his tank.. i can do pics of the pythons if anyone cares lol.

[tegu_skink]

first of all what kind of tegu is this?
secondly that is not big enough for any species of tegu. Argentines need a minimum of 8x4x4 and Colombians 6x4x4
they need about 2 feet of substrate for burrowing.
high humidity and a balanced diet of insects and greens should be fed daily, not just turkey.

[JohnyB]

Arg black and white.
this is all very different then what i was told and what care sheets i have read online

[tegu_skink]

Unfortunatly a lot of the information you read on care sheets is not fully correct. You should start building his enclosure as soon as possible. Tegus can grow to about 2/3ds of their full length in the first year of life. How long is your tegu?

[Ripkabird98]

Teguskink is wrong, not to be rude. Argentine gus need a min of 6x3x3. Thats what im going to use. I also don't know what you have been reading on care. Everything I find says the same. I can tell this is a sur of the moment buy, and a gu is not a herp for that. Makes me worried about otber care issues. What are his temps? Humidity? Diet? Substrate? Uvb? The fact you think 100 gallons is ok without common sense overriding means he is horribly stunted, and may have a whole slew of health issuez. Get him checked by a vet. How big is it? Not trying to be rude, just helping. Welcome to the forum!

[tegu_skink]

You're going to provide a lizard that can grow to 5 feet long 3 feet of space to turn around and 6 feet of room to run around? Sounds like a great life trapped in a box smaller than the size of a prison cell for inmates. Your tegu is going to be extremely unhappy.

[Ripkabird98]

Well, people who know ALOT MORE about tegus then you agree with me. I am also getting him out. Alot. Like all day. Also, only Extreme Giants can be expected to 5 feet, which isnt what i am getting.

[tegu_skink]

alright johnyb if you care about your tegu ignore anything ripkabird98 just said and listen to this.
-At two years old, a tegu is easily able to be sexed visually. Tegus are sexually diamorphic. Males will have large jowls, females will appear more steam lined.
-100 gallons is far too small for a black and white, even a Colombian. Minimum enclosure size should be calculated by this formula. Total length of the lizard=A. Length of the enclosure is Ax2. Width of the enclosure should be Ax1. Standard height for a tegu enclosure is 4ft. So for a Colombian, minimum standard should be 6x3x4. For an Argentine, 8x4x4 to 10x5x4.
-Whole prey only. Whole prey mean that the food source, when referring to animal matter, is fed in it's entirety. Chicken with it's head, beak, feet, wings, and feathers is whole prey. Chicken breast is not. I would also avoid tomatoes. Good food sources include: whole organic shrimp, crayfish, roaches, night crawlers, fertilized chicken and quail egg with a developed chick inside, quail, day old chicken chicks, pinkies/fuzzies/hoppers, mango, collard and dandelion greens, papaya, and occasionally grapes, strawberries, and raspberries.
-Yes, it's bad to wake him up and unbury him. Interaction should be on his terms only. Learn the methods of tong feeding, and never force handle your lizard.

[Ripkabird98]

Teguskink, that is the wrong diet. I dont appreciate the Dont listen to me comment. You are not the god of tegus, so dont act like it.

[GummiBear]

Welcome to the forum! There are many great and knowledgable peeps on here. I am still relatively new to tegus and have a Columbian, but you are doing a great job by seeking additional info! I'm in my phone so I can't find the link and i'm sure someone will post it, but there is a good care sheet on here, as well as individual care input do if you look at enclosure posts/feeder and what not you can see what has worked for people. Not to hijack the post but thought id try to get it going in the hopefully helpful tone this forum usually is.

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