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Thread: New to this forum...a couple questions.

  1. #1

    Default New to this forum...a couple questions.

    Hey,

    Im so excited to have found this site!

    Here is my story:

    I used to have a juvie red tegu. When my fiance and i split he took the tegu (much to my dismay). Now, 6months later he says he cannot take care of her(at least i think its a her) and wants to give her back to me. We are working on building her a large enclosure and as soon as it is finished i will be moving her to my house. I have been doing some refresher research on Tegus to brush up on my info and i think i have a pretty good handle on it, but i have a couple questions.

    1. Uteg is now almost a year old, probably about 10 or 11 months and she still seems pretty small to me. She is maybe 20inches from snount to tail tip. Is this small for a 10-11month tegu?

    2. My ex has had her on a diet of soley pinkie mice, no fruit or alternative protein source. I am planning on changing the diet to include some good fruits (kiwi, mango etc.) and some alternative protein sources. I was wondering how difficult it will be to change her diet since it has been so specific for so long? Does anyone have any experience with this? Also, i was wondering what are some good protein sources other than pinkie mice. I was thinking crickets, superworms, meal worms, earthworms and turkey. Am I missing anything or including anything i shouldn't?

    3. What should I use to waterproof/seal her new enclosure?

    Thanks a lot guys, sorry i have so many questions!

    ~Mim :lol:

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Central Maine
    Posts
    1,689

    Default Re: New to this forum...a couple questions.

    Quote Originally Posted by AlteredMind99
    Hey,

    Im so excited to have found this site!
    We are excited to have you here!

    Here is my story:

    I used to have a juvie red tegu. When my fiance and i split he took the tegu (much to my dismay).
    Damn him! We'll never forgive him for this!

    Now, 6months later he says he cannot take care of her(at least i think its a her) and wants to give her back to me. We are working on building her a large enclosure and as soon as it is finished i will be moving her to my house.
    Ok, maybe we will forgive him this time only.

    I have been doing some refresher research on Tegus to brush up on my info and i think i have a pretty good handle on it, but i have a couple questions.
    Questions are always welcome, speaking of which.. Welcome to The Tegu Community @ theTegu.com.

    1. Uteg is now almost a year old, probably about 10 or 11 months and she still seems pretty small to me. She is maybe 20inches from snount to tail tip. Is this small for a 10-11month tegu?
    At about a year old, a well fed red tegu should be around 3 feet long, but this also depends on how it was fed/cared for while you had her as well as when the previous owners or the petshop had her. No sense to dwell on the past at this point, you seem to be on a good start to improving the care of your tegu so she should do real well now.

    2. My ex has had her on a diet of soley pinkie mice, no fruit or alternative protein source. I am planning on changing the diet to include some good fruits (kiwi, mango etc.) and some alternative protein sources. I was wondering how difficult it will be to change her diet since it has been so specific for so long? Does anyone have any experience with this? Also, i was wondering what are some good protein sources other than pinkie mice. I was thinking crickets, superworms, meal worms, earthworms and turkey. Am I missing anything or including anything i shouldn't?
    At her age/size you should feed adult mice. More nutritional value and less fatty. Everything else sounds good. Make sure the ground turkey is 93% lean or better and supplement the insects, worms, fruit, and turkey with vit/calc supplements. Also, make sure you have an UVB light for her if she doesn't get direct, unfiltered sunlight.

    3. What should I use to waterproof/seal her new enclosure?
    Any non-toxic 100% silicon sealant should work fine.

    Thanks a lot guys, sorry i have so many questions!

    ~Mim :lol:
    Keep those questions coming, the only stupid question is the one never asked.

    Rick

  3. #3

    Default Thanks so much

    Wow, I guess she really is undersized then :( poor thing. With proper caging, feeding, lighting and supplementing do you think she will reach her adult size?

    Also, I call her a she only because i havent seen any "male" characteristics, at her age if she was a male would her jowels have begun to develop notiveably?

    Adult mice, really? That seems awfully big, is it ok to give them to her even if she is going to have to really tear them up to eat them easily?

    Thanks again! I cant wait to get her
    My critters:

    0.1 Bearded Dragon
    1.1 Leopard Geckos
    1.0 Tokay Gecko
    0.1.1 Corn snakes
    0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
    0.0.1 Blue Tongue Skink
    0.0.1 Red Tegu

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Traverse City, MI
    Posts
    116

    Default

    I fed my blue tegu hopper mice when he was 20". A little smaller then adult mice, but pretty darn close.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Central Maine
    Posts
    1,689

    Default

    A tegu can eat a mouse that is almost the same size as it's head. Since I can't see the tegu, that will help you gauge the size a bit. The older the mouse the less fatty it is.

    As far as the tegus size, I'd just feed it a good diet and give her as much as she will eat as often as she will eat. A tegu will only eat until it's no longer hungry. Once she is older and mature you can tone back a bit on anything fatty to avoid obesity.

    Rick

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    The Netherlands
    Posts
    303

    Default

    Well I guess all questions answered so far... So only thing for me to add is:
    Welcome to the forum and great you'll be getting your red back.
    And be sure to give her some fruits as she'll be needing it for when she is going into shedding (red tegu's are known to have a problem shedding their skin altho mine never had any. Giving them a nice add on of fruits in their diet is needed for good shedding)
    Mine really go nuts (even our B&W) about grapes and strawberries.
    1.0.0 T.rufescens
    0.1.0 T.merianae
    1.0.0 Testudo horsfieldii
    1.0.0 Stenodactylus sthenodactylus
    0.0.1 Ceratophrys ornata
    0.0.1 Geocholone elegans
    0.0.1 Python regius
    2.0.0 Mustela Putorius Furo
    0.1.0 Bouvier des flandres

  7. #7

    Default Cage size?

    Thanks guys...three more questions.

    1. Is there a paint that is safe to use to paint the enclosure? And how long does it need to air out for before i put her in it?

    2. At this age (almost one year) and showing no male sex characteristics is it safe to assume she is a female? Or should i wait a bit longer?

    3. I was going to build a cage that is 7x3x2 (LWH) if she is a female, especially since her growth may be stunted does it need to be this big? I want her to be happy but i dont want to overwhelm her with a huge cage and if i could get away with something that may fit through my door better that would be nice too. If you think she needs/will use it though i will stick with the bigger cage. I have had other stunted reptiles and they usually dont get fullsized, is there a chance she will still grow to be full sized?
    My critters:

    0.1 Bearded Dragon
    1.1 Leopard Geckos
    1.0 Tokay Gecko
    0.1.1 Corn snakes
    0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
    0.0.1 Blue Tongue Skink
    0.0.1 Red Tegu

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Posts
    768

    Default

    I dont know if this is of help, but I got my tegu when he was just under a year old and he was around 24" nose to tail tip as I recall. Six months later he is now around 3.5 feet in length. I havent measured him in a while, so maybe he has grown a little, but most of his growth seems to be concentrated outwards at the moment as he gets his bulk I would definitely go bigger, unless youre prepared to make a larger cage later in her lfe if she does get to full size. We will be making him an 8' cage soon, which should be his final home. Hurray!

    EDIT - sorry, I think I screwed up the posts for a bit. Should be ok now.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Central Maine
    Posts
    1,689

    Default Re: Cage size?

    Quote Originally Posted by AlteredMind99
    Thanks guys...three more questions.

    1. Is there a paint that is safe to use to paint the enclosure? And how long does it need to air out for before i put her in it?
    I used waterbased, non-toxic, white paint. I let it it dry for three days and I couldn't smell any fumes. I them reassembled and let it sit one more day with substrate and lighting to bring everything up to a nice warm enviroment. After you paint you can use a non-toxic silicon sealant for the inside corners. I made the mistake of doing this before painting. I didn't realize paint wouldn't stick to it. :P

    2. At this age (almost one year) and showing no male sex characteristics is it safe to assume she is a female? Or should i wait a bit longer?
    Assuming is always ok, but not always correct. I judge by checking for cloacal spurs. If I don't find spurs by time they are three feet long I call them female. You can also, at two feet long, watch and see if you see it's hemipenes when it takes a turd.

    3. I was going to build a cage that is 7x3x2 (LWH) if she is a female, especially since her growth may be stunted does it need to be this big? I want her to be happy but i dont want to overwhelm her with a huge cage and if i could get away with something that may fit through my door better that would be nice too. If you think she needs/will use it though i will stick with the bigger cage. I have had other stunted reptiles and they usually dont get fullsized, is there a chance she will still grow to be full sized?
    I agree with Johelian on the size. Bigger is always better. The sizes we all talk about are requirements, but I think I speak for everyone when I say larger is recommended. I'd recommend 8 feet by 8 feet, 3 feet tall if someone had the room, but a requirement of 6 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet tall will get you by if the tegu is out of the enclosure alot.

    Rick

  10. #10

    Default

    glad you are getting your baby back.i have ared tegu that is about 19 in and he will eat 2 adult mice and his fruit of the day.
    good luck
    michelle

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