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Thread: New to Tegu's

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    San Antonio,TX
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    I could be wrong but I don't think that Tegus would start to hibernate now because the hibernation season is over end of March ( that what Rick the breeder told me ).What are your temps in the enclosure ? they should be between 90 and 110.Just be carful that your Tegu will not get inside the couch because than you have to take the couch appart.A member here on the forum had to do that one time.I always keep some big blankets on the couch.It's easier for me to keep a eye on my Tegus.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Central FL
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    She may just be scared and hiding in there. My tegus will bury themselves in the cushions if I let them. They like to hide. Put some blankets on top for her to burrow under like txrepgirl suggested.

    If you can't find cypress, there is also eucalyptus and orchid bark to use. Craigs list is a great place to find tanks or even wooden cages. There's also a tutorial on the housing forum for building your own.

    You can put a little Neosporin cream on her toe to prevent infection. Check the end of the tail like Dave said. Reds are notorious for loosing toes, so just check out her feet every time she sheds and soak if needed. Keep her cage moist, too. My red also likes to eat a lot of fruit with his other stuff, so I always offer whatever I have on hand...peaches, strawberries, cut grapes, cut cherries, etc.
    Laura R (FL)
    1.0.0 Colombian Tegu
    1.4.0 Argentine B&W Tegu
    1.2.0 Red Tegu
    1.2.0 B/WxRed Tegu
    1.0.0 Green Ameiva (yet another teiid)
    7 other lizards
    1 little gator
    3 FL box turtle
    1 Sulcata tortoise
    16 snakes
    5 fuzzy pets
    4 little frogs
    a bunch of creepy bugs
    and a partridge in a pear tree

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    San Antonio,TX
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    I tried the eucalyptus mulch and I didn't like it.The mulch was always stuck on him ( he looked all powdered up ).One time they were out of the braun one so I tried the red one ( it sad it was all natural ) and Leonidas was red for a long time and had shedding problems.I did mist down the mulch like I usually do and he still had the shedding problems.I stick with the cypress mulch.

  4. #14

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    WOW! 8O Thanks so much for all the responses.
    I got her a temporary glass enclosure today. It's a bit on the small side until I can get her something bigger. It's 2 1/2 feet glass tank. I filled it with some western organic grown decorative red bark. It is the small size, although the pieces are quit large and would be hard to ingest without her noticing. It was nice and moist and raised the humidity in the tank by 70%.

    I also provided her with a large water/lounging tray. I put some warm water in it and she basked in it for awhile (as the heat lamp is above it), drank and then proceeded to defecate in it. Oh well.... at least the urate was nice and white. Means she is hydrated, right?

    Besides that, she just burrowed under all the mulch. Any suggestions?
    During the day I plan on bringing her out of her enclosure. I haven't seen her eat yet either. Thanks!



  5. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Vancouver Island, BC
    Posts
    19

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    Aww what a sweet girl... yeah I agree possible retained sheds on her tail there... she looks dry like she needs some humidity but could just be the pics. A little skiny too? or maybe just the position shes in.
    You definatly have some work ahead of you but she should recover nicely with proper care and/or husbandy.
    Definatly do some reading up and get her a nice setup going.
    Good luck, look forward to the updates.
    Peace

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    San Antonio,TX
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    Your welcome.Where did you get the mulch from.I don't know anything about red bark so I don't know if it's toxic or not.If you want to you can look on line to see if you can find anything out about that mulch.I would love to help you on this one but I have to go to work in a while ( 1 1/2 shifts ) .I'm so happy to see that you are trying so hard to give that poor Tegu a better home :wink: .Keep up the good job.

  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by txrepgirl
    Your welcome.Where did you get the mulch from.I don't know anything about red bark so I don't know if it's toxic or not.If you want to you can look on line to see if you can find anything out about that mulch.I would love to help you on this one but I have to go to work in a while ( 1 1/2 shifts ) .I'm so happy to see that you are trying so hard to give that poor Tegu a better home :wink: .Keep up the good job.
    Thanks so much! I am very attached to her and I want her to have a good life. The bark I have is decorative and 100% organic. I looked at the ingredients in the bag and it just said: "100% organic red bark".


    She seems to like it. she burrowed in it last night when I went to sleep. I had a regular 75w bulb to bask her but it didn't seem hot enough. I am now using a 150w bulb that I got with her. I placed it by her water/bathing dish. She seems to enjoy being half in and half out.

    I still haven't been able to get her to eat. I've been removing her from her enclosure to feed her and she just crawls around looking for a place to hide. She attempted to eat a superworm, but failed then gave up.

    Any suggestions?

  8. #18
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Connecticut
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    Quote Originally Posted by BMXICAN
    I had a regular 75w bulb to bask her but it didn't seem hot enough. I am now using a 150w bulb that I got with her.
    Use halogen flood bulbs, they put out much more heat per watt than incandescents and give off a brighter light.
    1.1 Blue Tegus, 1.1 Cuban Rock Iguanas
    1.1 Bearded Dragons, 0.1 Veiled Chameleon
    0.1 Columbian Boa, 1.0 Ball Python, 0.0.1 Corn

  9. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by DaveDragon
    Quote Originally Posted by BMXICAN
    I had a regular 75w bulb to bask her but it didn't seem hot enough. I am now using a 150w bulb that I got with her.
    Use halogen flood bulbs, they put out much more heat per watt than incandescents and give off a brighter light.
    That is so good to know! I was curious about that since I recently bought a cage and it came with basking light with a halogen bulb. It was 60W and when I plugged it in I definitely noticed the heat difference. I opted not to use it and used a regular incandescent bulb. I figured that the hotter, brighter halogen bulb would use more electricity and that it might be too hot. But now that you mention it, I might just change over to a halogen bulb.

    I have her temps with that 150W at a constant 82° and 60% to 70'% humidity. She is just buried under the mulch. I have seen her drink but not eat. I saw a urate in her water but no poop.Still hibernating I suppose.

    How big should she be by now? I figure a lot bigger... The guy said she was 1 year old and she is about foot and half, maybe a smidge longer. Thanks!

  10. #20
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Connecticut
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    Quote Originally Posted by BMXICAN
    How big should she be by now? I figure a lot bigger... The guy said she was 1 year old and she is about foot and half, maybe a smidge longer. Thanks!
    There is no average size for any age because some of them hibernate for varying lengths of time. If they don't eat, they don't grow. Not being fed when they're awake will restrict their growth too. 1 year old and a foot and a half long does sound very small. Even if he hibernated last winter, there should have been at least 5 months of growth this past summer.
    1.1 Blue Tegus, 1.1 Cuban Rock Iguanas
    1.1 Bearded Dragons, 0.1 Veiled Chameleon
    0.1 Columbian Boa, 1.0 Ball Python, 0.0.1 Corn

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