Advice needed for rescue

[Bclifton]

A co worker must find a home for his black and white tegu. He knows I'm interested in Lizards and asked me if I would consider. He said it come with everything I need. ( I've heard that one before).

He's using a 6x2x2 salt water tank and his Tegu Bowser is over 2 years old. Can you tell me what I'm getting myself into if I were to do it. He doesn't know what he's going to do with him because nobody wants him and he can have him anymore. I want him but I want to make sure this is not going to be a big mistake. I want to make it better for him not worse. He's not getting the proper care and the owner knows that.


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[dpjm]

I'm not going to get into specifics but tegus are a lot of work and not a casual pet. They are a huge commitment. The lifespan is into the teens, so you have at least 10 years to go. You need to run multiple heat lamps and UV lamps that are expensive to buy and operate, plus fixtures can cost $15-30 a piece. Good UV lamps cost over $50 and need to be replaced every 6-18 months, depending on the brand you buy. They require a high quality diet consisting of whole animal prey and different varieties of produce, which can also be quite expensive. The tank he is supplying you with is too small for an adult, you would need to custom build one with larger dimensions. Setting up the enclosure properly will require experience.

I'm not necessarily trying to turn you off completely, just give you an idea of some of the more costly and challenging aspects of tegu ownership. If all this sounds fine to you, then I say go for it.

This is what I usually say to someone who is PURCHASING a tegu. Your situation is a bit different since you are rescuing one from someone who admittedly is not doing a proper job and needs to get rid of it. If you think you can at least do a better job than the current owner, then maybe it's not a bad idea to take it over and do the best you can. At least that would improve things a bit for the tegu. If you found it was too much work you could look for a new home for it yourself. Just please don't pay the current owner anything, he has made a poor choice bringing home an animal he can't care for and shouldn't be compensated for the mistake, that's how I see it.

There's lots of help on these forums so you would not be alone. We are here to help in all aspects.

 

[Walter1]

A co worker must find a home for his black and white tegu. He knows I'm interested in Lizards and asked me if I would consider. He said it come with everything I need. ( I've heard that one before).

He's using a 6x2x2 salt water tank and his Tegu Bowser is over 2 years old. Can you tell me what I'm getting myself into if I were to do it. He doesn't know what he's going to do with him because nobody wants him and he can have him anymore. I want him but I want to make sure this is not going to be a big mistake. I want to make it better for him not worse. He's not getting the proper care and the owner knows that.


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You're a very responsible person to have asked the questions you did. Little to add to what dpjm said. Given the poor care to date, I'm concerned about health issues that could all ro easily accompany suboptimal care.

 

[Bclifton]

That's what I was thinking. If I could even make it a little better then maybe it would be worth it. And I can building him an enclosure. I just made one for my uromastyx. From what I've read 8x4x4 would be an adult size. But I'm worried about the money and stress. But I also want to help the little guy. Idk I'm torn. I'll have to sit on it I guess.


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