blue tegu info

[rrcoolj]

So I know I said I wanted an argentine black and white but I stumbled by the blue tegu section and I might be reconsidering your offer DAVEDRAGON :-D . But I would like to know some things about blueys before I purchase. I know thier diet, heating, and lighting is the same as argentine blcak and whites. But hows thier temperment? Are they as tame as the black and white tegu? Do they hibernate? Will a 6x3x3 enclosure house them for life(I know thier smaller makes it a little easier for me). Any advice welcomed :-D .

 

[DaveDragon]

Every animals personality is different, just like humans. A lot has to do with how you treat them. If you spend time interacting with them, provide a good enclosure and food, they'll be friendly. When we got our male Blue he was living in a 4ft x 2ft wire rabbit cage. He was very cage aggressive. When we got out male Red he was living in a dog crate, very cage aggressive. Our female Blue was living in a 120G tank (18" x 72"), not too happy. Once they got into 7ft x 3ft enclosures they calmed down. Our male Blue is the calmest critter we have! He's been to (2) 8 hour reptile shows, being either on my shoulders, arms or getting passed to other people. He was VERY good! I figured he would have enough after half an hour or so, but he was great!!

A hungry Tegu is not happy either. A tegu that is never handled will be cage aggressive.

We raised a male B&W from a hatchling to 18 months old, go through the rough "puberty" months, he calmed down at about 15 months. Rambling again. I guess my point is, you treat them good they'll treat you good and it takes 15 to 18 months for them to mature to their adult temperament. Our females were ignored in small tanks for much of their lives before we got them. They've gotten much more trusting but not as good as our male. They're slowly improving.

Our Blue don't hibernate, they slow down. We'd see them once in a while and offer them food every week or 2.

A 6x3 enclosure is OK for them, since they normally only grow to about 3.5ft. Just take him out every few days to walk around. We take ours outside for an hour or two every weekend to free roam. To leash, no fence, woods on 2 sides. They've never tried to run away. But these are adults between 4 & 5 years old, don't try that with anything without a leash for a few times and judge how they react to being outdoors. Our 5 year old 3 foot male Cuban Rock Iguana is TERRIFIED of being outside!! He thrashes, gapes and bites. Hopefully someday he'll get used to it. Out Tegu's we bought as adults and just dropped on the ground the first time without a problem. That may be unusual.

Of the 18 babies we hatched last year only 2 seemed to be a little hyper. The rest were very calm and liked to hang out on hands or arms. They were handled daily since they make such of a mess of their enclosures the newspaper has to be changed often. Handling and holding them every day has to improve their trust with humans. We had 2 people pick theirs out here and the Tegu's hung out on their arms for half an hour as we talked. That's a great start.

I like the Blue's because of their smaller size and markings. A 5 foot lizard just doesn't fit comfortable in a 7ft x 3ft enclosure. The minimum size is 2 times their length x 1 times their length, so a 5ft lizard should have a 10ft x 5ft enclosure. Our Blue's have plenty of room to walk around.

If you're in the NYC area you'll be able to see some of the hatchlings and the Father at the White Plains show in September if all works out right, or I think you may have last year. Then you'll understand better. Most of the pics of young Blue's came from our clutch last year. Take a look and read what they have to say.

I hope I helped answer your questions. I know, I rambled a too much.

 

[rrcoolj]

Thanks DAVEDRAGON you said a mouthfull! Ovbiously I know that I will have to spend time with them to get them tame. One of my leopard geckos took 1 full year to become completely tame. ANd it's not like he's going to be in that cage all the time. He'll probably be outside alot during the summer and I don't mind him roaming my room in the winter. I'm more concerned with the width. 4ft is alot the length is negotiable for me so I might go bigger. When do they hatch at the end of september?

 

[DaveDragon]

They'll hatch 60 days after they're laid, and can ship 3 weeks after that. She should lay in the next week.

When you start out with one that's handled every day and is fairly tame you're way ahead of the game.

I'll be taking lots of pics. People will be able to pick theirs in order of payment.