getting a tegu

[yoyocrazy]

i plan on getting a tegu c :butt an someone tell me the differnce between reds,b/w,americans.
and ive heard alot about tank sizes what would be good for a adult.
thanks,for any help.trent

 

[Max713]

Start researching!!!

Will this be your first reptile?
Are you prepared to take care of a 4'+ lizard for 20+ years?

The recommended enclosure size for an adult is 8'L x 4'W x 3'T, I will be using a 7'x3.5'x3', and that is on the small side! These lizards get big, and need a lot of space! You can't skimp out on the enclosure size!!!
The primary difference between reds, b/w's and Americans is coloration. Reds being a lightish red coloration, b/w's being about 60% black/40% white, and Americans about 60% white/40% black. Other than that they are very similar, in temperament, size, etc. Bobby will tell you his Americans get larger than red's and b/w's, although I've personally seen b/w's just as large.

Have you done much research as to diet, temps, taming, humidity, lighting requirements, etc? Tegu's are one of the most (many would say THE most) rewarding lizards in the world to own and care for, although they do require an immense amount of responsibility, patience, time, and effort! Make sure you are prepared for a significant 20 year investment before you consider purchasing one.

 

[yoyocrazy]

ive done recearch yes how much bigger do his americans get.

 

[Max713]

ive done recearch yes how much bigger do his americans get.

If you had researched thoroughly at all, you would not have needed to ask about enclosure size, that's pretty common information...

Edited: Although so for there has been B/W's just as large as most American's, James brought up a good point in later posts that Americans have only been around for two years, and no one really knows how big they can actually get. I got ahead of myself.

 

[TheKid12]

it is pretty clear you did no such research, if you did you would know the lizard size and enclosure size,those are the two main things that are stressed the most on every care sheet and all care related articles i have read. If you were ready to own a tegu you would have done the research and ask questions about conflicting information within the care sheets and other things you may no be able to find so easily. Please do the research or do not get the lizard,have you any experience with reptiles,do you know how to properly hibernate a tegu or the things you can feed?

I am not trying to put you down or discourage you i would just hate to see a perfectly good innocent tegu go to a irresposible owner who does not know what he is doing and likely in 5months will be back on here asking"Help,Whats wrong with my tegu"

Read this
<!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.tegutalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=20#axzz1FJgdY7mk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewtopic.php?t=20#axzz1FJgdY7mk</a><!-- l -->

browse the forum and learn all you could,do not put in one night of research dedicate weeks to months to it,i researched for 6months before i even thought i was ready for one. I hope your not one of the people who thinks,oh im gon by me a big as$ lizard that eats mice,they need more than just mice and insects in the diet at young ages.

Tegu's are not something you want to play with,i am sure you saw calm well taken care of tegus on youtube,tegu's with ill husbandry are the exact opposite and have the ability to literally bite your finger cleannn off.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[Max713]

it is pretty clear you did no such research, if you did you would know the lizard size and enclosure size,those are the two main things that are stressed the most on every care sheet and all care related articles i have read. If you were ready to own a tegu you would have done the research and ask questions about conflicting information within the care sheets and other things you may no be able to find so easily. Please do the research or do not get the lizard,have you any experience with reptiles,do you know how to properly hibernate a tegu or the things you can feed?

I am not trying to put you down or discourage you i would just hate to see a perfectly good innocent tegu go to a irresposible owner who does not know what he is doing and likely in 5months will be back on here asking"Help,Whats wrong with my tegu"

Read this
<!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.tegutalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=20#axzz1FJgdY7mk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewtopic.php?t=20#axzz1FJgdY7mk</a><!-- l -->

browse the forum and learn all you could,do not put in one night of research dedicate weeks to months to it,i researched for 6months before i even thought i was ready for one. I hope your not one of the people who thinks,oh im gon by me a big as$ lizard that eats mice,they need more than just mice and insects in the diet at young ages.

Tegu's are not something you want to play with,i am sure you saw calm well taken care of tegus on youtube,tegu's with ill husbandry are the exact opposite and have the ability to literally bite your finger cleannn off.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Very good points, I like this care sheet as well:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.teguterra.com/tegucaresheet.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.teguterra.com/tegucaresheet.htm</a><!-- m -->

Nobody is trying to discourage, rather encourage you to do the proper research to actually know what you're getting in to.
I think months of research may be a little excessive for an already domesticated animal... but it definitely takes longer than one night of browsing to figure out if you can handle a Tegu, let alone how to care for one.

And he's exactly right ^^^ Don't come in here claiming you've done your research when you clearly haven't, enclosure size and animal size is usually the most emphasized bit of info in any care sheet...

 

[james.w]

First off, Max and theKid, how long have you guys had Tegus??

The full adult size of All Americans is unknown being they have only been around since 2009 and aren't full grown yet. Reds and B/Ws are very common besides color and the reds seem to have a little bit of trouble shedding , but more fruit can help with their hydration. Just browse through the posts on here as just about everything is covered and anything you can't find feel free to post.

This forum shouldn't make anyone feel they can't ask questions. Sorry if the "new" guys made you feel this way.

But definitely do your research before you get your Tegu.

 

[TheKid12]

First off, Max and theKid, how long have you guys had Tegus??

The full adult size of All Americans is unknown being they have only been around since 2009 and aren't full grown yet. Reds and B/Ws are very common besides color and the reds seem to have a little bit of trouble shedding , but more fruit can help with their hydration. Just browse through the posts on here as just about everything is covered and anything you can't find feel free to post.

This forum shouldn't make anyone feel they can't ask questions. Sorry if the "new" guys made you feel this way.

But definitely do your research before you get your Tegu.

I Currently own a colombian tegu, i had him for 3years and now and i will be getting my first argentine soon,but i have plenty of reptiles and experience my friend and i am only 16. Read my post not anywhere did i say anything about the all american size,i know those are recently produce,i even read on another forum how they actually came to be(no i do not mean the genetics, i mean how they were breed), i am just giving him my two cents on what he should do because it is pretty clear he did no research and if you don't make it seem important he will completely discard all that was said and go and get the tegu with out doing research,all because you make it seem like a breeze,i gave him detail and what he will be facing getting this tegu,he needs to know this before he does no research and makes a impulse buy.Then like said he will be back on here in a couple of months asking "what is wrong with my tegu why is it always sleeping and under the ground",why let the mistake of improper husbandry continue when we could stop it here, i am done talking,it does not make a difference to me what he does now,whether he takes my advice and make something great of it or buy the tegu not knowing what he doing. I wish him the best of luck with what ever he does.

 

[james.w]

If you read the last sentence in my post, I also say to do research before buying. Experience with reptiles and experience with Argentine Tegus is 2 different things. It just bothers me when people who have very little or even worse, no experience with Tegus try to tell someone else what they need to do before getting one.

Also the comment about the All American was for Max.

 

[TheKid12]

When it comes to reptiles,by "experience" do you know what is meant? What people really mean by experience is devotion and dedication to the reptile,how many reptiles you keep also how to handle and what to do if a problem arises,and generally the same problems a rise in mostly all reptiles,and like i said i have been researching for 6months already, my knowledge on tegu care and origins more than likely surpass most keepers who have been keeping for years, you can keep a reptile alive for years but it takes real research not hands on experience with one or two tegus to even claim your knowledgeable of the species.

I from day one jumped into larger reptiles, but i was always dedicated and did more research than you could imagine,i am obsessed with facts and I research for months with any reptile i get to ensure i provide proper Husbandry and all of my reptiles live long and healthy, i just want the same for the OP.

Oh and when you are addressing more than one person on a forum post try and say who you are talking too,thats how things get started my friend,take care.

 

[james.w]

If you can read, I addressed the both of you in the first question and than started a new paragraph. Being that you are only 16, I doubt you have as much experience with "large" reptiles as you think.

Hands on experience is the best kind you can have, and if your animal is healthy and thriving, no amount of research is going to change that. Just because you can read care sheets and ask questions doesn't mean you can keep anything.

Good luck in your reptile endeavors, but please keep your non-experienced opinions to yourself and let those of us with experience with the reptile in question help the OP out.

 

[TheKid12]

HA HA,your a little prick now KM :butt , and my knowledge is far beyond that of a care sheet my friend,i read books and attend lectures and reptile expos.

" there are three types of people in the world: Those who learn from books those who learn from others and those who just have to pee on the electric fence themselves"

I am the first,i prefer to learn from books as they provide accurate information from people who actually observed the species in there habitat and keep them to study and not just as pets like you do,who deemed you the Tegu God my friend,you are not experienced.You keep tegus that's it,you know nothing of them other than ground turkey,uvb and rodents,do you and i a favor and........................ :dead

oh and you broke the guidelines,you were first to issue a personal attack towards me.

 

[Guest]

Kid, calm down. What makes you better than anyone else here? I started getting into reptiles when I was 15 and I can tell you that once you mature into a logical adult, you'll look back on these posts and think "Wow... What was I thinking?" Trust me, I did it too. Keep on researching and learning but refrain from tooting your horn just yet.

OP, if you browse the forum and read Bobby's care links on the "Home" pages, you'll learn a lot.

I've been researching Tegus for about three years now gathering all the information I can before I get one. I can proudly say that I feel that I'm very suited to be a Tegu owner but for now, will refrain from getting one because there is much more research to do. (And financial issues, haha)

Edit:
And I wouldn't classify James' posts directed towards you as "personal attacks" just yet. lol

 

[james.w]

I never personally attacked you. What books are you reading about the Argentine Tegu? I don't remember referring to myself as the "tegu god", but those are your words.

You are correct, I do keep them as pets, but at least I keep them. You don't have any at the moment as you said.

And as far as what type of person I am, I would say I am the second and third, sometimes I learn from others and sometimes I piss on the fence. Oh well.

:bajo

 

[james.w]

Thanks Little Wise Owl.

Just to clarify something as well, I got my All American from Bobby only 2 weeks after ever even knowing what a Tegu was. He/She is doing fine, hibernating in a 5x2x2.5. His permanent home is sitting in my garage right now waiting for him to be big enough for it. I also have a red that I rescued from a kid here in vegas that was keeping it in a 20G long with no UVB. It is a little on the small side, but otherwise seems doing great. You can also see what other herps I keep in my sig.

TheKid, I am not trying to start and internet battle with you. Like I said, it just bothers me when people with no experience with the OP's question get involved.

 

[Max713]

I was not trying to cause a problem...
You are correct, I have little experience with Tegu's at only 2 months, although I have plenty of experience with other reptiles. Again you are also correct in saying that Tegu's are unlike any other reptile, and previous experience in some areas can mean nothing.
On the other hand I have read most every piece of literature on them I can get my hands on, and have been lectured on them and their ways for hours. Though, if you noticed, I never claimed to be an expert, or even very experienced... I didn't offer any significant first hand advice, or technical information, I did however share information widely known and accepted as correct, all correct except for that concerning the sizes of Americans (And I did edit my previous post reflecting that).
I may have come across as harsh, partly because spoon feeding someone who clearly hasn't researched, but claims they have, is irritating... But mostly because in recent months I've become more passionate about seeing neglected and ill treated reptiles, it hits a nerve thinking about another impulse buy occurring leading to the suffering of another large lizard... Coming across as aggressive is probably counter productive against my actual goal, it's very easy to let a hot head get ahead of you when behind a keyboard and not standing in front of someone.

 

[james.w]

Thank you very much Max, I did not intend on being harsh, and if I was, I apologize.

In your edit, you are incorrect again, it's not the giants that have only been around 2 years, it is the All Americans. They are different than the Extreme Giants.

 

[Max713]

Thank you very much Max, I did not intend on being harsh, and if I was, I apologize.

In your edit, you are incorrect again, it's not the giants that have only been around 2 years, it is the All Americans. They are different than the Extreme Giants.

No problem, I just wanted to clarify where I stood, and what type of information I was trying to relay. You were not being to harsh towards me, all you directed towards me was that I had incorrect information concerning Americans, and you simply asked how much experience I had, no need to apologize for any of the that.
You may have been harsh to the other individual, although I may have as well with the way he was speaking to you.

Edited it again, I meant American's, I do not know why I wrote Giants in that line, I was referring to Americans in the rest of the paragraph, brain fart...

 

[Draco D Tegu]

HA HA,your a little prick now KM :butt , and my knowledge is far beyond that of a care sheet my friend,i read books and attend lectures and reptile expos.

" there are three types of people in the world: Those who learn from books those who learn from others and those who just have to pee on the electric fence themselves"

I am the first,i prefer to learn from books as they provide accurate information from people who actually observed the species in there habitat and keep them to study and not just as pets like you do,who deemed you the Tegu God my friend,you are not experienced.You keep tegus that's it,you know nothing of them other than ground turkey,uvb and rodents,do you and i a favor and........................ :dead

oh and you broke the guidelines,you were first to issue a personal attack towards me.

Woah....Chill, there is no reason to tell someone to kiss your butt.

If you want people to take you seriously at your age, then it's time to act adult and agree to disagree and walk away. What good does internet bravado do, other than make you feel better for a moment or two?

It's just my opinion that antics like this are contributing to even more people NOT taking teenage keepers seriously. Not all books are correct. In fact most books on reptile care are old school and have caused more harm than good by following the books alone. Interaction with other keepers is critical.

So many forums destroyed by internet bravado.....this is a great resource, why ruin it with silliness?


Just my .02.

 

[Guest]

I`ve been a fence peeing fool all my life..

Never been into books or coke bottle glasses ...

Time comes to do something get out and do it ...