My new friend Vader

[zfro]

I'm quite new to keeping reptiles in general this is my first tegu and his name is Vader. I have him in a 72 gal bowfront I was curious on how quickly they grow and the exact temperatures and humidity levels. And if anyone can let me know if there are any fruits or plants they enjoy that would be great.I have him in cypress mulch and a basking light with a night heat bit I don't know if it's enough. He also has a 10 gallon dig box inside the 72. Glad to have joined this forum it's always nice learning more about these lizards.

 

[Aardbark]

Hello and welcome to the site. Vader is a good looking little guy. Tegus cn vary in size, but they can grow to be 4 feet long or more. They get pretty big and you will eventually need a bigger cage for him. Tegus like to eat lots of foods, ground chicken or turkey, fish, lots of fruits (almost any fruit, mango and kiwi among the favs) vegtibles, and of course whole prey like frozen mice (thawed obviously). You want to give your tegu a varied diet and feed him lots of different things. Hes a little baby now so you can also feed crickets, and lightly dust them with calcium. Also very important is you want to get him a heating bulb that puts out UVB. Its very important that tegus get UVB to be healthy. If they dont get it they will get very sick. You can find a UVB bulb at any pet store. Mist his cage every day, tegus also need a high humidity in their cage. The warm side of the cage (where the uvb bulb is) should be about 110 and the cool side in the low 80s.

These are all just things Im listing off the top of my head, but this site has lots of information on what tegus need.

 

[zfro]

Thank you very much what would you say about raw meats?

 

[Aardbark]

What raw meats? You can feed ground turkey, ground chicken, various fish, chicken gizzards/necks/hearts and stuff. Avoid beef and pork.

 

[zfro]

Ok cool thank you what about raw eggs?

 

[Aardbark]

Eggs are fine, just feed them in moderation. Here is a food list, http://tegutalk.com/threads/tegu-food-list.6446/