b&w cage question.

[Guest]

ok so i got a question since iv decided im getting a black and white in a few months. i wanna build the cage now.. so the question is (independent attitudes asside ofr the most part) if provided enough hides/substrate and what not can u put a smaller tegu in a larger cage? iv read some have and then that some get meaner with more space.. so id like oppinions from those who have done it.

iv pretty much decided to start from scratch with the cage i build and it will probably be 6x2x3 to start and ill put my retics cage ontop of it when im done.. so would a baby be ok in a cage like this? im still going back and forth on the 2 ft height.. and might go with 3 and just have 12'' deap cypress mulch..

thanks for the advice

 

[james.w]

I have my 2010 All American in a 5x2x3 and he is doing fine. Fairly tame not completely but I have only had him about two months.

 

[Toby_H]

As a hatchling mine went into a 4x2x2 enclosure. He quickly became handlable...

As a yearling he moved out onto a 6' x 12' outdoor balcony. When introduced to this "cage" he was just as handlable as he was the previous summer in the 4x2x2. As time passed and he grew, he became more and more tame.

As an adult he spends his winters in an 8' x 3' cage and his summers on the 6' x 12' balcony. He shows zero signs of aggression, has never bitten anyone in his life, is easily hand fed, shows no aggression when his food is taken from him and is in every way imaginable "dog tame"


I do not believe for one second that raising a small Tegu in a large enclosure will increase aggression. I do believe whole heartedly that keeping a Tegu in too small of an enclosure will increase aggression.

 

[Guest]

My tegu was/is young and small, the day I brought it home it went right into a 7.5x3.5x3.5 enclosure. It's doing fine, it doesn't really seem to be "mean" or anything.

 

[slideaboot]

Lots of folks, Bobby included, recommend a 20 gallon to start them out in. I, personally, have only used 4 foot by 2 foot cages for both of my hatchlings and both did quite well. In fact, a twenty gallon would've been a waste of money for me because my extreme giant is growing so dang fast. He's well over 30 inches and less than 4 months old. He's close to outgrowing the 4x2! After just a few months...crazy!

 

[tora]

I think people just say that because it's hard to get a lil baby out of a huge cage without chasing it around and freaking it out usually.