Building my Tegus enclosure

[christopher gonyou]

Here are a couple photos or my build. Its going well so far.


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[christopher gonyou]

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[DakotaJane675]

Looking forward to seeing finished project...

 

[christopher gonyou]

Looking forward to seeing finished project...

Thanks. Ill be done by the end of the week- as long as the glass gets done by then


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[JimB]

Look'n great, what are the demensions and how big is your Tegu? Just curious for future reference.

 

[christopher gonyou]

Look'n great, what are the demensions and how big is your Tegu? Just curious for future reference.

The cage is 8 feet long, 4 foot high and 4 foot deep.

Its been quite the process.

First I framed it out, built the back and walls, framed out the window, sealed the cage with silicone and drylock paint, installed the windows and now I am about to cut the vents and figure out lighting and heating.

Ironically my tegu is tiny- maybe 30" tops. He is a teenager comparatively. He is a male though, so will get bigger and I am considering getting another tegu in the future and have them share enclosures.




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[JimB]

Awesome sound like you have it all covered.
The reason I asked is, I plan to build an 8'x4'x4' enclosure as well and my plan it to get a Hatchling next summer. Unless I built it with removable sections I'm afraid the little guy will be pretty difficult to hunt down and bond with until he grows into the complete enclosure. Or should I house him in something smaller for the first 8 - 12 months or so and then move him into the larger unit?

 

[christopher gonyou]

Awesome sound like you have it all covered.
The reason I asked is, I plan to build an 8'x4'x4' enclosure as well and my plan it to get a Hatchling next summer. Unless I built it with removable sections I'm afraid the little guy will be pretty difficult to hunt down and bond with until he grows into the complete enclosure. Or should I house him in something smaller for the first 8 - 12 months or so and then move him into the larger unit?

You will have more issues with 'taming' the tegu in a larger enclosure from my understanding. The smaller enclosures help make them feel more secure and used to their environment. Id buy a 40 gallon breeder aquarium initially.

I ran into this issue as well, so I ordered a larger Tegu from Tegus Only instead of a hatchling. I didnt want to mess with larger enclosures for a smaller tegu and need to upgrade. I chose this for financial reasons. I had two tegus many years ago though and I am fairly used to them so if you are new to larger monitors or lizards in general I would suggest starting with a hatchling and get used to it as it grows. Tegus have okay personalities even as larger 'untamed' adults but you still have to be aware of body language.




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[JimB]

Thanks so much for the info. I actually picked up a 36"x18"x18" Xtera for pretty cheap and I know it'll only house him for a few months but it's a start for a hatchling.
It's taken 2 years to get my Rhino to trust me and it's still a work in progress, so even though I have my work cut out for me when I get mine, I know it'll be worth it.
Thanks again for your help.

 

[christopher gonyou]

Thanks so much for the info. I actually picked up a 36"x18"x18" Xtera for pretty cheap and I know it'll only house him for a few months but it's a start for a hatchling.
It's taken 2 years to get my Rhino to trust me and it's still a work in progress, so even though I have my work cut out for me when I get mine, I know it'll be worth it.
Thanks again for your help.

No problem! And that cage would make a great start.

Rhinos are awesome, a Tegu should be a walk in the park compared


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