First Tegu, Plants?

[ReptiBonezXO]

Hi guys!
So i've always wanted a tegu, and i just adopted one a little over a week ago. (black and white Argentine)
We have her in a 5 1/2ftX 2 1/2ft enclosure.
I know its not ideal size, but i get her out every day, and also, she is allowed to roam my room for hours. (yes, the room is tegu proofed to the best of my ability)
Also, she doesnt do much climbing as to the fact that she had MBD when she was young, so her back is slumped in just a hair. She is strong now, healthy, and very sweet, she just has a bit of a warped back.
I'm a sucker for gimpy animals, runts, and over all, the "underdogs".
She is potty trained (goes potty outside), and has wonderful manners:] lol.


Anyways, i have her in on organic cypress mulch, with damp peat moss in her hide. (I squeeze out the extra moisture before i put it in her cage to avoid molding.)
She easily has about 6 1/2-8 inches of substrate in her cage. If i dig down to the bottom, i can still feel mild moisture. However i feel she needs something more substantial, to make her feel more at home.
She buries herself every night, and seems to like her cypress, but i'm just wondering if i should put a sand/topsoil mixture underneath the cypress.

Also, i'd really like to put some plants in her cage. Maybe one potted plant, the pot buried into the substrate. The others i would like to hang from the sides of her cage, considering she doesn't do much climbing, i don't think she would bother them.

Overall, i would like suggestions on substrate to help humidity, and plants safe for her.

thanks!

 

[jdpFL]

Cypress hold humidity well....is any part of your enclosure screen?

 

[ReptiBonezXO]

um, honestly its not quite finished. I know its going to lack humidity until its done. we had trouble with the hardware on the doors, so we have to redo them. But the doors with be heavy screen, in a wooden frame.. We keep our room pretty warm to make up for it in the time being.
for the moment, we have a solid stained plywood door used to close off the front of the cage at night.
Im not proud of the current door situation, we just have to wait till thursday to finish it.
Beyond humidity, the cypress just feels so hard... it seems like she would have more of a comforting substrate in a natural habitat. That's why i was wanting to add topsoil and sand in the bottom.

 

[jdpFL]

Well, you could do that. It also holds humidity and burrows well. I use it for my savannah, but my tegu has just cypress. Any screen is going to let humidity escape. You'll have to mist frequently. Maybe some other members who have similar set ups could give you pointers. Mine has no screen so glass stays foggy, high humidity hasn't been an issue.
Good luck....this is a great forum and I'm sure another member will have answers for you!

 

[ReptiBonezXO]

okay thanks so much:] I had that mixture for my sav and she adored it.
My new tegu (Zuul), is incredibly sweet, and doesn't seem to mind having little in her cage, but its obvious her life has been rough, and i just want her to have the chance to truly be happy.
I want her to have things to climb over and under, be able to burrow, and root around. I dont want her to just have a hide and a water bowl you know?
(Which is kind of what she has right now, but i'm working on it)
I really want her to have a nice little home, not just a cage.

 

[jdpFL]

You sound a lot like me and my husband. We always take in the underdogs as well.
Our tegu had MBD too, but it's nearly gone now. We are rehabbing two pitiful ball pythons and a tarantula that were all severely dehydrated. We are running out of space and resources, but if those were unlimited we'd really have a zoo, lol. Takes a lot of our time too, but it's something we enjoy doing together.
Post pics when you can....we love pics!

 

[james.w]

I would highly recommend putting glass or at least Plexiglass on the doors. Screen will let heat and humidity escape.

I use a dirt mixture for my tegu with a small amount of cypress mulch, and he seems to like it better than when I was using just cypress. I also think it holds humidity better and definitely holds a better burrow.

As far as plants, they probably won't last long if she can get to them, but tjat doesn't mean you can't do it. Just do a little search and find out what plants are reptile safe.

 

[ReptiBonezXO]

okay, we have to redo the doors anyways, so i'll try and talk my boyfriend into letting us splurge for plexiglass. Itll be worth it in the long run, and save us from the stress of constant misting:]

i'd post more pictures of my kids, but for the life of me its not working.
i'll fix it and post soon:]

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

How big and about how old is your tegu? Also what are the full specs of the enclosure. 5 1/2 ft long x 2 1/2 ft is that depth or height? Then 6 1/2 - 8 ins of height subtracted for substrate, add the water bowl, basking spot, lights and what ever plants you plan to use and it ends up really cluttered with very little room for the tegu to properly maneuver.

Depending on its age, size and even with it's health issues it can and may still grow especially when cared for properly. You'd be surprised at some of the things they can and will try to do regardless of their physical condition once they get it into their head.

 

[ReptiBonezXO]

She is about three years old, and about 36inches from nose to tip of tail. We by no means expect this to be her permanent enclosure, we'd like to build her something larger once we move (which is supposed to be soon) this is why we have the cage at the dimensions it is. something larger is just too hard to move, and once we do, it will be used to house my baby burm, and my tegu will be moved to something larger, with an outdoor enclosure for warmer days.
At that time my reptils will have a room for themselves, and she can be allowed a much bigger cage. the height and depth of the current cage are a square 2 1/2 x 2 1/2.
It'd actually be a very welcome surprise if she grew despite everything. Id rather see her grow and be active than seem like her deformity hinders her. Im very hopeful that her condition only continues to improve.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

At 36 ins with the enclosure dimensions I would keep everything simple for now,.. just the basics. So that she has as much room as possible until the move and the larger cage is built.

 

[ReptiBonezXO]

okay i can do that:] i may just hang some fake plants along the back of the cage out of the way for now then.

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figured out the picture thing, so "jdpFL", here ya go!


091311125723 by ReptiBonezXO, on Flickr


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