Hello from the rocky mountains!

[Godzilla Earth]

Hi, I'm thinking about getting an argentine b&w tegu. any advice?

 

[Walter1]

Welcome. Yes, best advice is to check out the various threads here and see what you think about answers to your questions. Then, ask some. Members are knowledgeable and friendly. Good luck

 

[Debita]

Make sure you check out Rodney Irwin @ TegusOnly.com - He rescues Tegus from a scary situation in S. Florida where the government is trying to get rid of them. THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL!! I have 2, a male and a female (my male is on my avatar) and they are full of personality. His prices are better than most, even sometimes half the price of reptile stores.
I bought a blue from a reptile store and paid close to $500...no enclosure or anything else. My Tegus from tegusonly were half that price or less!

His number is: (305) 772-8140 He's easy to talk to and he sent me exactly what I asked for twice. He'll even send photos so you can give the thumbs up or not. (sends Tegus overnight) Good Luck!!!

 

[bsshig40]

Welcome!

 

[Godzilla Earth]

Thanks guys! This is all really helpful. Also, is a 8' by 3' by 3' tank big enough for an adult? I saw that somewhere and wanted to know if it was true, and where the tegus from Rodney nice?

 

[Debita]

They're awesome - beautifully colored, and healthy. Only caveat is that I don't think he will even guess at their sex, (as he prob shouldn't) so, unless you're very specific about an adult - you'd have to wait around for a few months like I did, before you know what you have.

The size of tanks for adults is actually 8X4X4 which seems big, but they really thrive and flourish better in my opinion. It would be easier to play with the height than the space they crawl around in. Just my opinion - and I had a 7X4X3 (3 being the height) in the beginning, but you can tell a difference in their behavior when they have the right amount of room.

I love mine, and also Walter1 can vouch for the Tegusonly animals because he has 3!! There are many here that have them.

 

[Walter1]

Right on with what Alpha posted. Handsome and healthy. 8x4x4 is a good starting point. Will work well, but bigger if you can is even better.

 

[Walter1]

Goof on my part. Right on with what Debita said.

 

[Godzilla Earth]

Great! BTW, do you take your tegus outside and if you do, for how long? Also how long was the wait for the tegus? thank guys this is all very helpful.

 

[Walter1]

Mine are waking now and have spent some spells outside. When lows are above 50ish, they'll stay out til fall.

 

[Godzilla Earth]

how fast did your B&Ws grow? I know it varys but whats a good average?

 

[Debita]

My male grew much faster than my female. That prob sounds like an "obvious" statement, but actually, it was shocking how fast the male grew. I am trying to remember the details, but it's something like 1yr old he was at 19" and by 2.5 yrs he was 46". So wouldn't that mean that he grew about 24" in 18 months? My memory is that it was a couple inches/mo in the peak of that growth spurt. I thought it was stunning.

I don't overfeed my animals - they'd eat too much every day if I let them, so I feed every other or sometimes extending it to two days and then give them a big meal. Seems more natural to me (for adults). The female didn't even come close to his growth rate. I knew it would be less but didn't realize it would be so different. I don't think my female even grew half that fast.

 

[Godzilla Earth]

Yeah that sounds like giving a big meal every few days seems more natural to me for some reason. Oh also I checked out tegusonly, and Rodney sure knows what he’s doing. He hasn’t posted anything recently, so I’m wondering if that’s normal

 

[Walter1]

Yes, normal that animals aren't posted so often, but he's got'em. Let him know what you're interested in, and he'll send photos, etc.

 

[Godzilla Earth]

All right I'll do that. thanks a lot guys!

 

[Debita]

Awesome... good luck! Let us know how it goes, and send pics