Meet Kimosabi, my Argentine B&W Tegu

[Max713]

---Copied from another forum I frequent---

Made it here safe and sound from Georgia, he's warming up under his basking bulb in his new home as we speak.
First thing after pulling him out of the box, he angled his head, looked right at me and curiously flicked his tongue a few times, he's going to be a great tegu
He's a 4-5 month old Argentine Black & White, just over 12" long.

And his new home:

4'x3'x3', 75-80% humidity, 105F basking temp and 85F cold side temp.

Here's kimo after a half hour or so of handling today, he still hasn't eatin yet, I assume he's still adjusting. He completely ignored the crickets when I put him in his feeding bin, although he did "tongue" and look at the meal worm I offered him while he was in my hand.

Excited here! He had his first little snack! Put some ground turkey in a dish in his house, showed him the food and left him near it as he stared me down. Then I hid around the corner and watched him from where he couldn't see me, after he was sure I was gone he licked it a few times, then took 2 mouthful bites Then I think he may have noticed me watching, as he lumbered back to his hide and buried himself.
He seems to be slowly acclimating, he's extremely calm once in my hands already, he's just gets nervous when I come at him in the cage, just a little huffing and puffing, only been bit once so far. Funny thing is, he barely even clamped, even at this size I'm confident he could draw blood if he wanted, seems he was telling me to leave him the hell alone, haha. I'm leaving him alone for the most part for the first week, but I'm really happy with how everythings going so far.

 

[Guest]

Congrats!! Nice looking Tegu and enclosure . Don`t be surprised after he gets set in that he hibernates foe a couple of months ... As for now just keep doing like you are doing ..

 

[Max713]

Kimo seems like he's doin great, already getting more accustom to handling. I haven't seen him eat again, but I left a small bowl of ground turkey in his house today while I was at work and I THINK there was less when I got home, but I'm not sure. He spends most of his day sleeping as it is his time of the year to hibernate, although he was out basking for a few hours today. I'm keeping all the temperatures up, after talking with my breeder, its expected for him to slow down but not go into a full hibernation.
Figured I'd update you guys

And here's some new pics

And enjoying his new climb by his basking bulb, Kimo must like it hot, he climbs right up by the bulb even though its 105F at ground level

Man this little guy is already showing just how inquisitive he is. I put his new climb in while handling him, as soon as I put him back in his house he went straight over to it and basked for a minute or so, after I hid out of view, he started goin nuts (in a good way )! Climbing up and down, walking all around it, digging under it, he played for a solid 5 minutes before deciding it was time to go back to bed. It's just amazing to me that after only 4 days in his new home, he already acknowledges changes and investigates them thoroughly! So cool, can't wait to become good friends with little Kimo!

 

[skippy]

i think it's spelled "kemosabe"

cute little guy though =)

 

[Max713]

Well, not to be an ignorant American, but I like "Kimosabi" hahaha.

And thank you

 

[Guest]

It means masked face ...

 

[Orion]

Awesome Tegu! Very good job on the enclosure also.

 

[Max713]

Thanks! I'm very happy with the finished product, here's a more recent pic with all of his hides/climbs in place

 

[Brandonjames]

I said it before and I'll say it again, nice looking tegu.
And a friendly wave from Jeepforum. :cheers

-Brandon

 

[Guest]

Very cute and a nice set up. :-D

Just something to mention, I didn't see anyone else mention it, have you looked into getting probe thermometers? I have only used the digital probes but I've read that the gauge types aren't as accurate and can be off by up to 10*. I'll try to find a source or two verify it or maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Max713]

brandon- Just replied to you on JF, small world it is! Haha, your girl is gorgeous as well.

RHETORICx- I actually bought a gun of craigslist, and it unfortunately quit working within a week :/. The truth is I'm very tight on funds at the moment, but an infrared is top on the list at the moment! For the exact reasons you described.


And I haven't updated the thread recently, but Kimo's been doing fantastic! Quoted from another reptile forum I frequent:

Here's a video of Kimo on his daily exploration, seems to be even more energetic today with the higher basking temp! Fast forward to 1:30 if you want to laugh out loud, such a funny little lizard. You can see when he spots me at the end of the video too.


I don't think I could be happier right now! In just a week, Kimo has made such an improvement, he actually asked to be taken out of his enclosure today!!! When he's making his daily rounds, he'll regularly put his front feet up on the ridge at the bottom of the plexiglass, and kind of scratch/climb the plexiglass. I noticed him doing this today, and gently slip the plexiglass open. Then i put my hand out for him, and he used it to climb out of his enclosure and on to the ground. Then we went exploring my apartment together He wasn't looking for a new hide, he was actually exploring, tongue going like crazy the whole time, he particularly enjoyed my broom in the corner for some reason haha. He wasn't nervous of me at all, and actually climbed through my legs a few times while exploring. After about 15 minutes, i placed him back in his enclosure so he could warm back up, straight to his basking spot he went. I can't believe he's warming up to me so well already! I just wish I would have thought to take a video of him doing this...

 

[kaa]

Looks great. keep up the good work.

 

[Max713]

Kimo just started his first shed since I've had him yesterday, its down past his head right now, and seems to be doing good. I'm keeping his enclosure extra humid and giving him warm baths daily to help him with it.
After his bath this morning, Kimo had the largest meal I've ever seen him eat! He attacked the turkey like it was going out of style taking large mouthfuls at a time! Seems he's doing great!

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the update ...

Glad things are going well ..

 

[eddyjack]

Are you sure its a male?

 

[Max713]

Are you sure its a male?

As sure as anyone else is that gets one from a breeder that doesn't "sex" them (Mine came from TeguTerra).
So no, I'm not positive, but I'm really hoping I have a little boy, Johnny says he gets it right about 95-98% of the time.

Why do you ask?

 

[Max713]

Kimo at near the end of his first shed with me, eyeballing be for sticking a camera in his face! Thinking he will be done tomorrow, I'll be checking all his toes for a clean shed.

 

[Max713]

Looking so good after his shed! Still working on his toes and tail.

Question: How much can I help him with his shed? Can I assist him with his toes carefully? How do I know if I'm hurting him?

 

[Guest]

Keep giving warm baths and keep the humidity up in his enclosure .

If you notice a persistent problem of old skin on his feet you could try some olive oil [or what ever ] ..

I think it would be counter productive to handle a tegu that age too much as in picking skin off his feet and such if you don`t have to ..

 

[Max713]

I was planning on continuing the warm baths until hes completely done with the shed, he actually seems like he's starting to enjoy them. Helped him along with his feet a little today while he was in the tub, he actually didn't really seem to mind. He didn't even try to get away from me in the tub, I wasn't holding him while messing with his feet. I'll give it a bit longer before I result to olive oil or etc, but I'll leave him be for the most part in the mean time.