New Tegu owner, tips appreciated!

[Kasmut]

I just got my first black and white Argentine (not sexed yet). I’m not sure how old he is but he’s small enough to where he fits in the 20 gallon I set up for him. I have some questions about housing. I do realize he will outgrow the 20 gallon, but my question is how fast? I plan on making a custom enclosure once I have the time, but for now will the 20 gallon suffice?

I also have another problem, I got him a driftwood log for basking and as a hide spot, the tip of the log is right underneath the UV lamp and the temperature keeps getting far too hot (110+ but im not sure if it gets any hotter as that is the max my thermometer goes to) It’s 100 watt and I’m just wondering if I should downgrade for now until I get an enclosure with more space? I just ordered a lamp stand from zoo med and I’m hoping the extra distance will help with the temp regulation.

Also for feeding, I’ve been giving him calcium dusted crickets, and I’m just wondering how many I should give him daily? The guy at the expo told me "till he’s full" but that isn’t really good enough lol.

And when handling, I realize its the first day and he's acclimating but when should I start trying to handle him regularly? And how often/how much exposure at this age? He is very skittish now. He lets me pet him well enough but when I try to lift him he spazzes out and runs away.
EDIT: I tried taking him out of the enclosure to feed him in a bin, but he's really turned skittish now. I had to practically snatch him while he puffed and snapped at me. Then when I put him in the tub he flopped out and ran around for a while. I finally gave up and put the food back in his enclosure which was probably a bad idea. I just got him today so I'm sure the move and everything was a bit traumatic, and I'm just afraid I made it worse. Do you think i should wait off on bin-feeding and keep feeding him in the enclosure? Also what is the best way to try to tame him at this point? He is relatively young/flighty but as of now he won't even let me touch him.

Also any other tips you guys could give me for a first time owner would be greatly appreciated. I want to give him the best care that I’m able.

Here are pictures of the setup and of my baby.

 

[Scott Hogge]

I'd recommend losing the driftwood for basking and getting the basking spot to 120 at ground level. They like to be able to lay flat, stretch out, wiggle around, etc... that are hard to do on the small surface of an elevated basking spot. Put the driftwood over on the side of the enclosure because young tegus do love to explore and climb, but they prefer to bask at ground level.

Avoid trying to catch him / pick him up if he doesn't want. As soon as he learns you are not a threat, he will become very curious about you and will come to you... so just be patient. If he wont let you touch him yet, just get as close as he lets you, and let him get used to that. It feels like you are getting nowhere for a while, and then there is a quick change as soon as he learns you are no threat.

I'm not a fan of feeding bins for tegus unless you are feeding live prey... and I don't recommend any live prey if you want him tame. Get him on a ground meat / frozen whole prey diet as soon as possible. Set down a few paper towels where you are going to put the food in case he knocks it out of the bowl, and lay out the food before he wakes up so that he doesn't see it coming and charge. This way he can eat as much as he wants all day long. MacGyver is eating about 5 pinkie mice in the morning now, and another one every hour or so throughout the day. He just ate a pinky rat at about 10pm, which brought the daily total to 10 pinkie mice and 1 pinky rat.


And congrats on your new friend =)

 

[Kasmut]

Thanks for the advice! I just ordered him a new basking rock and will move his driftwood around to the back once it comes in. Unfortunately I won't be able to get him a bigger enclosure for about a month or two. I hope he doesn't grow too large in that time.

I'm a bit concerned on how I'm going about all of this. Admittedly I researched Tegus for about 3 or 4 days before purchasing one. I know this was a bad move, but I am an impulsive person. I still am trying to go by the book and I'm reading and posting at every place I can find. I've ordered several hundred pinkies that should come in about 10 days. I fed him about 4 calcium dusted crickets today because I was unsure how much he should be eating. After the handling incident i made him a mix of warmed ground turkey and scrambled eggs but he didn't touch any of it and has hid in the substrate all night. I'm hoping he'll come out tomorrow at least to eat. I guess I'll keep trying with the crickets and more ground meat and a little bit of fruit, although I'm reluctant to give him a lot at once as I saw him nibbling at the substrate after eating one of the crickets before. How often should he be defecating? I don't think he did tonight and I'm concerned he'll have trouble with all the stress.

I agree with you and i think I'm back to square one with handling. I will try the slow and patient route and hope that he will tame a little more in a couple of months. I'm really a complete rookie at this, and if you have anymore advice on care or housing (especially what a great set-up would be as I know mine could use a lot of improvement) I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Kasmut]

Oh another question. At night is it necessary to have a secondary colored lower-watt bulb to keep the temperature? When I turn off the the UV light the temp drops significantly.

 

[james.w]

What are you using to provide UVB? Properly provided for a 20 gallon will last a couple months at best.

 

[Kasmut]

What are you using to provide UVB? Properly provided for a 20 gallon will last a couple months at best.

Im using a mercury vapor uvb/uva Powersun 100w in a deep dome lamp set on top of the tank over the basking spot.

 

[james.w]

What are your cool side temps?

 

[Kasmut]

Today it was around 85-90 average, but I hadn't kept the lamp on for the full 12 hours because I was afraid it was getting too hot. I'll keep it on tomorrow and check it out.

 

[nessanicolle]

A night bulb isn't necessary unless the night temps are going below 70.

Also, I'd recommend just letting him settle in. Give him a lil' time to get used to his home.
I myself have a Colombian and he's just the sweetest lil guy ever and loves to be held.

Good luck!

-Vanessa

 

[Murkve]

As far as taming and feeding goes, get a pair of tongs or forceps. They help immensely in getting your Tegu to see you as a provider of good, yummy things. If you are feeding in the enclosure, which I did for the first couple weeks, they also help control where your Tegu eats. This can help with the accidental substrate ingestion.

 

[Kasmut]

Thanks for the tips guys! He came out of his substrate which I am surprised at. I put three crickets in his feeding bowl, and tried to hand-feed him one with some forceps. He snapped at it but didn't get to eat it. He just woke up so I'm hoping he's just being lazy and will eventually eat during the day. Poor little guy still freaks when I try to mist the tank x_x

 

[james.w]

You ate going to cause health problems with temps that high.

 

[Kasmut]

I rigged the lamp further from the lid and the cool side is now down to a little below 80. The basking area still gets around 100-105. Is this better? I also have another question regarding Repti Calcium. I got the kind with D3 but heard that the kind without is better, is this true? Oh and if someone could answer about frequency of defecation. He still hasn't gone yet

 

[james.w]

The cool side temp is better, try raising the basking spot to get the basking temp a little higher.

 

[nessanicolle]

My lil boy defecates when i put him in the water everyday or usually a few minutes after he eats. You may not be able to tell. But with tegu poop it has a very foul smell. I'm sure after he gets into a cycle he'll start going like crazy.

 

[Kasmut]

He still hasn't defecated as far as I can tell. Tomorrow when he's out of the substrate I'll dig around to check for sure. He ate about 5 crickets today, and I'm going to the store tomorrow to try a different food mix for him. I have a question. At his size, would pinky rats be small enough for feeding? Or do they need to be pinky mice? Also how long until I should be concerned if he doesn't start pooping? I want to soak him daily but right now the trust isn't very good, and I'm working my way up to him allowing me to pet him again without spazzing out. Also still need the question answered about if the repti calcium w/o D3 is better than with.

 

[Kasmut]

Ok it's kinda hilarious I thought I wouldn't be able to see the poop. Luckily for me he seems to like to keep his cage clean, so he pooped in his empty food dish this morning. So still need the question answered about the pinky rats vs. mice. I ordered pinky rats by mistake and im concerned they'll be too large.

 

[Scott Hogge]

w/o D3. Short answer is that the D3 supplements are suppose to help them use calcium without needing UVB light, but doesn't actually work with tegus when ingested... they need to produce it naturally and at the right levels by taking in UV light through the skin.


wrt rats v mice pinkies. How big is he now? Mac is 7 weeks old & 14 inches now and takes thawed rat pinkies no problem.

If they are too big him still, don't worry because with a couple weeks proper feeding he should be able to take them no problem. You can also cut them up if you need to right now.


Glad to hear you finally found some poop! Make sure he has fresh water every day and he should provide you with a nice steady supply of poop to clean up =)

 

[Kasmut]

Mine is about the same size as yours, so that's good to hear he can take rat pinkies! If it seems he can't get them down I will start cutting them up. And alright I'm making a visit to reptile store today to pick up some calc w/o d3. Fortunately he didn't go in his water, but in his empty food dish so hopefully he will keep that up so it's easier clean-up for both of us. xD

 

[Murkve]

If he can take rat pinkies, why not just move on to mice fuzzies? Or hoppers? Their bones are more developed, thus providing some essential nutrients like Calcium.

Pinkies, both rat and mice, are mostly cartilage, rather than bone.