New to the board

[Cyric]

Hey everyone,

My name is Ric, I'm 23 and have kept various herps on and off for 16 years.

Personally, I've kept Anoles, Leopard geckos, Horned toads, Tokay geckos, skinks, bearded dragons, an agama, as well as a cornsnake.

I've also worked with the reptiles of friends and family. I helped them with enclosures, care information, and mostly taming. I've gotten to work with everything from chameleons to caimans and crocs. I've worked with taming savannahs, iguanas, black throats, a nile monitor, and an argentinian tegu.

A good friend of mine is considering rehoming his female columbian tegu, and if he decides to part with her I'm looking forward to giving her a great home.

Should he decide to keep her I may look into either rescuing a tegu, or adopting a young one from a breeder. I've read wonderful things about varnyard, but have concerns about shipping an animal. I'm wondering if anyone has a breeder or reptile rescue in the Southern NH or Northern MA area. I'd prefer to be able to drive and pick it up rather than ship. If I have no other option I have my mind pretty well made up on a Chacoan from Varnyards.

While I do have a fair budget, I'd like to conserve money where possible on an enclosure. I've been considering converting an old bereau, entertainment center, hutch, or similar piece of furniture into an enclosure. I see plenty of them for free, or dirt cheap at garage and yard sales. I'm just in the process of finding something of a suitable size.

I'm also open to the idea of fully building it from scratch, but material costs have me leaning toward re-purposing old furniture.

I joined because everyone seems friendly and it'll be nice to have a resource of information about tegus as I've never personally owned one. I'm confident I have the herp experience to be able to care for one, and have always liked the larger herp species.

Any ideas, suggestions, or questions are welcomed. I look forward to getting to know everyone.

 

[TheTeguGurl]

Welcome aboard Cyric.. Tegu's make wonderful pets.. I have 3 myself and i enjoy them..

 

[Cyric]

That's what has drawn me to them after doing some research. I like their willingness to interact as well as their inquisitive nature. The argentinians are also surprisingly placid. I'm thinking they'd be a close to perfect fit for me.

 

[TheTeguGurl]

It is true that the Colombians and Argentine have diff personality. My Argis love to be cuddled on and love o..the seem to even get jealous of each other when i pay attention to one..!

 

[Josh]

Welcome to TeguTalk!

 

[Cyric]

Glad to hear it. I'm not put off by the difference in temperment between Columbians and Argentinians. I'm comfortable with the extra work that will come with a Columbian, all depends on whether or not she'll be in need of a home.

 

[TheTeguGurl]

that is wonderful.. well congts on the new tegu if you get her!

 

[adam1120]

i have a male columbian tegu and hes fine hes never hissed or bit or even anything to me he lets me pick him up and he always climbs on me when he wants out the cage hes very docile and very healthy he loves to roamm even if hes a baby still lol never had a arg b&w before waiting for my varnyard baby to arrive in july cant effin waitDDDD

---

and hes a black and white not a gold a white i think there a big difference idk its me theres another colmbian at local pet shop and calm too for never being held there really.

 

[Toby_H]

A good friend of mine is considering rehoming his female columbian tegu, and if he decides to part with her I'm looking forward to giving her a great home.

Colombian Tegus are much much different in behavior compared to Argentines. It’s nice that you have first hand experience with the specimen you may inherit, but in general I would steer away from them if a your goal is to have a super tame big lizard.

Should he decide to keep her I may look into either rescuing a tegu, or adopting a young one from a breeder. I've read wonderful things about varnyard, but have concerns about shipping an animal. I'm wondering if anyone has a breeder or reptile rescue in the Southern NH or Northern MA area. I'd prefer to be able to drive and pick it up rather than ship. If I have no other option I have my mind pretty well made up on a Chacoan from Varnyards.

If, a big super tame lizard is your goal, I suggest you go with an Arg Tegu...

If, an Extreme Giant Tegu is what you really want, I suggest you go with an Extreme Giant. This is an animal that is going to be a big part of your life for 15 years, so get exactly what you want. If you settle for what's easier you will have to live with that compromise for a very long time.

But... Keep in mind the general needs of an Extreme Giant. I don't see it mentioned very often, but a 8'x4' enclosure is the suggested minimum for an Arg male, so an Extreme Giant will need larger.

While I do have a fair budget, I'd like to conserve money where possible on an enclosure. I've been considering converting an old bereau, entertainment center, hutch, or similar piece of furniture into an enclosure. I see plenty of them for free, or dirt cheap at garage and yard sales. I'm just in the process of finding something of a suitable size.

In the past I've converted both a dresser and a china cabinet into reptile enclosures (The china cabinet I still have in storage). They were fun projects and at least the china cabinet turned out real nice.

But the only piece of furniture big enough to be converted into a large enough enclosure for an adult male Extreme Giant would be a king sized bed

You can build your own enclosure quite inexpensively and fairly easily. But if you are willing to spend a bit more and if you have the time/energy/skill to put into it you can realistically build a very nice enclosure.

I'm also open to the idea of fully building it from scratch, but material costs have me leaning toward re-purposing old furniture.

The largest expenses when building your own enclosure are doors and lighting, which will be the same in either enclosure. The actual lumber costs will be a smaller portion of your budget than you may expect, plus reusing furniture defines/limits your dimensions.



Good choice in species to keep, and congrats at finding Tegu Talk. Bobby produces great animals and has collected a great group of people to congregate on his forum :thumbsup:

 

[Cyric]

Thanks for the info Toby, it's much appreciated. I have the space for an 8x4 if I go with a giant. Although it does rule converting old furniture, lol.

I don't necessarily need "puppy dog tame" but it wouldn't be a problem either.. How do the giants match up with Argentine Tegus when it comes to personality?

 

[james.w]

Thanks for the info Toby, it's much appreciated. I have the space for an 8x4 if I go with a giant. Although it does rule converting old furniture, lol.

I don't necessarily need "puppy dog tame" but it wouldn't be a problem either.. How do the giants match up with Argentine Tegus when it comes to personality?

They are one in the same.

 

[Cyric]

I don't necessarily need "puppy dog tame" but it wouldn't be a problem either.. How do the giants match up with Argentine Tegus when it comes to personality?

They are one in the same.

That's good to hear. Sounds like my biggest consideration will be enclosure size.

I've always loved larger reptiles, and I think the EGT will be a nice balance of size and temperment if I don't end up rescuing the columbian.

My favorite reptile has always been the savannah monitor, but they are heavily restricted in my state and limited solely to educational programs. As much as I would love to run a program, I simply don't have the time or the resources.

I've had good experiences with Tegus and don't feel like I would be making a compromise by keeping one.

 

[james.w]

EGT???

I have found that some of the normal b/w's seem to be getting just as large as the "giants". If you are getting an Argentine, either b/w or giant I would plan on a 8x4 enclosure (minimum)

 

[Cyric]

EGT seems to be the going moniker for the giant tegus.

I have to take some measurements and rearrange some furniture but I should have at least 8x4 to spare.

 

[Rhetoric]

8x4 really is a minimum lol. I had read 6x3 when I was looking to get my first tegu and ended up getting a 7.5x3.5x3.5 last August and it looks like I'm going to have to build something larger. My largest tegu is still under a year but the size he is now (41 inches), hes longer than the depth of his enclosure.. He isn't crammed in there, if he gets much lengthier he might be, I just don't think its very fair to him.

Some tegus (and other animals I'm sure) can get suuuper crabby if their housing is too small.
I don't know much about the giants but from what I've heard/seen they're the same as the regular Argentines just bred for size.

I think some animals should be a little more regulated, maybe not "regulated" but that the breeders/sellers would be more interested in the well being of the critter than just the profit. Its lame in your case but in the area I live in, it might not be such a bad thing. I've seen quite an increase in savys at petcos, reptile shops, craigslist, they all go for like $30. I had one for a little while, at first it was all going really well but later on I realized I wasn't ready for a savy and its commitment. I should have done A LOT more research before getting it.. I ended up giving him to one of our states reptile guys that goes to schools and what-not, he has everything from a gaboon viper to ball pythons to savys, tegus and snapping turtles. Shame on me!

 

[reptastic]

Trust me extremes get much bigger than normals b/w, i think people who have older mature giants just Dont post often so all we get to see are yearling and 2 y/o tegus that average about 4', bobbys giant ice is like 5'3", their temperaments are pretty much the same, i Dont know if its just my giant but i think they are a Lil lazy lol

 

[Cyric]

I agree with you rhteoric,

I completely understand and respect my state's regulations. Could they use some tweaking? sure. Overall I know they're in place to not only protect the welfare of the animals, but also the local flora and fauna.

Responsible keepers might suffer a little bit with not being able to keep their first choice reptiles, but I think it's a fairly small price to pay.

Ultimately, I would like to see an improved permitting system. I think testing applicants on their knowledge and conducting interviews before issuing a permit would be a good start. After passing that test and interview, you could be issued a permit that allows you to keep some of the more exotic species for personal enjoyment. Placing a limit on the number of each species, and not allowing breeding would be fine. I think a different permit could cover that, and would further deter for profit breeders.

That would give those of us responsible enough to care for these more exotic herps an opportunity to do so, while giving an assurance we aren't going to wild release them and are able to provide proper life long care.

I also had a thought. While I do have room for a large enough enclosure, the floorplan in the room I plan to put the enclosure is a little odd. The room is longer than it is wide. I think it maxes out at 8 or 9 feet for the short wall. Would an L-shaped enclosure work for providing extra space? The L-shape would also provide a nice area for a hide.

 

[slideaboot]

The Extreme Giant Tegu is, hands-down, the GREATEST REPTILE I've ever owned (in 20+ years of doing this, I've pretty much had it all).

The rewards of owning the EGT are incredibly satisfying. Granted, any tegu (aside from Colombians--some people like the challenge of them, but I'm just not into that approach) is incredibly rewarding--I've just found the Giants to exceed my every expectation.

It won't be long until Extreme Giants' reputations get around and become more mainstream in our hobby, especially for those who enjoy the larger monitors but want something that is typically a bit tamer and trustworthy (predictable).

 

[Cyric]

I've been reading a lot of good things about them here on the board.

Right now it all comes down to whether or not I'll be rescuing the Columbian. Either way I plan on building an enclosure large enough to comfortably house an EGT, so sometime down the road when I do get one, I know I'll have adequate space.

On the topic of space, do you guys know of any free floorplanning software?

 

[reptastic]

I 1000% agree with you slideboot, i have had a red, b/w's and a giant all from bobby and i couldnt be happier with my decision to get into tegus