Opinions on free roaming tegus

[Tegu Boss]

I haven't aually gotten my tegu yet but I will be any day now. I am considering free roaming and I would love to hear about ur experiences and opinions and advise on free roaming tegus. :shy::shy:

 

[larissalurid]

I don't recommend it at all with a small one that can get under a couch, fridge, stove, desk, bed, in tiny places you wouldn't even imagine.

I think roaming is okay if you have them in the bathroom and depending on how tame they are you can have them sit on the couch or bed with you or something. My extreme won't even let people touch him yet, so he hasn't even been out of his enclosure. As for my Meruake Blue Tongue Skink, he's about 20 inches long now and still young, but just big enough to start free roaming without me having to worry about him getting into places I can't get him out as well as being very tame. (also they have different body structures so I'm not saying this is a good length for a tegu to free roam) If that happens with a tegu it'll be really damaging to their trust in you and can put you even further back in the taming process.

Anywhere they are allowed to roam they should be supervised as well as the entire area(s) they are allowed in to be lizard-proofed so nothing can harm them, they can't get in/under anywhere, and there's nothing they could swallow, etc.

 

[Tegu Boss]

I agree. I was thinking of emptying my closet totally and making it a lizard zone. It's too dangerous to let him roam wherever with how messy I am

 

[larissalurid]

I agree. I was thinking of emptying my closet totally and making it a lizard zone. It's too dangerous to let him roam wherever with how messy I am

Yup just make sure that if there are spaces under the door(s) to put a towel across the bottom and to supervise while he's in there. :]

 

[Tegu Boss]

Yup that's the plan

 

[Skeetzy]

I have a fairly large bedroom which my 7x4x3 cage is in. But there's really nowhere to get behind or under, besides my entertainment center. Going to use cardboard to block it off. I plan on letting him free roam a majority of the time I'm home. I have a spot I plan on setting up with a basking lamp for him.

 

[james.w]

How big is your closet?

 

[larissalurid]

How big is your closet?

I was wondering this as well, but if he's saying it's large enough for him to go in and supervise I was assuming it was a walk in, not just a door with a little square area of space. If it is, I would not make this an area for the tegu and I'd stick with supervised roaming in bathroom.

 

[DavidRosi]

I didn't let my 'gu free roam until recently (11 months); I felt he was too small and too skiddish to be let loose. However, now he's a decent size, (2'6") and is comfortable with me around I do let him explore my room and we've built trust together in that when he's getting cold he'll make his own way back to his viv.
He loves playing amongst the bed though !