Outdoor cage in Norcal

[TeguKid80]

Hey Bobby and other members who house their tegus outdoors,
I was wondering if you think it would be plausible to house a tegu outdoors in an enclosure designed like Bobby's year round or close to it. I live near San Francisco, BUT the area I live in does not have the same temps as SF. Summers are significantly hotter, highest days hitting 100 and in the winter lowest nights(not whole days) hitting about 32-33 warming up to low 40s during the days absolutely lowest day temp 38-39. I can make it in different areas(partial shade, full shade, or full sun. Let me know what you think about these ideas.
Thanks
Austin

 

[Guest]

sounds like you live near sacramento ...im interested to what the replys will be as I live on the coast near san francisco and I am also getting one of bobbys extreme giants next year I also wonder about the temps around here which are more like lows in the 40s and highs only in the 70s to 80s. what do you all think? thanks

 

[TeguKid80]

Nope I live in Marin County, south of Sonoma county how about you?

 

[Toby_H]

I house my Tegu outdoors in the summer here in Charlotte NC... and I talked to Bobby (telephone) at length on the subject when I was planning out how to do so...


In the hot months, you will need to provide your Tegu with a "cool hide" to help him escape the heat of the day. My Tegu doesn't seem to like direct sunlight when it's hotter than the low 90s.

A cool hide can be as simple as a hole in the dirt filled with mulch he can burrow in that is in a shaded area.


Wintering your Tegu will be a bit more tricky, but is completely possible. There are a few approaches...

There is a member here (whom I hope will chim in) who keeps his Tegus outdoors (in a New England state I believe). When his Tegus crawl into their hides and stop coming out, he then places the Tegus in Rubbermaid containers and places them in the garage.

The other approach I see would be to make a heated, or at least very well insulated hide. Before I personally utilized this approach I would want to run a trial run for a winter or two to ensure I have it right.


While talking to Bobby on this subject he made the comment (paraphrased) "there is no reason why a Tegu cannot be kept outside year around in Maine"... He then shared some of his ideas of using compost as a heat source...

 

[TeguKid80]

Yeah I would need some guidance as in the making of the enclosure from people with more experience probably which is the second issue, but the winter part is the first one I havta deal with! The insulation sounds like a great idea too!

 

[Toby_H]

A summer shelter would be quite simple...


Basically, your natural temperatures are too cold... so you have to have a controlled environment to hibernate them in...

As long as you are only working with (up to) a few Tegus, I think it would be easiest to make that area in a garage, shed, etc...

I would do something like... Take two matching Rubbermaid tubs, then cut matching holes in them. Now burry one Rubbermaid tub in the outdoor Tegu pin. This tub will serve as a 'placeholder' in the outdoor pin. The second tub with a matching hole can be filled with mulch and placed inside the burried tub. Now when it is time to move your Tegu you simply pick up the second tub and the first stays in the ground.

now you can place the tub containing mulch & your Tegu into a third identical tub without a hole. Since the third tub does not have a hole, the Tegu cannot escape. This allows you to move your Tegu into winter 'storage' without waking him.

Making a permanent, burried, in place 'controlled environment' would be more quite a bit more complicated. Possible, but complicated...

 

[TeguKid80]

Nah man, I'd just be working with one and I like the way you think that is a great idea. How cold should they be in order to hibernate?

 

[Guest]

ok....I live in Pacifica california near the coast.........so are you going to keep your tegu inside or outside?

 

[Toby_H]

ok....I live in Pacifica california near the coast.........so are you going to keep your tegu inside or outside?

I'm no Herpetologist so I'm not going to speculate on what the temp "should" be...

But we can monitor the air temps in their native environment. 40*F is about the absolute coldest overnight low they would experience. Then consider that they are not sleepign in open air, they are burrowed underground. So despite cold overnight temps, the Tegu itself would not get this cold...

On the other side of the coin we have to consider effects of temperature on metabolism. If the animal stays too warm, it's metabolism won't slow down. If it's metabolism doesn't slow down it will continue to burn nutrients and thus need to replentish those nutrients...

So it's a matter of being not too cold... but not too warm...

Along those lines of thought... I'd guess that 60*F would be a good target temperature...


When planning the hibernation bin... also consider humidity... to dry and he will dehydrate... to moist and he gets belly rot...

 

[AB^]

Austin,

With proper planning and preparation you should be able to keep an argentine outdoors if not all year, most of the year in your city

 

[frank23]

Outdoor cage is better because of indoor cage are dangerous. As if door of cage remain open tegu can harm you. But in outdoor there is need of proper care according to season requirement and cover it in cold and wind season with proper shield.