Outside Enclosure - What Should I Worry About?

[carcharios]

I acquired a rabbit hutch yesterday (found in for free on craigslist) that measures 6'5 x 3'5 x 5' and have put my female Tegu outside. Half the enclosure has a wood floor and the other half has a screen mesh floor. My concerns are as follows:

1) Will my Tegu get ticks now that she is outside?
2) What about mosquitos, which we have many of here in MD - will they be able to bite through her tough scales?
3) Foxes - we have many here as well as ferrel cats, possums, etc. I think she'll be ok because the cage is pretty secure though.
4) Hawks; Red-shoulded hawks, Cooper's hawks, Great horned owls, Screech Owls, Barred Owls. Should I be worried about these guys? I'm assuming they won't get through the mesh...


The cage is on legs so it's about 3' off the ground. I put a rubbermaid tub with a hole cut out of the side for use as a cave. I will take some pics tomorrow.

Also, at what point should I bring her in? Should I wait until October when the weather starts turning colder? I do NOT have an indoor enclosure so I was hoping to have her go straight into hibernation and then bring her back to the outside enclosure in the spring.

 

[31drew31]

By the sounds of it theres a few things that could go wrong. First of all you should have an indoor enclosure because your going to need one for the winter, hibernating or not. Your tegu will not get ticks as I doubt there are any ticks in your area that would think about a tegu as a host, and mosquitos wont bother your tegu. As long as the cage is secure and your tegu has a place to hide, other animals will not bother her. Make sure you take all excess food out of the cage when your tegu is done as that will be a sure way to attract unwanted animals. If your talking mesh like for windows in your home, Id be worried about any animal getting through as well as your tegu digging out. The mesh you say is on the bottom of the cage, id be very cautious as your tegu will rip that in no time if she decides to. If it is chicken wire type mesh id be more worried about your tegus toes/feet getting caught up and her freaking out and ripping toes off. Post some pictures, it will give us a better idea of whats going on.

 

[carcharios]

The wire is more like the galvanized steel wiring. Its much thicker than chicken wire or screening. I'll post some pics tomorrow. As for the indoor enclosure, do I really need one so long as i have a really big rubbermaid tub for hibernation? I was hoping that she would slow down and then I would allow her to hibernate in the tub and store her away until spring. I thought several posters were doing that with their tegus on this forum (so long as they have time to digest their food prior to being induced into hibernation). Any thoughts?

Carcharios

 

[Richard21]

How big is your tegu?

 

[MIKE-ZILLA]

would slow down and then I would allow her to hibernate in the tub and store her away until spring.

Ive done just that.I put mine in the basement in a tub and then later moved him inside when it got real cold.he never woke up or became active .not evenwhen i brought him inside at 68-72f .you should really inspect the cage to make sure its safe and escape proof.I would see about adding wood or something instead of having a screen bottom. and be sure to place it in an area that provides periods of shade and sun thoughout the day.

 

[Jefroka]

Straight frob Bobby's site:

Housing and enclosures, Ideas on how to build one.

The way my outdoor enclosures are set up. As you can see by these pictures, (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.varnyard-herps-inc.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.varnyard-herps-inc.com/</a><!-- m -->) they can go underground, or have plenty of room in the 8ft x 8ft x 6ft cage. As for the way the bottom is made and the burrows are made. The burrows go from the inside of the enclosure to the outside and down at an angle underground. The tubs have a hole cut out of the side of them. There is a tunnel made with hardware cloth and lined with indoor-outdoor carpet. It is attached to the bottom of the enclosure to the wire, and attached to the tub; this keeps them from going anywhere else.
All of my enclosures have wire bottoms except my breeding bins. They then have about 4 inches of topsoil added, then a few inches of cypress mulch, and then topped with a thick layer of fine hay. The first few pictures are without the substrate added.
The top is made with 3/4-inch plywood, and 2x4s used as rafters. The materials needed include:
1) Large Rubbermaid tub with lid.
5) 3/4 inch sheets of Plywood, two of them can be ripped down the middle by the store to make the bottom skirt. The two full sheets can be used as the roof.
5) Landscape timbers or treated 4x4s
20) 2x4s
2 LBS of 8-penny nails
2 LBS of small wire pins/nails/staples
50ft of galvanized wire (chicken wire or hardware cloth).
5 GAL outdoor latex paint
2) strong hinges and 1 good hasp and lock.
10) bags of top soil
10) bags of cypress mulch
2) bales of fine hay


...Jefroka