Soon to be Tegu Owner Searching for an Enclosure

[syndrohm]

Greetings! I have recently decided to get a Tegu so I jumped on this wonderful forum to research and converse with fellow Tegu lovers. I will post up in the welcome section shortly.

I am currently looking for a good enclosure to house my Gu in for a good price. I was actually shocked at how similar the husbandry requirements are between my Boa and a Tegu. I really wanted to custom build my cage but I don't have the workspace or the tools. If anyone is in the Chicagoland area and would build one for me please give me a heads up!

I saw this posted on Craigslist. It is a good size but I can't see this holding the kind of humidity the Tegu requires. Has anyone successfully used a cage of this type before?

http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/pet/2071348237.html

 

[Toby_H]

In my experience, maintaining a high humidity isn't extremely important with Tegus, provided you keep the mulch/substrate nice and damp...

I've taken several steps to create humidity in my enclosure but just can't get the humidity up...

I use cypress mulch which is very mold/mildew resistant without any additives/chemicals. I pour 2~4 gallons of water directly on the mulch in my 8' x 3' enclosure per week and ensure that the mulch in/around his hide stays moist.

Naturally I cannot let it stay wet enough to allow belly rot, so it's a constant attempt at a balancing act, but the range of acceptible is large enough for me to stay within it.

Using this approach I've not had any shedding issues with my Tegu. No skin build up on his toes at all.


While the enclosure in the thread is a bit on the 'raw' side, it looks like it would be quite practical. And $100 for it is a very reasonable pricetag.

 

[syndrohm]

Thanks for the response! I felt the same way you did about that enclosure. It is raw but with a little work I thought it would make a decent enclosure. Honestly I didn't really think of managing the humidity with the substrate. My Boa has newspaper for his cage lining so I can't use it to supplement the humidity in his tank.

 

[Guest]

Looks like a piece of junk to me .. I would keep looking ..

 

[syndrohm]

I actually received an offer today that I think is even better. 2 stackable cages that are 97"x37"x21" each formerly used by Burmese Pythons. The seller gave me the idea of stacking them and cutting out a portion of the top of the lower cage and the bottom of the upper cage to create a lower burrow area and basking area in the top cage. They are also on wheels which is really nice. Price is right at $100 as well. I think this is the route I may take, it sounds like the Tegu would love this setup!

 

[Guest]

There you go !!!

 

[Toby_H]

When designing my enclosure I considered building one like that. It was to basically be a 'two story enclosure' with a ramp as opposed to a staircase.

Looks like a much better fit than the first option and at the same reasonable price!