To tegu or not to tegu?

[Menagerie]

Okay first off, Hi, I am new to posting on this site, though I have gathered a ton of great information here so far. I would like to start by saying I do not yet have a tegu, but that is why I am posting.

I have always wanted a tegu, but never had the space for the size enclosure one needs. I now have my own house and am about to start building a custom shelf style enclosure for my other reptiles. the structure will ideally be 6ft long by 6ft tall by 2 ft wide. My other reptiles are mostly small (leopard geckos, milk snakes, etc etc. so they will be taking up the upper portions but it leaves a space at the bottom that will be 6 ft long, by 2ft tall, by 2ft wide. I have found conflicting information if this is an appropriate size for a single adult tegu, preferably an Argentine black and white or a red.

I realize of course that this would be minimal and I would be handling and feeding this animal out of the enclosure daily and would most likely also have an outdoor enclosure (probably a metal cattle feeder or rubbermaid trough) in the summer as my tortoises and turtles all go outside in the warm months and only overwinter indoors.

All of that to say I am not interested in forcing an animal into an enclosure that would be too small and leave it stressed and/or irritated during the parts of the day I am not there to be with it. I would not be opposed to making the whole thing 8ft long but it would still be only 2ft wide and 2ft tall so would that extra two feet in length make much of a difference or would the space be better filled by another reptile?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I look forwards to the responses.

Sincerely,
Menagerie

 

[Walter1]

Hi Managerie,

All sorts of reptiles could thrive in the 6x6X2" but not an adult tegu as it needs a few more feet to turn around. At least 3', 4' better, and another 2' long. Having something for summering out is a great idea. Cattle troughs are good as you suggested.

I hope that this is helpful. Other members on the site have had success with custom built really beautiful enclosures.

 

[Menagerie]

I figured that would be the case. If I made it 3 ft wide would it still be too snug at 6ft by 3ft?
Of course 3 ft isnt an option because it couldnt fit through the door to the room. Best I could do would be 30 inches and that would be a squeeze. I could add on 2 more feet making it 8x2x2, or with that few extra inches 8ft x 30in x 2ft. If thats not enough then I will have to face that a tegu is simply not for me. Which is a sad thought but I would rather the animal be happy and comfortable with someone who has the space for it than me.

 

[Bug]

Why not build an enclosure that breaks down into parts? That's what I'm doing. Each part can fit up stairs and thru doors, but the entire structure is way too big

 

[Jrock23]

I had your same problem, when I wanted to build an enclosure for my savannah monitor and my black throat monitor.. The best way is too build an enclosure that breaks down into sections, your only problem would but the topsoil and sand play, because you need at least 2 ft of dirt or whatever kind of substrate you are using

 

[Justin]

For that size enclosure take a look at ackie monitors granted you need to get 3' of height.