Using a room as an enclosure?

[ktk]

Hi everyone, first time posting here. I may be getting a b/w Argentine soon and I'd like to use the bathroom as his enclosure temporarily. I know a lot of people have issues with setups like this and others have great success with completely free roaming tegus so I'm only looking for suggestions, not lectures. The bathroom has tile flooring with no nooks or crannies he can get stuck in. There's nothing that could injure him or be eaten. I plan on using a warm humidifier and of course setting up a basking area. Basically I'm just looking for ideas on how to make this as ideal as possible until I get him an enclosure.

 

[jaydsr2887]

I honestly think its a great idea..... I have a 3' green iguana that when I got her she was in a farret cage and I converted a walk in closet with hardwood floors as her enclosure shre had a purple incandescent heat light a CHE, a space heater and a cool mist humidifier along with a MVB. we I hung a few shelves and logs in it and right now im looking to get flourecent tube lighting fixtures. but I think its a great idead but it all depends on the size of you tegu though and the size of the bathroom..... good luck

 

[RickyNo]

I personally think that you should not buy a tegu untill you have something to put him in...

 

[ktk]

jaydsr2887, Sounds like a really nice setup! I found out that's she's female and around 3.5 feet long. The floor space is roughly 4.5 x 9 feet plus a small alcove for the toilet and another few square feet where the door opens.

RickyNo, I would normally agree but I feel like this could work. If she's happy then I would not mind making it her room permanently. She can come with her cage though so if it's large enough then I'll be buying that too.

 

[jaydsr2887]

one thing I don't agree on is how a lot of people read up on these large animals and want one because of the WOW factor and then they impulsively buy one and are really not sure on what they have gotten themselves into and are unsure of how time consuming keeping a large reptile is...... its almost like having another child..... even the medium sized reptiles like the tegu or green iguana..... its not like having a dog or a cat....... where you feed them and play with them and they are content..... you need to feed them make sure their cages are clean and check their lighting and then the humidity....... just for my iggy I have to check her humidity and temp and then refill her humidifier twice a day and then change her basin lagoon and then sweep plant matter from her shelves and floor..... then bath her at night about two hours from lights out....... the sterilize her food bowls....... its a whole routine.....

 

[ktk]

Don't worry this is not an impulse buy haha I've been waiting for months for one to come up either in a rescue or on Craigslist that needs a home and that finally happened the other night
Though I can tell you that dogs are a lot more work than that! lol

 

[jaydsr2887]

I have g/f has three chuawa mixes ans 4 cats....... she is a traditional pet lover but I like the slimy and scaley animals.....lol and I wasn't insinuating you were an impulsive buyer I just meant others out there think the kid next door who just thinks it would be cool to have a ten ft reticulated python or a 7 ft croc monitor......

 

[jaydsr2887]

ive been researching on getting a black throated monitor or a rhinoceros iguana which im leaning more toward the rhinoceros......

 

[ktk]

I know what you mean, I hate that pet stores can sell reptiles because any joe schmo can come in and buy an iguana or alligator as a cute baby but they really don't know what they're getting themselves into. Then that animal dies from improper husbandry, is released into the wild or ends up in a shelter.

I love dogs but reptiles are my passion. I wish I had more room for big enclosures, so many Savannah monitors need homes, again because of ignorant people that buy them and then don't want them anymore.

Black throated monitors are amazing, have you seen the videos of Big Boy on Youtube?

I definitely recommend Craigslist if you're looking for a new pet. It can be shady but you wouldn't believe how many reptiles are on there, sadly. Especially iguanas and beardies!

 

[jaydsr2887]

yes that it one reason I started researching them...... I talked to dave and he said as adults their temperament is amazing........... if I get another iguana I really want a rhinoceros......

 

[jaydsr2887]

yeah I know what you mean..... I have a full dismantled bathroom in my basement I want to convert into an enclosure for if I get my black throated monitor or my rhinoceros iguana......

 

[AssassinExotics]

Talk to underground reptiles they have kept rhino iguanas for a number of years and they have a super tame one!

 

[jaydsr2887]

I checked underground they don't have any.....

 

[AssassinExotics]

Yeah I think there working on producing them now but if you need any info then I'm sure they would be willing to help

 

[Lauraj10551]

I checked underground they don't have any.....

have you checked with Ty Park? That's who I got mine from, and I know he had a bunch.. that was back in October though.