Tegu?

[Jaime Lancaster]

Hello, I am new to the forum and I was just wondering if I could get some information on tegus as pets. I know they are hard to keep, but I am up for the challenge I have owned many other large lizards before. But they have all been vegetarian like iguanas. But I know tegus are carnivorous but do I have to feed them live mice or can I use frozen thawed? I would like to know everything there is to know about their diet if someone who has experience with them. I know there are many different kinds and I know that the argentine black and white are more docile while the gold tegus can be more aggressive. Thanks for the help!

 

[wellington]

I had been doing a little research on them as I was looking into getting one. The Black and White does sound like the best to get. I also understood that the frozen mice would be fine to feed. They do need a lot of room and a lot of attention to keep them docile and friendly. There is a forum for them. That would be one of the best places to start.

 

[saginawhxc]

I would love to have a Tegu!

 

[Tom]

I have raised and cared for many of them.

The "Gold" ones are Tupinambis teguixen. Typically from Columbia. Terrible pets. Usually highly fearful, defensive and aggressive. Very nasty bite. You should avoid these.

The Black and Whites are T. merianae. Usually great pets. I got mine directly from Bert Langerwerf and his were from the southern portion of their range, so I hibernated mine every year. They went down like clockwork, mid-September every year regardless of the weather or temperatures. They came back up mid April. I also let mine live outside here in sunny SoCal. They get big and they are voracious eaters in the springtime and early summer. They need some humidity, they need to be able to get underground to escape the scorching summer heat, and they are omnivores. You can feed them some mice, but you need to feed them all sorts of other items too. They can not handle temps much higher than 90-95. Best if they don't get over 85-90ish. I handled this with underground shelters: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/underground-tegu-shelter.25998/

Another old enclosure thread. Notice the "cave" to the right: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-old-tegu-pen.13236/

Here was my 4x8' indoor enclosure: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/eye-of-the-tegu.16041/

The Red Tegu is T. rufescens. Also great pets. They stay a little smaller and the area they come from is supposedly more arid. Also omnivores and they can also hibernate. Here was one of mine: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/red-tegu.13521/

Bert told me that if you did not hibernate them their first year and every year, they would not ever produce offspring for you. I never tested this, but I took his advice.

At the bottom of this page are a bunch of links to other forums. You should click the link to the tegu forum and talk the the folks there. I'm happy to help and answer questions, but you'll get the whole community helping over there.

 

[Jaime Lancaster]

Thanks! I have room to make an outdoor pen but I live in Texas where it can get very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer I should have an indoor enclosure to right?

 

[Jaime Lancaster]

And what is the thing you buried in the ground in the outdoor enclosure? And where could I get one?

 

[Tom]

Thanks! I have room to make an outdoor pen but I live in Texas where it can get very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer I should have an indoor enclosure to right?

I like indoor enclosures for babies, but once your baby gains some size, it can live outdoors full time if it has an underground shelter that will not flood. Bert used to hibernate his outdoors in Alabama and showed me pics of all his enclosures covered in snow. Mine did fine here outdoors full time, but I couldn't have done it successfully without that underground enclosure. Temperatures are simply MUCH more stable 2 or 3 feet underground.

I built a box to bury. It has an access hatch for me to reach him, and a tunnel with a rain cover for him to get in and out.

 

[Jaime Lancaster]

What supplies would I need to make a tunnel like that?

 

[Jaime Lancaster]

And can you elaborate on price and what exactly would be good to feed them?