Tegu impulse buy tips welcomed

Hey all my gf just got a small tegu 15" on an impulse we know how big they get and all but would love some help if u guys could. Ligthing, food, handleing anything and everything

Omega, I have a friend that has Tegus. I have her email, could you pm me so I can give it to you ?
Janie.

Hey Omega. I'm Janie's friend. You can contact me through email (which she sent you) or through PMing me here. Emailing would probably be best.

First off, I'll need to know a few things first.
1.) What did the pet store tell you? (specifically about what species the tegu is, as there are several)
2.) Could you provide pictures so I can positively identify the species, in case the pet store is wrong (which is VERY common)
3.) How big is the tegu?

Depending on the species you have, there are different things you need to know. This impulse buy may cut a big hole in your wallet, warning you now. They aren't the cheapest animals to care for.

So, contact me as soon as you can and I'll let you know all that you will need to know about your new critter. I have three tegus myself, 2 being rescues, so a ton of experience, plus I know, who I like to call, the Tegu God, ha. He's great, and I've learned a LOT from him. Have spoken with him through forums, email, and on the phone. So just let me know!

Thanks Kazzy !
Janie.

[Moved from General Discussion forum since not about bearded dragons. This forum should be more helpful for you]

Congrats on the new Tegu. First let me say that tegus, if handled correctly can be as sweet as a puppy. They are alot of work but the rewards of owning one are so worth it! A few questions for you; 1)is it a male or female? 2) what size enclosure do you have it in? 3) what breed tegu is it?
I encourage you to handle it every day, several times a day. With frequent handling, they will become quite docile. Our tegu actually seeks human attention, he loves to cuddled and sleep on us while we watching tv, or on the computer. One word of advise...we use a towel under him, he has huge nails...it helps minimize the scratches while he's moving around to settle himself.
Food: they are omnivores and ours eats a wide variety of protiens such hard boiled eggs, raw ground turkey, shrimp, scallops, crab & raw diced chicken. He won't touch worms or crickets...he snubs them...hehe. He has a taste for the finer things I guess. He also eats a variety of fruits and some veggies. The sooner you introduce fruits and veggies the better. We do offer him a fuzzie (thawed frozen baby mouse) weekly...He loves those! When they are young you should offer food daily. As adults you can offer them food every other day or so. Large water bowl...large enough so he can lay in it.
Enclosure: needs to be large...we use cyprus mulch for his substrate, its helps keep the the humidity up. It needs to be deep, they love to burrow. Should have a UTH under his hide where he can stay warm while burrowed. Tank temp on the warm side should up around 95 - 100* ..and should be able to go to a cooler side so he can thermoregulate.Try to keep the humidty up 60 -80% is good for them....just mist the enclosure several times a day.

These guys grow fast...we got our little guy last sept. He was about 7" at one month.....Now at 7 months he is about 2 1/2 feet!
I encourage you to get online and do some reading....get yourself educated on the care of tegus and enjoy your baby.
I was some help to you...Got any more questions feel free to contact me.

0mega9401":7db75 said:

Hey all my gf just got a small tegu 15" on an impulse we know how big they get and all but would love some help if u guys could. Ligthing, food, handleing anything and everything

Click to expand...

Head over to TeguTalk.com. There's alot of great info there! And you'll get many more answers to you Tegu questions.