Tegu Fanclub/Updates/Tips

Tegu tripoding? Your lizard is clearly a wizard.

That at is going to be one top notch tegu tank!

Subbed for the pics!

Never found a lizard I've liked, but the more I read about these guys the more I want one!

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Originally Posted by Daniel.michelle

Tegu tripoding? Your lizard is clearly a wizard.

That at is going to be one top notch tegu tank!

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I keep getting this reaction. I am going to post the pics over at varanustalk, and see if anyone else has seen a tegu do that, everyone keeps telling me they have never seen it.

Bath time

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I'm on varanus talk too. I'm more than here actually. I'm not an expert on tegus. I was taking care of one for a while and occasionally he would tripod if I hung food over him with tongs.

Nom Nom and base of the cage done

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Free roam time!!

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Lil claws!
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Me and the lil man got some more work done on the cage today...I'd say we are about half way done

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Your girl is getting some nice size on her now! The enclosure looks like it'll be awesome too, can't wait to see her in the new digs. Boon has been back outside for a few weeks now but he's only coming out to steal some rays every few days. Already missing my winter bunk buddy but at least now I get to enjoy him when he's active.

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Originally Posted by John1982

Your girl is getting some nice size on her now! The enclosure looks like it'll be awesome too, can't wait to see her in the new digs. Boon has been back outside for a few weeks now but he's only coming out to steal some rays every few days. Already missing my winter bunk buddy but at least now I get to enjoy him when he's active.

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Thanks! She is growing like a weed and has calmed down quite a bit, she still has her moments thought! I wish I could keep her outside but isn't going to happen where I am at. I will have to settle with giving her supervised some outside roam time. I am hoping to finish this cage within the next few weeks, I am currently hung up on weather or not to put a tub big enough for her to soak in the enclosure with a drain and ball valve so I can drain it into a bucket or not. She soaks in the bath tub once a week now and actively swims and seems to enjoy it, but not sure if a tub in there is going to be more trouble then its worth. What are your thoughts?

More trouble than it's worth. You're going to be draining and refilling that thing at least once a day with the amount of digging and rooting around tegus do when given the chance. I've used tubs large enough for full body soaks and my GUs have never shown much interest in them for more than simple drinking. These days I just use a ceramic dish that's easy to clean out.

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Originally Posted by John1982

More trouble than it's worth. You're going to be draining and refilling that thing at least once a day with the amount of digging and rooting around tegus do when given the chance. I've used tubs large enough for full body soaks and my GUs have never shown much interest in them for more than simple drinking. These days I just use a ceramic dish that's easy to clean out.

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Ok, you confirmed what I have been thinking. Last question for now. Some people have said that I should provide a lay box for her in the form of a box with a tunnel leading to it burried under the substrate. Something with a hinged top that I would have access to, so basically an artificial burrow in case she lays slugs to keep her from getting egg bound. All that being said whouldn't it again stand to reason that this is more trouble than its worth since the substrate will be deep enough for her to create her own burrows and tunnels?

The more options she has the better. trust me. Not too long ago my savannah monitor (who I thought was a male) laid over 30 slugs under the heat light (mostly cuz the other Sav was being a d-bag and not letting her burrow properly.) They need as many options as they can get.

Anything, deep substrate, a plastic to with a hole in the side filled with dirt, anything.

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Originally Posted by jclaiborne

Ok, you confirmed what I have been thinking. Last question for now. Some people have said that I should provide a lay box for her in the form of a box with a tunnel leading to it burried under the substrate. Something with a hinged top that I would have access to, so basically an artificial burrow in case she lays slugs to keep her from getting egg bound. All that being said whouldn't it again stand to reason that this is more trouble than its worth since the substrate will be deep enough for her to create her own burrows and tunnels?

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With the size and depth of your enclosure I don't think you need to worry about it for the egg bound reason. It is a good idea to have a prefab hide with easy access for you in case you need to monitor your GU during hibernation, apply daily meds, etc.. It's as easy as burying a top opening box leaving the top at ground level, or slightly below, so you can cover it with a thin layer of substrate. Cut out a hole on the side of the box, close to the bottom, and run a bit of septic/drainage pipe from the hole to the ground level in your enclosure.

The man I bought my tegus from had the simplest, but no less effective, prefab hide system I've seen. He simply dug holes in the ground and dropped pieces of plywood on top. The tegus would naturally dig under the plywood and find the nice, cozy holes already dug out for them. They'd still do their rooting and foraging in the top layers of substrate but would return to these pre dug holes for sleeping, nesting, etc.

Another update on my painfully slow build....this cage should have been done a long time ago...anyways...inside completely sealed...I have the material to frame the doors and lighting is on the way...then it's time to fill it up and insulate.

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Got my light fixture for basking finish today. Had some spare aluminum extrusion laying around work so I cut it to length and drilled and tapped the needed holes. I was able to wire it internally so there isn't a birds nest of wires. I used romex and will route the wires coming out the top to a timer outside the cage.

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T5HO and basking fixtures hung! Will be wiring them up to power tonight after work and adjusting the basking site for height.

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Insulation done...outer panels should be finished by tomorrow

Insulation and side walls complete...wiring done and tested...seams drying and 1500 Pounds of dirt picked up and read to be shoveled in.

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I was able to get half the dirt shoveled in today...will finish up tomorrow and get the wood inside...so glad this is almost done http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...4d64c23fa1.jpg

I hope you have that beast where you want it, cause you ain't moving it now! :gj:

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Originally Posted by John1982

I hope you have that beast where you want it, cause you ain't moving it now! :gj:

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Haha thats what I told my wife when she was giving the approval on placement. I said "you need to be sure, because in 5 days when you say it needs to move a foot to the left I am going to hand you the shovel."

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Originally Posted by John1982

I hope you have that beast where you want it, cause you ain't moving it now! :gj:

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Just added some more weight!!! Got the wood placed in after work...buried the ends of the logs to make sure they hold...also buried the bark pieces so she has a place to start the burrow... (the bulbs in there aren't the ones I am using...I was just testing out my fixture) the real bulbs will go in once the doors are complete

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Well the inserts for the doors will finally arrive tomorrow...they messed up the first ones so I had to wait another week to get the correct ones...I have my live plants in there as well as some grass growing (I know they probably won't last long, but though it would be worth a shot). I am hooking up my wireless temp/humidity monitor tonight. Once the door panels are in I will put the correct bulbs in and do a few days of temp monitoring. My girl should be in her new home by this weekend.

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Very nice setup. Can't wait to get a gu. House first tho

Sent from my LGL15G using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by frostysBP

Very nice setup. Can't wait to get a gu. House first tho

Sent from my LGL15G using Tapatalk

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Excellent call! I learned all the things you don't want to do the hard way, but I was able to recover and fix all the issues.

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Looks fantastic! Definitely save those pictures so you can look back and see how nice everything looked before godzilla invaded. :D

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Originally Posted by John1982

Looks fantastic! Definitely save those pictures so you can look back and see how nice everything looked before godzilla invaded. :D

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Haha ya, my wife and I are taking bets to see how long all the green lasts, I say maybe 3 days, she is saying about a week...either way it looks nice for the time being and I figured even if she kills it all off the plants will help kick the bio-activity in gear because the bugs will feed on them.

Wow, that is quite the setup. All this makes me want to get back into the tegu world...

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Originally Posted by JoshSloane

Wow, that is quite the setup. All this makes me want to get back into the tegu world...

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Thanks, this has been a huge work in progress, that frankly I should have done before I even got my Tegu, like I said I did almost everything wrong and have learned the hard way, but I am so happy that it is FINALLY in the end stages. I am pretty proud of how it came out since I have ZERO wood working skills.

Can you please post some info/pics about how you installed the lighting and heat?

I have workworking skills but not electrician.

Woodworking, not electrical I meant..Long day already

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Originally Posted by JoshSloane

Can you please post some info/pics about how you installed the lighting and heat?

I have workworking skills but not electrician.

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If you look back at post 68 I outlined the electrical portion. The UVB Fixtures were plug and play so you just have to mount them to the roof. The electrical aspect is pretty easy for me and my background is electrical/mechanical so feel free to post up some questions if the pictures don't outline enough. My origional though for this thread was a cross between updates and questions/answers since not many people on this forum have bigger lizards.

Her cage should be done tomorrow. I had to add some vents to get the ambients right and am just waiting another day to make sure the adhesives I used fully off gas...until then here is the lil beast gettin a soak in this morning.
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We have success!!! Cage is finally done and she is checking out her new digs!

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Well done! :D It's a beautiful enclosure. I'm sure she'll enjoy exploring it.

Has to be the best indoor tegu enclosure I've seen, well done! :gj:

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Originally Posted by KitaCat

Well done! :D It's a beautiful enclosure. I'm sure she'll enjoy exploring it.

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She's already created one burrow and bulldozed one of my plants which we knew would happen...looks like she is making herself at home. Will post up some more pictures in a few days after she settles in.

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She finally surfaced for about 10 minutes...she burrows down and then covers the hole so I can't even tell where she is...I had to move some stuff around and out pops an open mouth...haven't jumped that high in a while haha http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06...41df15611c.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06...b0183d68e1.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06...2305a38466.jpg

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She came up took a bowl of food and 2 mice...she's gettin ready to shed so she wasn't too happy with me interacting with her today...http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07...3c69b3361f.jpg

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Originally Posted by jclaiborne

She came up took a bowl of food and 2 mice...she's gettin ready to shed so she wasn't too happy with me interacting with her today...http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07...3c69b3361f.jpg

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That is a beautiful Red! Confirmed Female?

A couple pics of Denver my male Blue Tegu.

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He is 3.5yrs old and already a bit of a curmudgeon. He does occasionally seek attention but normally just wants to clump around and be a nosy Gu.

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Originally Posted by bigjaypiercer01

That is a beautiful Red! Confirmed Female?

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She's not a red she's a black and white, about to shed in the that pic and had just come up from her burrow so she was dirty. I say she, only because it is over a year old and hasn't developed jowels at all so I am betting "she".

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Beautiful blue, I have always loved them, never seen one in person just pictures.

At this point you should be able to check for BBs and sex your Gu with 100% accuracy. Just check on either side of the vent for noticeable lumps about the size of a BB.

So I just realized that my new download of Tapatalk created a different login for the forum.

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Originally Posted by BigJayPiercer

So I just realized that my new download of Tapatalk created a different login for the forum.

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Denver is my sweet boy.

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Originally Posted by John1982

Your new girl is a cutie! I personally can't imagine not having an argentine tegu - such wonderful lizards. You're definitely on the right track for handling. I basically ignore mine until they are about a year old. The only interaction they get is me spot cleaning, feeding, misting, etc.. You can work with them more and get there sooner but they naturally gain comfortability and confidence as they put on size and learn you're not a predator. They have such endearing personalities, I know I'll have a tegu for the rest of my life.

Here is my buddy, Boon - from a youngster to more recent:

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Boon is handsome!!