i got a tegu! caging question

i picked up a black and white columbian, CB 05. this little guy is maybe 12" long or so and i'm trying to figure out what size enclosure he should have right now. is a 36x18 55 gal too big? i have one that i think would be great as it's deeper than normal so i could add the extra substrate i would need.

The Tegu.com will tell you everything you need to know.

That cage size sounds ok but you better be planning a much bigger cage. Tegus grow pretty quick. I would make the dirt in the bottom as deep as you can. Since tegus love to burrow, he'll make good use out of it. Just make sure you have the right temps, lighting, and feeding schedule and pretty soon you'll have a dinasour walking around the house!!

yeah i know all about them except how to house a baby... some animals always need lots of space, others get stressed.
i put him in a sterilite that's about 2/3 the size of the 55 gal for now. i'll move him to the 55 when he's a little bigger.

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Originally Posted by kzooherpetoculturist

yeah i know all about them except how to house a baby... some animals always need lots of space, others get stressed.
i put him in a sterilite that's about 2/3 the size of the 55 gal for now. i'll move him to the 55 when he's a little bigger.

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Just make sure you have some stuff to hide under incase he doesn't burrow and you should be fine.

he ate quite a bit of turkey today, although he won't eat in front of me... i'm hoping to be able to hand feed him someday here. he's so laid back!

just give him some time to settle in then start socializing.

have you tried mixing a little fruits and veggies in his turkey?

yeah, he's getting better already. he actually came out of his borrow when i opened the cage top today. he ate all the crickets i gave him and i put some more turkey in there for him. it's funny the way they look at you... almost like a puppy

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Originally Posted by kzooherpetoculturist

yeah, he's getting better already. he actually came out of his borrow when i opened the cage top today. he ate all the crickets i gave him and i put some more turkey in there for him. it's funny the way they look at you... almost like a puppy

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lol That may be why they call them "puppy dog tame" most of the time. I would watch the crickets though, assuming you have real dirt then the crickets burrow in there and very soon you'll see little baby crickets all over the cage. Just from my experience with the sav. Good luck and look forward to see some pics!

Aw - yes - must have pics - he sounds cute :)

The 55 should be fine. I have a columbian also and they don't get as big or grow as fast as an argi. A full grown columbian is usually between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 feet while the argis get much bigger. Columbians are a lot more skiddish, shy and defensive. When someone refers to or says their tegu is dog tame its more than likely an argi. With columbians you never know....some start of calm and get more aggressive as they get older while others do just the opposite. When they don't want to be bothered or when you haven't paid much attention to them they'll definetly let you know it.My tegu Spaz is 1 1/2 years old and just over two feet long from her nose to the tip of her tail. She started out snappy but I don't have those issues any more. [img]file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Administrator/My%20Documents/My%20Pictures/spaz/IMGP0383.JPG[/img][img]file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Administrator/My%20Documents/My%20Pictures/spaz/IMGP0383.JPG[/img]

If you picked up a colombian, handle it as much and as often as possible to try to tame it down. Do not feed it inside the enclosure. Do not hand feed it & Do not feed live rodents. Colombians are the harder species to tame down, but on rare occasion some have been tamed a good bit.

For an enclosure size, a good rule of thumb is to prepare for adult size because they can grow fast. A colombian can get 3 to 3.5 feet long. So, you want your enclosure 6' long x 3' wide x 3' high, optimally. This allows twice the length and plenty of room to turn around. You want some height because they love to burrow so a good 10" of substrate is good to have room for. Three feet high gives you room for the substrate and the lights, leaving enough room for the tegu to bask without getting burned.

The minimum size I would use for an adult colombian is 5' long x 2.5' wide x 2.5' high.

Rick

i have an argentine, not a columbian... and i know the cage size for an adult, the issue is i was concerned with is having too large a cage for my hachling (stress). i've got it all worked out though now... i figure i'll just keep the cage size roughly twice the length of the tegu and call it good. it seems to be doing great.

The reason I replied as if you had a colombian is because your original post stated..

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Originally Posted by kzooherpetoculturist

i picked up a black and white columbian, CB 05.

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You have the enclosure issue dealt with so that's all set.

Good luck, can't wait to see pics.

Rick

bah, well that was stupid of me... doesnt help i usually type while i'm at work. sorry about that. it's a captive bred argentine b&w, and thanks i'll post pics asap.

is this the same rick from thetegu.com?

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Originally Posted by kzooherpetoculturist

bah, well that was stupid of me... doesnt help i usually type while i'm at work. sorry about that. it's a captive bred argentine b&w, and thanks i'll post pics asap.

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Can't wait to see the pics.

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is this the same rick from thetegu.com?

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Yup. :)

Rick