It's finally tegu season!

[AlexiTLO]

Is anyone buying a tegu this year? I had a black and white but unfortunately I had to sell him. His new owner keeps me up to date and sends me pictures/videos. I miss him tons :'( To make it (slightly) worse the owner keeps telling me how tame and mellow the tegu is. *Sigh* at least hes in a good home.


Now that things are more "stable" I'm (hopefully) going to be scooping up a blue from Ty Park next month! I'm super excited! Here are some pics of my old tegu for anyone whos interested.. The last picture won me free admission to next months reptile expo in Portland

[MrLang]

I want one very bad but I'm at my space limit with the current herps in my current rental house. When I move I'm getting one. I worry this might not be until next season.

[Brokenangelr]

I hope to have a black and white tegu someday. I just love that tongue!!!!

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[John1982]

I love my tegu buddy! Such an attention hog too - as soon as I'm in the enclosure, he's all over me.

[Mephibosheth1]

I REALLY want a tegu, but looking at the space they require, I just can't clear a spot big enough for one. And I already have so many other hobbies I am attempting to pursue (BP, Vet Tech School, fishing, hunting, etc.) that I just don't think I'd be able to devote enough to a tegu. They seem like a lot more work than a Ball Python

[Nadamamasboy]

Very nice pics; good luck in your search for a replacement!

[AlexiTLO]

I never really noticed how much time and effort they were until I got a BP. Not all tegu keepers will do this but I would prepare meals in advance for him then freeze them. That way when meal time came around it was mostly unthaw a portion of meat then add some fruit if need be. Whole prey gets expensive as well. Some people do whole prey once a week, others will do it every other day. I always had to buy in bulk locally. Theres also the supplements and the UVB.

When I first got my tegu I was in an apartment and his cage was basically the majority of the living room. I never had an aquarium for him, he went right into his adult enclosure, to me its more cost effective. Then I moved and my new landlord was fine with me having a tegu he just wanted him to be kept in the garage (worried about possible damage to the house) so I had to spend more money running a CHE at night to keep him toasty during the winter.

This year I'm going to do an outdoor pen to keep it in during the warmer months or even on the warmer days. I wouldn't trust leaving it outside overnight with racoons, opossums, cats, etc. Plus we could have a 80-90* day but then the night temps drop to the 50's.

With a ball, its not required to interact with him much to keep him handleable, he eats once a week, no supplements, no lights, basically just a (regulated) heatpad and a water dish. They seem pretty easy to care for over all, plus they're so cute! I can see why a lot of people don't just have one.


John how old is your tegu? I love the jowls on these guys, they're so squishy looking haha.

[John1982]

Not all tegu keepers will do this but I would prepare meals in advance for him then freeze them. That way when meal time came around it was mostly unthaw a portion of meat then add some fruit if need be.

I do this too, I roll up fist sized balls of chicken breast, lean turkey and beef liver then freeze them for later use. I'll sometimes throw in a few pieces of fruit, when I have it on hand for other animals, but seldom offer anything but meat to the tegus.

This year I'm going to do an outdoor pen to keep it in during the warmer months or even on the warmer days. I wouldn't trust leaving it outside overnight with racoons, opossums, cats, etc. Plus we could have a 80-90* day but then the night temps drop to the 50's.

Those temperatures wouldn't be so daunting to a larger tegu. We often get days in the upper 90s, low 100s and mine do fine with an underground hide. I don't even bring them inside to overwinter until we start getting freezing temperatures - though by that time they have been sleeping several months already.

John how old is your tegu? I love the jowls on these guys, they're so squishy looking haha.

Boon is 3 this year, T. merianae is by far the most rewarding species of lizard I've kept!

[ReptileFanatic]

I have fallen in love with the idea of owning an Argentine Black and White. They would be the best for pets and as a garbage disposal for when my Ball Python and Redtail decide they want to fast. I found one at the local exotic animal store. Problem is to get her and a set up would cost me around $500. Other problem I'm having is not having a car or being told what proper size terrarium would be good to put one in. If anyone can point me in the right direction that'd be fantastic. Or even tell me how much it would cost to build one...
If I can get a terrarium cheaper then my wife can save the money for tegu in the time they've given us for a payment plan. I just want one so bad ya know?
Yes I am a smart owner am doing my research before jumping off the deep end. Just not finding answers on what to do when they hit that teenage stage and get mean for no reason

[Gessler]

I have fallen in love with the idea of owning an Argentine Black and White. They would be the best for pets and as a garbage disposal for when my Ball Python and Redtail decide they want to fast. I found one at the local exotic animal store. Problem is to get her and a set up would cost me around $500. Other problem I'm having is not having a car or being told what proper size terrarium would be good to put one in. If anyone can point me in the right direction that'd be fantastic. Or even tell me how much it would cost to build one...
If I can get a terrarium cheaper then my wife can save the money for tegu in the time they've given us for a payment plan. I just want one so bad ya know?
Yes I am a smart owner am doing my research before jumping off the deep end. Just not finding answers on what to do when they hit that teenage stage and get mean for no reason

I too want a Tegu with a passion. I absolutely love them. Unfortunately, they need lots of space. I hope once my lease is up and my wife and I move into a bigger house, THEN i can start to coax her into letting me have one. (LOL ) I want to have a solid BP project by then so I'm still working on that.

I've done some research on them. It seems to me that this can go one of two ways. One, you will end up owning a lot of enclosures... Small to big as the Tegu grows. Remember, they grow very fast. I hope you catch my drift. Secondly, which I plan to do. I would build him his/her adult enclosure (approximately 8x4x4) with a proper divider so it can grow with him. There are tons of 'do it yourself' videos on youtube for building herp enclosures. Get some paper and draw one you want and then head to your local Lowes or Home Depot and build one yourself. I hope this helps!