Black and White Tegus

[Jay_Bunny]

Since I will probably be starting out with a baby, what is a good ratio of plant to meat in their diet? How much should they get of each per day? Dusting? Are there any insects or plants I should avoid?

I told my husband today that I am seriously considering a tegu if we move into our own place and he was completely indifferent to the idea. He doesn't like lizards, except bearded dragons.

How long will it take a baby to grow up into an adult?

[Michelle.C]

Since I will probably be starting out with a baby, what is a good ratio of plant to meat in their diet? How much should they get of each per day? Dusting? Are there any insects or plants I should avoid?

I told my husband today that I am seriously considering a tegu if we move into our own place and he was completely indifferent to the idea. He doesn't like lizards, except bearded dragons.

How long will it take a baby to grow up into an adult?

http://www.reptileuv.com/ is a good place to pickup one of the best MVBs you can get.

My enclosure is 8'x4'x4'; it isn't vital that they have deep substrate, but they do benefit from it.

It's hard to say what ratio you should feed, it's all very dependent on the animal. I offer fruits and veggies in the morning and the meat around 2-3pm. That way they are really hungry and eat at least some of the fruits/veggies in the morning.

You can feed young Tegus as much as they will eat in a 30 or so minute period. Also, once you get them started (acclimated), they will never stop eating. I have never seen a appetite on any other animal that rivaled some Tegus.

It is important to dust with Calcium without D3 (twice a week), Calcium with D3 (once a week), and a reptile multivitamin (once a week). It's important to remember they can overdose on D3. If you feed whole vertebrate prey, you will have to dust less often; on the other hand, feeding Turkey, etc. often means you will have to dust a lot more often.

There are lots of plants you should avoid, and any WC insect should be avoided.

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtrem...Nutrition.html here is a nutrition chart for Bearded Dragons. It's similar to Tegus; only understand this, even Tegus who have been trained to eat more greens, fruits, etc. will rarely eat vegetables. Their diet should include vegetables (if they will eat it), but most will refuse them.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=88370 here is a list of foods you CAN offer your Tegu. It should be noted that some of the food items aren't ideal (superworms, earthworms, etc), but all the same, it's a good list.

They grow very fast, in two years you will most likely have a very large animal on your hand. That is if your Tegu doesn't go into brumation. I'd say they are pretty much full grown at 4 or so years.

Just remember, they are large animals and while people refer to them as gentle giants, they are a huge responsibility. It takes a lot of socialization, a lot of time, a lot of money, and a lot of space to keep a Tegu. That said, they are a joy to keep and in my opinion, more than worth it.

[Jay_Bunny]

Thanks for the info and links. I understand the responsibility. They are a large lizard and will require a lot of time and effort if I want a healthy, happy, tegu. It will probably be a while before I get one. My husband is ok with the idea, but I will need to be able to have the space for a large enclosure.

[SEPS Reptiles]

As long as your clued up on how to care for the Tegu, i personnally think they are great choice.
One othere thing that i think is very handy it that if your snake descides it doesnt want to feed or have a second feed but you have defrosted a mouse/rat already. the tegu become a great garbage disposal haha

[mumps]

Congrats on your selection of a tegu, as many have said, they are wonderful captives.

You think your husband likes bearded dragons?? Wait 'til you have a tegu in the home for a few months...

Definitely at least an 8 foot enclosure, bigger is always better!

Chris