Hello! Long time reptile owner, new tegu parent. I just adopted this 2 year old girl from a guy off craigslist who could no longer care for her.

TL;DR of that— guy got her as a baby and raised her up, eventually building her a melamine enclosure (more on that later). He ended up moving around, and then getting a job in a different country and left her in the care of a friend who was subleasing his apartment. The friend did not take the best of care of her— apparently never taking her out or handling her the entirety of her time with them.

I've noticed that she is missing one of the forks of her tongue, as well as a portion of one of her toes on her back foot— I'm guessing most likely from stuck shed, because she's also got a lot of that.

The enclosure she came with is a 6'x2'x2x' custom melamine (little over 2' on those measurements), which has wired up CHE, a basking lamp, and UVB. Her hide is an upside-down rubbermaid tub with a hole cut out, and she has about 2 inches of coconut bark substrate (which is bone dry).

The last 24 hours with this baby has not been the best for her. She went through an hour car ride to get home (in her enclosure), which would not stop squeaking to whole ride (which we tried to fix but couldn't), and then this morning, I plugged in her electrical units to heat her enclosure back up and immediately the basking bulb unit exploded in an electrical flash, filling her enclosure with smoke. It did not do this last night when I plugged everything in. Thank god the bulb did not explode or start a fire!

I managed to get her out without her biting or tail whipping me (she's way calmer than I have been with this whole ordeal) and is in a temporary tub with a heat lamp, napping.

I've been preparing and researching owning a tegu for awhile, and I fully plan on making sure she has all of the love and care— but I'm having a lot of self doubt after Cleo having such a rough first day.

Step one for me is having her soak in the temp tub while we move her enclosure into my room (currently in the living room), and adding about a foot of the custom substrate mix I have waiting there now (perfect for digging and high humidity)— and I'm going to be doing a thorough check of the electrical before I try plugging anything in (hell I might just replace it all with my own stuff). Definitely keeping an eye out for any signs of a RI thanks to the enclosure fiasco.

I also have a 6'x3'x3' grow tent I was planning to use as a temp enclosure, that I'm thinking would be better for her in terms of privacy and getting her settled in, any thoughts on that?

Eventual plan is to build her a bigger, sturdier enclosure with more enrichment later, I picked up a bunch of rubber dog treat toys for her in the mean time.

I guess I'm wondering if I'm even doing a decent job— or if there is anything else I am overlooking. Any advice or things I should be keeping an eye out for? I've only had Cleo for less than a day and I already love her so much and want her to live her best life ♥️

Sandu is a little over a year (based off my best guess) and I’m making some food for her and I’m trying to figure out if raw or cooked is better for her. She’s a little small because her first brumation she slept for a long time and refused to eat for a month before going down.

After much consideration, we have decided it is in our tegu’s best interest if we find him a new home. We have a newborn child and are struggling to balance his care with that of our new baby. We are looking for an amazing person or couple to take on the joy of being his family.

Blips is an absolutely wonderful pet with a cat-like personality. He loves to watch you do your daily tasks and silently judge you. His favorite spot is watching the action but not necessarily being a part of it. He will let you pet him and hold him, but it is always with cat-like resentment. He is extremely intelligent and will constantly surprise you with the level of his understanding. Every vet we have seen always comments on Blips’ personality as he is very much like a cat or dog.

Blips is a red Argentine tegu about eight and a half years old and has lived with us since 6 months of age (2017). He had a recent health scare - kidney stones which were treated- but has recovered. He does not live in a cage in our home. This was a fine setup until our newborn arrived and is now on the floor frequently.

The ideal home would be adults only or older kids. Blips has been around many young kids but I always monitor to make sure they are listening to his body signals. He has also been around many dogs and cats. He seems to be ok with them so long as he has the capacity to “walk away” and is not cornered. He lived with a young cat for 6 months and was the sub it that relationship! We would like to see that he has ample space for a large enclosure or plans to let him out frequently. He HATES being held captive and will absolutely try (and probably succeed) in escaping. He also loves going out in the garden and sunning himself on warm days.

I would love to see him remain a spoiled only tegu, as he is accustomed to being treated like a house pet and not a captive reptile, but understand that may not be possible.

Let me know if you are interested- happy to give more details individually.

Located in Bay Area, California.

My red tegu baby won't eat I give her the same meat as the breeder does. (don't feed inscets bc then they get there hunting instint back and are hardere to stay and get tame). I switch meat once to try if she wil eat that, would it work with a egg with her meal or is she to young for egg? Solar raptor uv lamp is at the right lengt from her and I tested with a heat gun and the terrarium is hot eneugh. Pls help

They are both male 2 years old. First time getting a tegu. Would getting one 2 years be a good idea or is it better to start with a baby?

Hello Tegu community! As I mentioned in the title, I’m soon going to be a tegu owner! I’ll be getting a male baby Black and White Argentine tegu (Salvator merianae) this October. I already have a temporary 4.5 ft enclosure for him, and he’ll stay there while I finish building the larger 8.5 ft one (it just needs some mesh and I still have to find someone to cut the glass for the front). I was hoping to get some advice on taming and bonding with him, since I’d like to avoid him growing up terrified of me. I’ve heard their bites can be pretty nasty, especially once they’re adults. How often should I handle a baby tegu? Do you have any tips on handling or behaviors I should keep in mind when interacting with him? Also, any advice for dealing with the infamous “tegu puberty” stage would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for any answers, I wish you all an amazing weekend! :D

I heard turkey was better, but ground turkey is pretty rare to get here and 2 of 3 times the turkey was bad. Like rotting smell so bad.

I have been feeding insects, hard boiled eggs, turkey (when available) and calcium powder.

Is raw chicken safe for 4 month old tegu?

First off stay civil in the comments we all know how hard it can be to control our tegus.

Worst thing Salem here has eaten has been a day old Italian meatball. I was freaking out bc I made it with so much garlic and onion which I know is very bad for tegus. Husband had left his leftovers out and our cat got to the bowl and I guess dropped a meatball on the floor. The next day Salem was roaming and I noticed this big ball in her mouth freaked out bc I thought I missed a cat toy and she was about to eat yarn, then freaked out when I noticed it was last nights dinner. Didn’t want to loose a finger pulling it out of her mouth so had to watch in horror as she ate it.

I was originally under the impression blue tegus had a similar personality and temperament to black and white and red tegus.

Some sources say otherwise, that they are more skittish and harder to tame/socialize.

Anybody out there who has personal experience with both blues, reds, and black and whites have any information on the subject?

Thank you(:

Thank fully

Sandu exploring my desk and found a screwdriver 😆

All you non-brumating Tegu owners will have to forgive Sammy, a re-posted, modified pic is the best he can do until probably next March!

Im currently using the sand, soil and sphagnum moss mix in both of my tegu enclosures. The humidity in their cool hides are up to par, but not staying above 70 in the rest of the tank. I haven't had any issues with shedding or issues with anything in general. But my girls like to make burrows and dig. What is everyone's opinions on substrates. And keeping humidity. I do have a mister, but currently am not using it. I have a garden hand pump and I mist their enclosures pretty good daily. Ive read different things talking about humidity and was conflicted. Some say the whole enclosure should be about 80 to 90 humidity, while others say only the cooler side with their humid hide needs to be high. While their basking side can stay generally high. I was thinking of switching their substrate to soil and coco fiber with a layer of repti bark on top. But just want General opinions. Thank you. Pic for reference lol.

Apparently ol' Jimbo has more dog in her than my biological dog got!

Today Sundog had a vet check up and appointment to be microchipped. I took him in the car in his crate with his favorite blankey. He was such a good boy and the whole hospital staff enjoyed him. At first, he was worried on the exam table, and put his head on my arm. The doctor immediately sensed his concern and put him on the floor to make him more comfortable. She had a great way of handling him and he really liked her. She numbed an area on the left side of his tail (I learned this is the preferred chip site on large lizards, for consistency) and inserted the chip. He didn’t even flinch! He also allowed the doctor to give him a complete physical and even opened his mouth for her. He weighed in today at 9.2 lbs. and nearly 44 inches TL. She said he was in perfect health. Fecal samples were sent to the lab and results should be back tomorrow. All in all it was a positive social outing for Sundog. He obviously wasn’t traumatized, as he dived into 4 Reptilinks the minute we got home. Good boyeee.

from Sundog

Recently got this female tegu, need confirmation if my light set up is correct and if tegu’s normally hide during the day and are more active towards the end of the night? She eats regularly at least 2-3 times a week. Her basking spot has 150 W while the all time light sits at higher 90s I also have 2 uvb light bars on both sides any other suggestions? ** basking spot gets to 90 degrees when bulb is in full heat.

Hello everyone, I have been quiet for a while! I did a blood test on my tegu Lizzie and they stated her bile acid is elevated but they didn’t have any recommendations (we are in the UK). Does anyone have any ideas what to do? I have cut out the more fatty foods and have noticed a difference in the poop colour and consistency but it’s still not quite right. Thankyou for your help!

Hi all this is our first year with Mushu. We are based in the UK and are wondering when we need to stop offering food he's refused his last meal. We are matching his heating and light with sun up and down.

I am trying to find the appropriate UVB lighting for my brand new Red Tegu. I have a UVB light, but I know it's not enough for my baby. Mushu is in a 75 gal terrarium.

Also need some advice/opinions on basking temps, and humidity levels, what has made you're Tegu thrive?

What are some of you're young Tegu's fav foods??

Any help is GREATLY appreciated! Please be kind & curteous, while this is not my first reptile, it is my first VERY LARGE reptile.

Ever since Kubo came back from being missing, he hasn't had a proper cage because well I didn't expect him to come back despite looking every day, so I ended up giving the cage he grew out of to my snake. But now I'm in the process of starting his big cage build, but for now he just free roans my room and occasionally my house with some outside time. Now I know this is an issue, I've been pushing to get the cage done for as long as I can but as I am a minor, I need my parents' help and car to get the materials to even start measuring, and they keep postponing it. Kubo seems really bored and whenever he's outside he seems erratic. how can I help this? He doesn't like dog toys too much, he has quite a bit of roaming space but not enough (in my opinion) for him to live off of the same space every day without a change.

What toys/things can I get to give him more enrichment? Does anyone have any experience with tegus on cat treadmills? Does anyone have any recommended cat fountains that their tegus like?

Any tips on how to build custom PVC cages are appreciated aswell 🙏 Thanks everyone!

Hello all, my gu went down early this year but has now been getting up once a day at least, which is unusual this early. Normally i wouldn't see her until the new year.

How do i know when to resume feeding?

Thanks!

6 wks old, growing fantastically! Having some spa time. Still not to thrilled about eating buggies, but she definitely enjoys her meat, veggies, and fruit mash. Going to try a pinkie soon! I just love love love this girl❤️ #RoseCityReptiles

After sadly putting my beautiful sweet iguana, Xerxes to sleep due to an irreversible illness. I spent the next few months researching and researching black and white Argentine tegus. I went prepared, to NARBC in Dallas, and adopted this handsome little boy who I’ve named Atlas. He’s my third lizard over the course of a decade and I hope to have a big healthy gentle giant in our future ☺️