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Tegu

A tegu is a member of a number of lizard species that belong to the family Teiidae. Tegus are native to Central and South America. They occupy a variety of habitats and are known for their large size and predatory habits.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Although they resemble monitor lizards, they are only distantly related to them; the similarities are a result of convergent evolution.

Some species are of economic importance as food and pets.

Some species have become invasive species in regions of South Florida.

Not all lizards known as tegus belong to the same genus. The word "tegu" may refer to any of the following genera:

Callopistes "dwarf tegus" (2 species)
Crocodilurus "crocodile tegus" (1 species)
Dicrodon "desert tegus" (3 species)
Dracaena "caiman lizards" also known as "caiman tegus" (2 species)
Teius "Four-toed Tegu" (3 species)
Tupinambis/Salvator "giant tegus" (7 species, paraphyletic group)

An Argentine black and white tegu (Tupinambis merianae).

Video :

Pet Tegu Lizards - Must Watch FAQ!

General care articles :

1- Why A Tegu is the Best Pet Lizard

courtesy to : pethelpful.com/reptiles-amphibians/why-tegus-are-the-best-pet-lizards

Updated on November 18, 2016

The Tegu is the best pet lizard; here my old Tegu is sniffing for dinner.

Source: DrMark1961

The Best Pet Lizard

If you are among the millions who climb into bed every night dreaming of the best pet, I have the answer you have been looking for. I have owned iguanas, monitors, many other species of smaller lizards, and I currently own about 20 or 30 geckos. (It is hard to keep count since they run free in my kitchen.)

None of them are “the best”. I have found the best, the perfect pet lizard.

The best pet lizard is the Tegu.

Actually, I keep several of these great pets around my house. My oldest, however, lives in my front room. His cage rests on the floor and when I am eating my breakfast I flip it open so that he can crawl out and lie in the sun with my dogs. When he gets bored (or maybe just warm-he has never told me which) he goes back to his cage and checks his dish to find out what is for his breakfast.

Tegus are big, mellow, affectionate, easy to care for, and with a good diet can live about 20 years.

Can there be a better pet?

No, Tegus are never as tame as a dog, despite some claims. They are the one of the most intelligent of reptiles, and even seem to be interested in humans, at times. Tegus do resist training, though, just like a cat.

They can be as tame as a cat in several other ways.

This little guy hatched in 2012. They eat a lot and grow fast the first year.

Source: DrMark961

According to the animal behaviorist Patricia McConnell, one of the big differences between dogs and cats is the way they treat food. If a dog does not have enough, she will feed her puppies (or other dogs in the pack) and go hungry. A cat will take care of her own needs first.

Tegus are like cats in that they always think of number one. They like to eat, do not care too much about what is in their bowl, and do not really care who is doing the feeding.

Notice my dog in the background? You can tell she is stressed out around Tegus, which is why she is sleeping.

Source: DrMark1961

Feeding A Tegu

One of the common complaints about keeping exotic pets is how difficult it is to feed them. Dogs and cats can be fed just by going out and buying food from the pet store. What about a Tegu?

Yes, many of those Tegus do like kids.

Source: cc-by roseannadana 8956397034

A lot of sites will recommend that the Tegu diet be composed of canned cat food, ground turkey, eggs, and calcium and vitamin supplements.

That diet is okay for a Monitor lizard, but not really needed for a Tegu.

A study of what wild Tegus eat showed that about 2/3 of their stomach contents was actually plants and only a third made up of things like snails, crabs, and other small animals. This makes sense, as in the wild Tegus can usually be found at the base of fruit trees, picking up the fruit that has fallen, and looking underneath for worms or other bugs that they might find.

Here are some suggestions for what you can feed your Tegu. Do not worry if you get things a little wrong. Tegus are forgiving, and not likely to develop nutritional diseases like Iguanas and some other lizards. If you feed your Tegu correctly, he may grow a little slower than those on a potent, high-protein, Monitor-type diet. He might also live longer.

Life With A Tegu

My Tegu does wear a collar (around his waist, not his neck) and I leave it on him all of the time. I only put his leash on when he is strolling around the house or outside in the front yard. The leash is not really necessary in the house, since if he climbs under my bookshelf or bed my dog will tell me where he is at (if I ask nicely), but with the leash on I can keep an eye on him if he crawls into a hiding spot.

When he climbs back into his cage I take the leash off.

Some mornings I will take him out and let him wander around my garden when I am working. I leave his leash on and tie him to a banana tree so that he´ll have some shade. He likes this since he can be out in the sun but still hide if he wants.

He does not care for the beach where it is open and he does not have somewhere to hide. In this he is very much like a cat—have you ever seen anyone take their cat to the beach?

What Are You Waiting For?

Are there bad things about sharing your house with a Tegu?

If you do not handle your Tegu they can become aggressive. They have teeth that will slice through flesh and wild Tegus are responsible for a lot of the dogs in our area walking around with hunks missing from their noses.
They need a large enclosure, or at least a decent sized cage and plenty of opportunities to get out and walk around.
My geese do not like him. I think it may be because of his long tail, or maybe it is that tongue flicking out every once in a while. I guess they think he looks like a snake and when he sits in the doorway they will not even try to go outside.
Tegus are not like a dog or cat in that they cannot be trusted with small animals. If you have a hamster, gerbil, or other small animal it must always be caged when your Tegu is strolling around the house. My parrot can handle himself in a fight but he always treads carefully when the Tegu is running around the house.

But is a Tegu the best lizard to share a house with? Definitely.

Is there anything I regret about having one of these pets? I just regret not getting a Tegu sooner. I have worked around Tegus since the mid-1970s but always thought there was another type of lizard or snake that would fit my family even better

I was wrong. Tegus are the best pet lizard!

2- Argentine Black and White Tegu :

courtesy to : www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=17+1796&aid=3599

The Argentine Black and White Tegu is a large lizard with the scientific name Tupinambis merianae. As the name implies, it originates in Argentina, and some parts of Brazil and Uruguay. Argentine Black and White Tegus are generally calm and easy to handle.

Hygiene :

The cage and food and water bowls should be cleaned routinely with a 1:10 dilution of household bleach. Rinse the items well after cleaning. Argentine Black and White Tegus can harbor the bacteria Salmonella. Be sure to wash your hands after handling the tegu or its cage.

Diet :

Argentine Black & White Tegus are omnivores, and their diet should consist of appropriately sized insects - including crickets, mealworms, and waxworms, plus high calcium fruits.

Natural Environment :

Argentine Black and White Tegus typically live in savannahs and grasslands adjacent to rain forests. They are not tree dwellers, but spend most of their time on land and beneath it, carving out deep burrows that provide humidity and protection from extreme temperatures.

Physical Characteristics

Argentine Black and White Tegus start out small, but quite rapidly grow large: females usually reach around 3 feet, and males up to 4-1/2 feet in length. The Argentine Black and White Tegu has beaded skin and a distinctive pattern of white and black dots and stripes. There are two lines of yellow dots running down its back from its neck to the beginning of its tail. Young Argentine Tegus are green with black markings, and the green eventually fades to white over the first few months of its life. Argentine Black and White Tegus can live 15 years in captivity.

Temperament and Handling

If handled well when they are young, Argentine Black and White Tegus, will be fairly docile as adults, except when they are eating, which they do voraciously. They appear to enjoy interacting with humans. The younger your tegu is when you start handling it, the more it will bond with you and the better it will respond to regular handling.

Argentine Black and White Tegus can be kept in groups, and in the wild they actually hibernate in larger groups. However, in captivity, we recommend that you have groups no larger than three unless you have a large outdoor enclosure. There should be only one male per group to prevent fighting.

Enclosure :

Argentine Black and White Tegus should be kept in an enclosure not less than 6 ft x 2 ft for one male. One female's enclosure can be slightly smaller. Because Argentine Black & White Tegus are very active, their habitats need to be as large as possible. You may even want to consider a closet or room sized enclosure, and you will definitely have to build your own habitat rather than purchase one. The enclosure should be secure and well-ventilated. If you live in a climate that is comparable to their natural environment, you can house them outdoors once they are fully grown.

Light

Visible white light: A combination of fluorescent and incandescent light fixtures can be used to provide visible light to all areas of the enclosure.

Ultraviolet light: In addition to white light, Argentine Black and White Tegus must have access to natural sunlight for good health. This is because they need a certain spectrum of ultraviolet (UV) light called UVB. UVB is necessary for the Argentine Tegus to make Vitamin D.

If an Argentine Tegu does not have access to bright sunlight, special full spectrum lights with UVB will be needed to provide the UVB light. These are sometimes called black lights for reptiles. They are NOT the black light tubes used for lighting fluorescent minerals, posters, and psychedelic paraphernalia (often called BLB lights). Fish/aquarium and plant 'grow' lights, either incandescent or fluorescent, do NOT produce UVB. You need a black light which emits light in the 290-320 nanometer range. Lights producing only UVB, and lights which produce a combination of UVB and white lights are available. ZooMed's reptile or iguana lights, and Durotest's Vita-Lite are two good products. These UVB light sources should be replaced every 6 months.

Remember that UV light cannot penetrate glass, so when overhead UVB light sources are used, the top of the enclosure must be a wire mesh that is not too fine. It is recommended that the UVB light source should be less than 18 inches from where the Argentine Tegu spends most of its time; 10-12 inches is optimal.

Second to the sun, the best light source is a combination of visible light from fluorescent or incandescent lights, and UVB light from special reptile black lights or combination lights.

The areas illuminated by the incandescent basking light and the UV light should overlap. If the Argentine Tegu spends almost all his time basking under the incandescent light, and the UV light is at the other end of the cage, he is not going to receive any benefit from it.

Temperature :

Argentine Tegus are cold-blooded animals and require supplemental heat for proper digestion. They prefer 75-85°F during the day. Nighttime temperatures can be 5-10° cooler. If a reptile is cold, it cannot properly digest its food and is more likely to become ill. Lizards like a temperature gradient so if they are cold, they can move to a warmer part of the cage and vice versa. Place a good quality thermometer at each end of the cage at the level the Argentine Tegu spends most of its time so you can monitor the temperature.

Primary heat source: A primary heat source is necessary to keep the temperature of the entire cage within the proper range. A series of incandescent lights over the cage is one of the best heat sources. At night, these lights will need to be turned off and another heat source may be needed depending on the ambient temperature. A heating pad placed under the cage, ceramic infrared heat emitters or panels, or more expensive nocturnal reptile incandescent light bulbs which produce heat, but little visible light, can be used. For larger enclosures, a space heater or separate room thermostat can be used to keep the room at the appropriate temperature. Fire alarms should be placed in rooms where lights or other heat sources are used.

Secondary heat source: A secondary heat source creates more heat in specific areas of the cage to provide a temperature gradient. To best supply this gradient, the secondary heat source should cover only 25-30% of the surface of the enclosure. For adults, the secondary heat source could be a 30-75 watt incandescent bulb in a ceramic base, securely mounted where the animal cannot touch it. There are also special 'basking lights' available. Either type of light should shine down on a particular basking area from outside the cage. The temperature under the light in the area in which the Argentine Tegu would be basking should be 95-100°F. Hatchlings housed in smaller aquariums will require lights of lower wattage, or the aquarium temperature may become too warm very quickly. DO NOT USE HOT ROCKS AS HEAT SOURCES.

Water and Humidity :

Humidity in the enclosure should be maintained at 60-80%. Mist the enclosure regularly and use a substrate that will retain some moisture. The substrate in the hide box can be misted more heavily. Monitor humidity levels with a hygrometer to make sure they are in the correct range. Humidity levels that are too low will cause shedding problems.

Substrate :

Orchid bark, cypress mulch, or other substrates that hold moisture are recommended. The substrate should be something that your tegu can dig in, so avoid carpet or paper. It should be at least 6" deep in the bottom of the enclosure to allow for burrowing.

Avoid feeding them adult rodents regularly, as fur impactions could occur. All food should be dusted with a reptile calcium supplement regularly and a vitamin supplement approximately once a week.

We recommend that you always use a bowl when feeding your tegu. Feeding them from your hand can become confusing for them, and it can encourage food aggression that results in them accidentally biting you when attempting to ingest the food.

3- Housing And Feeding Tegus

courtesy to : www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile-Magazines/Reptiles-Magazine/June-2008/Totally-Tegus/

By BERT LANGERWERF

Lizardkeepers can keep tegus both outdoors and indoors.

Outdoor Housing :

I keep tegus outdoors, and I often simply fence them in with corrugated, galvanized metal. I bury this fence 2 feet deep in the ground, and it stands 3 feet tall above ground. So far, no tegus have escaped under or over these fences. Make the enclosure’s perimeter at least 4 feet by 8 feet.

BERT LANGERWERF

Some of the author’s tegu enclosures include pampas grass, a plant native to South America. It’s the grass clump with the white tufts.

Corrugated plastic tubes, such as those used for drainage, can be used to simulate burrows. Tegus hide in these tubes or make a room at the end. If you have the space, tubes can lead to hide boxes somewhere cooler, so the lizards have more temperature choices. You also could create a small sliding door to close the “burrow.” This way you can clean the enclosure without disturbing the tegus.

BERT LANGERWERF

This Argentine black and white tegu is in one of the author’s 1,000-square-foot outdoor enclosures.

Tegu hide boxes should contain a slightly moist substrate, such as leaves or hay, to provide humidity. Wild tegus spend about 80 percent of their time in moist underground burrows, so captive tegus that lack these moist hide boxes encounter shedding problems.

Hide boxes also should have an inspection door, so you can check on the tegus or check for eggs. I use chimney blocks for my hides. These pieces are exactly the right size (1 foot by 1.5 feet by 2 feet), and they don’t rot in the ground. The blocks have round openings at the top, and I cover them with large water bowls filled with dirt. I surround the rest of the chimney blocks with dirt until 8 inches of dirt covers them. By lifting the water bowl tops, I can see into the hides. In the winter I place a big heap of leaves over these hiding places.

BERT LANGERWERF

These baby Argentine black and white tegus (Tupinambis merianae) are eating ground chicken. The author grinds bones into the meat.

Indoor Housing :

It’s best if indoor enclosures have a perimeter of 4 feet by 8 feet like outdoor enclosures. Tegus free to roam around the house don’t need an enclosure this big; however, tegus loose in the house may encounter low humidity levels, which result in shedding problems. In principle, indoor enclosures do not need walls higher than 3 feet tall, but local regulations might actually state otherwise. A friend in Florida told me he was fined because the walls of his tegu enclosure were less than 4 feet tall.

A moist hide box is a must indoors. It prevents a tegu from having shedding problems. Some lizardkeepers soak their tegus every now and then, but this is not enough. A daily soaking is not the same as a moist hide. Five minutes after soaking, the tegus are dry again.

BERT LANGERWERF

The author occasionally feeds his tegus bread, which is what these yearling red tegus (Tupinambis rufescens) are eating.

Ultraviolet light is very important indoors. Along with shedding problems, nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism is a common problem in lizards, including tegus. I keep my tegus outside so I don’t have to worry about indoor lighting. However, tegus kept indoors must have UVB lighting, so buy lights developed for lizards and made by well-known manufacturers. Familiarize yourself with the bulb’s effective UVB range, and always follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for bulb replacement.

Heat lamps often make tegu enclosures too warm, so watch the temperatures. The basking spot should be between 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The rest of the enclosure should be in the 80s. Always arrange heat lamps and UV light bulbs so tegus cannot touch them. Strong wire mesh between the lamps and tegus is best.