Im not an outdoors person too much. Which brings me to the fact that me new room has a porch outside of it with sliding glass doors. My mother put a table out there but i know im never gonna go out there which brings me to the fact that its a good size. A size that a 6 foot lizard would be happy in. Its bigger than the min. it needs. So im thinking this might work to keep a blackthroat (or a Tegu which ever i deside) out there. There are some questions about safty though. There is a screen door and lizards have claws. Im wondering if he could just rip it and get out anytime he wants. Also, i live in florida but there is a winter time and it can get pretty cold. Around 30 at night in winter thats not safe. is there any way i can keep the temps up at night when winter comes around? There is a small overhang that covers only a quater of the roof which means if it rains alot of it is going to get wet. Its also tile could i just put substrate over it? One more thing is that at night there are bugs. Little ones that push themselves though the screen sometimes and months and things like that. So im worried thoes little bugs can bite and harm my lizard. Is there any way i can make this porch a place for my monitor to live?
If you are going to put a lizard outside I would personally go with a tegu because their temp requirements are lower than a blackthroat, their night temps can be 60F. I wouldn't however keep him outside unless you have a temporary/seasonal place to keep him indoors during the winter months. I would put the heating lamp with a HOT bulb secured to the house side with a guard over and infront of it to keep the rain from blowing in on it. Maybe consider a glass sliding door instead of wire because they can tear it up (esp a large blackthroat), but neither types are ones to climp, they are more land dormant. As far as bugs go I wouldn't worry too much about it unless there are ones poisonous to them, but of course raise him inside until he's hardy enough to handle the out doors because of how they feed mostly on bugs at that age (as they get bigger they won't even think twice about them) and because monitors are very susceptible to upper respitory infections, I would only put one out doors for the summer months if it is full grown. But like I said, it will be alot easier to regulate the necessary temps w/ a tegu. Make sure the hide is concealed enough to keep the wind out, I would put a black heat lamp inside in the back of it with a piece of glass etc. infront of it (to keep the animal from burning itself on the bulb), and a flap on the entrance like a doggy door to resist the rain/wind. Then of course theres the obvious like screening off everything of course. But I wouldn't keep him outside for the winter at all because he does need to bask and it would be really hard (and expensive) to keep the temps up all day long to a good heat, it's different from when it gets cooler at night because he can just go into his heated hide to sleep, but you don't want him in there all winter (even though tegus do hibernate somewhat)
i dont know where i could keep him inside..i dont have an extra room...how on earth can you fit a monitor like that inside a cage indoors? I want one so bad im trying everything but inside i dont have any room for something 10 feet to hold one inside.
if you do not have room to house one properly indoors, then maybe a lizard of that size isnt what you should be considering
An Argentine black and white tegu is a temporate climate lizard that can survive temperatures much colder than yours in Florida. He could comfortably stay outdoors year round. Bert Langerwerf (look at his site at www.agamainternational.com) maintains his lizards outdoors year round. He specializes in only temperate climate lizards for that reason. He is located in central Alabama, well north of your location and has no problems. A tegu will hibernate from October till April, maybe shorter in your balmier climate. With a tile floor in your enclosure you will need to provide some deep substrate (cyprus mulch perhaps) for your lizards comfort. Like most terrestrial lizards they love to dig. Also need to provide a deep nest box that your tegu can build its winter hibernaculum. The ideal situation would be to provide this nest site below ground level for temp stability, but you could probably make it work with a large enough box with plenty substrate for digging and nest building. They will also need access to sunlight during their active months. If you don't have access to sunshine due to your roof or whatever, perhaps you could build a roofless sunning enclosure that extends from the porch. Window screen would not work well at all. Tegus will shred it apart. Heavier screen is also not good because if it comes down to ground level they will rub their noses bloody raw on it. I would put a skirt of solid material about 18" high all around the base/bottom. That way they cant see through it and are less inclined to rub on it. Everything above the skirt can be screen for ventilation. If you start with a hatchling tegu (I would recommend that) you can keep him indoors for his first winter to put on some size before moving him outdoors the following spring. A hatchling would be very comfortable in a 55 gallon aquarium for temp quarters. But they grow fast. My little baby weighed 65 grams and was about 10 inches long when I got him last August. He stayed indoors this winter in a 100gal stock tank and I am ready to move him outside soon. He is now 1200 grams and over 30" in length. Growth rates are variable that will give you some idea of how quickly they can grow. Before you commit to keeping one of these lizards please make sure that your mother approves of your plans. I am assuming you live in her home. With some modifications a porch enclosure may work well. George
Amazing. Your advice is amazing. Yes that seems perfect. The roof over the proch is tiny. most of it is exposed to sunlight along the sides. There is also concreet along all sides from the ground to about my thigh level and im 5'1 so i should measure it. The only thing i think that could be reached is the screen door i will have to fix. The only thing is...I would need to spend 100 dollars on the tank to keep him in there for a year then i wont be using the tank anymore...Seems like a waste of money. I love the look of water monitors. The shape of their face is so cute! Tegus are ok i guess. They arent as cute though. if there is a really good website on Tegu's with pictures and everything please send! Also red, black&white? What should i go for?
water monitor are not for beginners, especially considering the can get up to 9 or 10ft long. check out the site he gave you www.agamainternational.com and also www.bluetegu.com they have pics and great info. personally i love red tegus
Wow Tegus are kinda cute No no I wouldn't want a water monitor just their faces are so cute. Um Im guessing a snow tegu would be expensive? Its very pretty when they are all white like that! Also what can i do to keep my Tegu from becomming fat and lazy? " I realized that she had housebroken herself, on her own. She would scratch on the door to be let out. She was very curious and would very often go to investigate a noise or something she saw, people included. Because of her size, and being housebroken, I let her run loose in the house most of the time in warm weather. She would often crawl up in my lap and root under my hand, like a cat, wanting to be scratched and rubbed" Wow thats wonderful is that really true??? Two more things before i set myself on buying one. I usually spend the weekends at my boyfriends house...So is it all right not handling her for 2 days? Should i just trust my mother to put in a dish of food and the tegu will be ok for the weekend? Im also going away for a week to NewYork in summer...what should i do? Leave her with my mother? will she just need food and water? Last thing guys i promise I need a shopping list on what will make my tegu happy. Can anyone help?
yes that is true. the argentine b&w is said to be the dog of the big lizard world, but dont expect to have your tegu as tame as that unless you put in some time and effort with it. if your going away i would suggest waiting until you come back before you get your tegu, unless you feel confident your mother will take care of it while you are gone. here is a shopping list you would need: 1) Large water bowl 2) UVB Light 3) Basking Light 4) Basking platform 5) Large enclosure (can start off with a 30g if getting a baby) 6) Crickets (depending on the size of your tegu pinkies can be used) 7) Fresh Veggies and Fruit (i.e. mashed potatoes [without salt or butter added], mango, figs, collard greens...) 8 ) Hides (such as half logs or caves or anything of that nature) that should be good, but if i missed anything, Lacerta since you know more about tegus then i do please add anything i missed.
Yeah, it is true, argentine tegus are easily trained. I usually stay the weekends at my bf's too, of course you're going to wanna make sure you hold/tame it as much as possible but 2 days away is alright. As far as food goes they are carnivors especially as babies, eating crickets, ground turkey, eggs, etc. They love meat, just make sure it isn't something with salt in it. As they get older they will accept some types of fruits & veggies, some will love grapes others won't, apples (but make sure you never give them the cores or seeds of anything, apple seeds are actually poisonous to them). One thing to keep in mind is that they have a tendency to obsess over a favorite food, so make sure you don't spoil them with one type of food because they will be picky eaters growing up so you gotta give it a variety. For example, mine was just fine and happy with crickets, then I let him try as a snack a bite of dog food and that ruined him, he wouldn't even touch his crickets. Now he just kills them because they annoy him and burries them. THEN I let him have a hard-boiled egg and that really did it. He from there disowned all other forms of food and refused to eat unless it had egg in it. That took a hassle to get him off that obsession, so what I did was created a recipe all for him. I mixed hard-boiled egg yolks, cooked hamburger, turkey, & lamb, a little spinach, and his powedered vitamins and mashed it all together then flattened it out in a ziploc freezer bag and stuck it in the freezer, I left a little unfrozen in a bowl that would last me for a couple days, then when I knew that I had to go away for the weekend I just break off a piece of it and stick it in his cage, which is maybe something you could have your mom do if you wanted to come up w/ something like that. Also, what kind of tegu are you leaning towards? Yeah the lucistic ones are a little more pricey as are the hybrids (which aren't even really available right at this moment anyway) I like both the argentine b&w and reds the same, but if you went with the blue tegus (which I think are really cute) they are supposebly the nicest personalities and are also a little bit smaller, not as bulky.
I want the black and white one thats the one im going for. Im really looking forward to getting one but the hide box is confusing. It needs to be big and he needs to dig in it what should i make it out of? Also there is no roof over it..what about rain? will that bother him?
fill the enclosure with dirt so he can burrow and made a hid box out of wood so he can go in there when it rains
I have an Argentine B&W tegu, so I can tell about some of my own experiences. I just moved him into a cage that's 8 feet long, 3 feet deep, & 4 feet tall. He's still fairly small, just over two feet. I don't know if this goes for all tegus, but in my experience, the larger enclosure has changed his temperment a lot. When he was in a smaller cage, he was very friendly, for the most part. He had no problems being held, cuddled, etc. With a larger cage, he's MUCH more difficult to deal w/. He has his moods... sometimes he's not a problem. But when I want to handle him, it usually consists of a lot of tailwhipping, scratching, & attempted biting. He usually calms down after a few minutes of handling, & food always puts him in a great mood. But as far as looking for him when he's burrowed, it's nearly impossible to find them. The day after I gave him his new enclosure, I went looking for him (I needed to check on his ear... he had been having problems w/ it). It took me a good half hour just to find him. The substrate is a foot deep, & he had burrowed about four feet from where he had originally dug himself in. And if there's anything I've learned, it's that lizards do not like being taken from their burrows. He beat the crap out of me that day. Anyway... good luck w/ your enclosure. The thing I'd be most concerned about is the sliding glass door. I've heard many stories of jittery lizards that have smashed glass enclosures w/ their tails. I'm not saying that it would smash it, but a larger tegu could probably put a nice crack through it. Oh, & just a little word of advice, I use eucalyptus mulch for my little guy. It stays pretty moist. I was going to go for the cypress mulch, but the guys at Home Depot said that a lot of cypress mulch contains added arsenic, & the package isn't going to tell you whether or not it's in there. I'm sure the petstore cypress doesn't contain any, & I'm not even sure if it's very harmful or how much is added, but I needed about a dozen big bags of the stuff, & a ton of tiny petshop bags weren't going to cut it. It cost me about $30 for all of the substrate, so it's still inexpensive. Anyway... good luck w/ your enclosure & future critter. -Prttyhtmchn 1.2.0 ball pythons 0.1.0 albino California kingsnake 0.1.0 Colombian red-tail boa 1.0.0 albino burmese python 1.0.0 Argentine B&W tegu
I would suggest cypress mulch instead of dirt. It still burrows well and it is easier to clean. I have hear of people mixing the two though. for a hide find a large tree that has been cut down. a lot of times there is a hollow section already or you can just grind the middle out with a chainsaw. be sure to clean it before putting it in though.
the dirt will hold the burrow whereas the cypress mulch wouldnt. if you want to hold or view your tegu it is best to let him come out on his on or you could really stress him out Prttyhtmchn that is pretty odd. usually large lizards get calmer with larger enclosures as they dont feel cornered.
Thats not good. You think he will attack the door? I have curtians on my side so he wont be able to see though it so maybe he wont try anything.
i do not think he will attack the door. remember that with regular handling he will tame down and be a very relaxed lizard. im wondering now if Prttyhymchn has a true Arg or a Columbian passed as an Arg
Definitely an Argentine. And I never take him out of the burrow unless it's absolutely needed. He had an infection in his ear, & needed daily antibiotics. As for the thing w/ the door, I don't think he'd attack it, but they can get jittery sometimes. Mine will tail whip in the cage when he's scared, & oftentimes hits the plexiglass. Some pictures of mine can be seen here... http://www.freewebs.com/prttyhtmchn/scalycritters.htm -Prttyhtmchn
great collection! yup definatly an Arg. nice looking fella too well fed and a big open smile for the camera lol. how long has he been in the big enclosure?
