Check List
Looking into getting your first tegu? Don't know where to start? Feel free to use this guide! If you need a care guide, we have one provided here. We have links directly to products below, just click on them.
- An enclosure, for a baby, we recommend a 4x2x2 PVC enclosure, which they can stay in for a few months, depending on how fast they grow. You can find PVC enclosures here. You can also use grow tents, which can be found on amazon:
- Reptile Habitats 4x2x2 (120 Gallon) PVC Bearded Dragon Enclosure – Dubia.com (dubiaroaches.com)
- Kages 4x2x2 PVC Reptile Enclosure | Made in the USA | Bearded Dragon + Ball Python – Reptile Kages
- BC48 | 4'x2'x2' | Premium HDPE & PVC Reptile Enclosure | 4 Foot Luxury – Toad Ranch (toadranchcages.com)
- Essential 4 Foot PVC & Aluminum Enclosure – CustomReptileHabitats.com
- APS(T12) - 48Lx24Dx24H | Animal Plastics (apcages.com)
- Next, you will need proper lighting, we suggest two 100 Watt incadescent bulbs within an 8.5 inch dome. You will more than likely need two. The basking area should cover the entire length of your lizard and not just its back. The bulbs we suggest will do good 18 inches from your lizards body. If it doesn't acquire temps, bump up the wattage a bit! You will also need UVB, we suggest the Arcadia T5 12% strip, it needs to take up half the length of the enclosure, and needs to be about 18 inches directly above the basking spot, it needs to overlap with the basking lights! You should not dim lights, you want the highest wattage that gets you the correct temps, which are 90-95F Ambient(air temp) on the warm side, and 75-80F on the cool side.You want a basking surface temp(temperature of the stone or what you have for them to lay on) between 115-125F:
- Measuring temperatures, UVB, and humidity is very important for tegus. We recommend an infrared temperature gun, a hydrometer, and a solarmeter 6.5 to appropriately measure your husbandry:
- There are a variety of substrates that you can use, although we recommend a mixture of topsoil, peat moss, and play sand. A 50% to 25% and 25% mixture works GREAT! Another substrate you can use is cypress mulch, although it does not hold burrows near as well, and if they consume some of the mulch, it can cause issues. You can also add in some spagnum moss for extra humidity and nesting material for their hides:
- Next, you will need two hides, decor, a basking stone, with a food bowl and a water bowl big enough that they can soak in, but will not drown:
- Supplements are VERY important for tegus and need them every single meal that does not have whole prey, these are the ones we use:
- Whole prey is very very good for tegus, if you can include it every meal, kudos to you! Quail and day old chicks are extremely good for tegus and they can have them every meal, however rodents should be fed sparingly, and only a couple of times a month due to them being very fatty, and the fur can cause constipation and blockages even with proper husbandry. We also have a couple websites with exotic food, whole ground prey, and insects.