Tegu and future build

[Toby_H]

^lol

My Tegu free roams enough to be familiar with everything in the area of the house he is allowed to free roam... any time I put somethign new in this area the Tegu feels a need to 'stake claim' on the new thing. This usually includes climbing on top if it...

 

[dzjr1188]

Wow you guys have me excited. What kind of growth rate should I expect? Like do I need to have a adult enclosure built before getting one or do they take a year or so to grow out?

 

[rrcoolj]

No but they do grow very fast. For example my tegu was like 10" when I got her in august 09. By the same time the next year she was just shy of 3ft if not 3ft. This is with her hibernating like 5months. So yea they grow fast,. I would get the biggest enclosure you can get. However I would not start out with a huge 6 or 8ft enclosure because it can be hard for you to keep track and bond with a new animal in such a large enclosure. But be planning the permanent home as soon as you get yours.

If you want some ideas check out my cage building thread in my sig below

 

[dzjr1188]

I read threw yours liked it alot but, I was actually planing something closer to Lepisosteus platyrhincus caiman cage just more to what I want. As soon as I either get back to the states or get ahold of a drafting program here I will draft up some blue prints for it and post my ideas. I got a house right as i was leaving and my finances when i get back will determine how soon i move in to it. But this cage will be in progress as soon as I move in. I will prolly setup my 220g and while it cycles start this build. Hopefully the job I want will still be there when I return.

 

[rrcoolj]

Yea my build was extremely simple but the bigger the better. Sound like you have everything figures out so good luck.

 

[Toby_H]

At mines growth peak he was putting on about 2.5" per week... week... Now of course that was only for a few weeks. But he grew like a flippin weed. In two years he went from 35 grams to 12 lbs...

 

[dzjr1188]

So basicly I need to start the build either right before or when I get one.
I thought I would share where I am thinking about the future build being. I have these two spots in the house I am thinking of, but I wanna measure the area at each spot and see what one works best. But I would love imput about the nicer location. Sorry about the mess/old school decor. Just got the house and people still live there. But I am 5000 miles away so they got a little time to get ready to move out.

 

[rrcoolj]

The bottom picture where that bed is would be perfect IMO if the dimensions allow the proper cage. It is an open area so the tegu can walk around and the room isn't as confined.

 

[Toby_H]

In my opinion... a 75 gal or similar is a great first enclsoure for a hatchling Tegu... Then when it is 6~9 months old it should be put in it's full sized adult enclsoure...

I don't necessarily think a newborn hatchling "need" a 75 gal. Something like a 40 breeder would be fine but they grow so darn fast it will need an upgrade in 1~2 months time. I think it would be better to put it in "too large" of an enclosure as opposed to risking upgrading "too late". Also putting the Tegu in a new enclosure every month or two will prevent him from fully settling in and "feeling at home" in his enclosure...

There are tons of details that will influence where to put the enclosure. I suggest making it a nice looking enclsoure and putting it somewhere visible to ensure he gets ample attention.

 

[dzjr1188]

I would start out with a 75gal I have an extra one sitting around then after he grows alittle I would move him. but I think it would be good to have the cage atleast started when I get him. I know when doing anything DIY you can run into issues and I would preffer to have the cage down with plenty of times and 100% perfect when I go to put him in.

The First picture is on the first floor and is in a room right off of the main living room so there would be more room to roam but, the second picture that is on the second floor I could build a bigger cage.