Tegu cage building thread

[rrcoolj]

@Latshki- Awesome idea thanks! It will be a month or so before he moves in officialy. Everything must be perfect. I still have to order his megaray.

@nc_nutcase-thanks so much for the comment and all the help along the way. I am very proud of it considering I am 16 and was working pretty much on my own. I truly made it with my own two hands. Although this cage is for Riley indoors he will definatly get a ton of outside time when he gets some size on him. As said before I will basically be polishing things off over the next couple of weeks. I start work next week so when the cash comes in I will finish. He is going to love it. In the mean time it's back to the books to find out what else I need.

Oh spoiler he will also be getting an automatic humidity system using a humidifier. Stay tuned...

 

[rrcoolj]

if you dont mind waiting an extra week or two before adding him I would suggest covering the dirt in grass seed and get it get good and long and the roots deep, this will help with burrows, make it look cool and he'll love it

Have you had any experience with this and large lizards? I have read a bit and it seems people have tried pretty much all live plants with tegus and they just dig it up. Very believalbe. I removed all the decor in Riley's cage for now because he just digs everything up. Nothing is safe unless it's heavy and anchored down. He went into his hide and came up on the other side of the enclosure. They are master burrowers.

 

[latshki]

oh they will tear it up in days but the roots will help hold a burrow
I did it for my beardies and ackies and it took them 2 weeks to destroy it but they both made burrows there and they held very fell

 

[Louie]

@Louie-thanks for being so considerate but I was probably going to change the color anyway. A shelf in the enclosure wouldn't be possible. With 1ft of substrate, there is only 2ft of head room and his mercury vapor bulb has to be a certain distance from the basking spot(like 18-24"). All he needs is dirt trust me. With enough dirt he's got all the entertainment in the world. I will add branches and what not to the enclosure though to make it look natural.

Well painting has been delayed because I really want to get those caster wheels first so I will wait for that. Moved rileys enclosure. I had to wake him up when he was sleeping and he was not happy about that at all. I have never heard him hiss before but he did a little bit today. He also slapped his tail at me. I fed him superworms to calm him down and after a while he calmed right down. The leoprd geckos are int the adjacent room infront of the fish tank and my room is an utter mess! But I have to wait to get some supplies before I continue.

Okay either way shelf or not he will have plenty of room anmd you could always add log ,etc but again without it plenty of room.

 

[Louie]

oh they will tear it up in days but the roots will help hold a burrow
I did it for my beardies and ackies and it took them 2 weeks to destroy it but they both made burrows there and they held very fell

I have a friend here that has a pair of tegus outside (mean as can be ) and as little as I know about them I know they tear up those plants imagine your beardeds and ackies not as bad.

Some breeders here keep beardeds outside also which is surprising considering the humidity here again beardeds are another lizard I know nothing about.

 

[rrcoolj]

I have a friend here that has a pair of tegus outside (mean as can be ) and as little as I know about them I know they tear up those plants imagine your beardeds and ackies not as bad.

I have heard that also. Tegus living outside tend to be alot more aggressive than tegus kept indoors. They also are a bit more paranoid. One of the reasons I keep mine inside. I also don't think the plants will work. A male argentine can get 10-15lbs and 4ft. They would tear up nearly anything. Even the most experienced keepres eventually give up on live because they walk, dig it up, etc. I am currently re paitning his cage and looking for suitable logs outside to use.

 

[Toby_H]

I'm strongly considering making a plant box that is about 12" x 12" square and 12" deep... putting 9" of soil... and putting dowl rods every few inches...

The dowl rods would have to be installed in a way I could remove them but the Tegu can not... and this would allow me to plant something in the tank that he cannot uproot.

I would most likely do something like strawberries, blueberries, ect. Something that vines out and produces a usable fruit.

This is nothing more than a concept of mine as I've yet to build it or put it into application, but I thought I'd share what my mind came up with on this topic...

 

[rrcoolj]

Please tell me if it works. My tegu is smaller so yours would prove better in experimenting. If it works for you I might try it. I have thought about wrapping pothos along the branches I install. That would look nice.

 

[rrcoolj]

Made some more progress today. I got some caster wheels to put at the bottm(highly suggested makes things soooo much easier) and I painted the cage a different color to match the furniture... I think it came out pretty darn good. Next I must install the front piece to the door and then I can put the top on. I also need to install the lighting. All this will probably happen monday. Then all that's left is to order some plexi and install it. Then the cage will officially be done! Oh... and there's the decor but that's later.

 

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

nice!!