Gold Tegu

*Sorry...no audio*

This is Gus, my 2 year old Gold Tegu. He comes from Brazil and most other parts of Northern/Central South America. Although closely related to the Argentine Black & White Tegu, they have their small differences. He's kept in a 75 gallon tank which he'll outgrow in about another year. The required temperature for these guys is around 87 degrees. They need moist cypress mulch, and LOTS OF IT. They like to dig and burrow. They also require a humidity of at least 85% to properly shed. Poor Gus here was a victim of his previous owner who allowed retained sheddings on his toes and he lost a few. :( They eat small rodents, eggs, and sometimes fruits and veggies. In this video, he's begging for food. :P Even though he just ate his two mice.

These lizards are NOT for beginning hobbyists. They are aggressive by nature and very hard to tame/handle once they're adults. If you want your first lizard, go for an anole or bearded dragon. These guys are for experienced owners only.

*Also, If you have a problem with animals eating other animals, don't complain to me about it. I'm not mother nature, I just follow her lead.*

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• reptile
• tegu
• gold
• black
• and
• white
• lizard

[Kenshinsgirl18]

@ewokvn

That's great you're giving him time outside to get natural sunlight. Just make sure you're keeping a fluorescent UVB bulb on him inside as well during the day. It's very important to help his bones develop correctly. Also, it won't stress him out too much to handle him frequently while he's still young. So try to make a habit of that. Otherwise, handling him as an adult will be very difficult. I have to wear gloves with Gus because he started biting. One method I've used for taming la

[Kenshinsgirl18]

@mrblackshadow12

Unfortunately, most domesticated reptiles will never grow to their full size due to their enclosures. I made this video over 2 years ago and he's maybe an inch bigger than what you see here. In the wild, he could probably grow to almost 3', but in captivity he barely breaks 2' head to tail.

[Kenshinsgirl18]

@YShennanBot

Yes, they are jumpers. That's why I had to get my Gus a 180 instead of a 125. When I would open the top of my 75, he could jump out no problem. You gotta watch out for that, tho. If your tegu is still aggressive as an adult, he'll clear his tank and immediately try to run off!

[dogzjc123]

how big will tank need to be as he gets bigger?

[Kenshinsgirl18]

I have already moved him into a 180 gallon tank. A 125 would have been plenty suitable enough except he and most gold tegus are able to jump pretty high. The 180 is tall enough that he can't jump out.

[Kenshinsgirl18]

It's plenty big enough for him at the moment. If you read the description...you'll see that I've acknowledged the fact that it's going to be too small and will be moving him to a larger tank soon enough.

[ewokvn]

I bought a golden tegu 6 months ago. It was 10 inch at the time and has grown to 22 inch now. I keep it on the front porch, in a large cage, where it gets good sunlight for at least 2 1/2 to 3 hrs a day, plenty of shady area and a good size water bowl to soak in, and I don't handle it so it won't get stressed. I feed it once a day eggs mixed with ground turkey and grind up the shells as well. I live in Fl and we have very few days under 70 so it will only be inside the house maybe 3 or 4 wks.

[MrBlackshadow12]

is he full grown?

[whiteyr44]

Took us a month to tame ours to the stage of freely climbing my hand.

I'll attach the vid!

[harobmx100]

how big is your tank

(:

[YShennanBot]

Dude, I never knew golds were jumpers. My black and white never jumped but I got a baby gold and he's jumping all over the place like a crazy thing. I thought he'd grow out of that! Gus never did?

[StrangeWorld18]

Why would you suggest beginners get anoles? Anoles are not for beginners. Most beginners want to handle their animals and for that, anoles are impossible. Anoles can also be hard to get to eat, they require humidity, and UVB lighting. I recommend a garter snake, a leopard gecko, or a bearded dragon as a beginner reptile. Great video!