What should I feed my hatchling tegu?

Crickets , small King Meal Worms , pink mice , are all suitable foods for baby tegus..
All insects should be fed prior to feeding them to your tegu .
Argentine Red Tegus and Argentine Black and White tegus should be given some fruit once they are no longer feeding on insects.

Can I hand feed my tegu ?

It isn't a good idea . You wouldn't want your tegu to accidentally bite you while trying to remove food from your hand . Tegus grow fast and are capable of having a powerful bite .

How should I feed it?

Tegus who are trained to eat out of a bowl quickly recognize their bowls as a source of food . Making bowl feeding a regular habit will make it much easier for you to be able to handle your tegu regularly because they learn not to associate your hand with food and learn not to get excited every time you have to put your hand in their cage to work with them thinking they are going to be fed .

The use of bowls for feeding will also help protect your tegu from ingesting their substrate . This is especially important if you are feeding foods which are sticky . Feeding insects such as meal worms in bowls will keep a good percentage of them from burrowing into the cage substrate.

Save yourself and your pet a lot of headaches and heartbreak and don't make hand feeding a habit . If you are not mature enough to understand that you should not hand feed a tegu (even a baby) you should not purchase one. Remember that tegus and all other reptiles are not domesticated animals .

Do I need to use calcium & mineral supplements?

Yes , I strongly recommend that you do . Use a good calcium mineral supplement designed for reptiles such as Miner-All I . Dust all  insects lightly . Whole rodents do not need to be dusted with calcium as they are a complete meal and their minerals are already balanced.

Does my tegu need a heat source ?

Yes it does need a heat source so it can bask and  raise it's body temperature for proper food digestion.

You can provide your tegu with a basking site by using an spot bulb at one end of the cage . The basking temperature directly under the light should be between 100F-110F . Make sure that the tegu can retreat to a cool end of the cage. Argentine red tegus can safely take slightly warmer basking temperatures 110F-120F.

Is it normal for a tegu to have problems shedding it's skin? What causes this?

It is not normal for any tegu to have problem sheds . Shedding problems can be easily avoided by maintaining hide box humidity and feeding your tegu properly .

If your tegu is having problems shedding it's skin

 1. You need to check your hide box and make sure it is maintaining proper humidity. A tegus hide box should be just slightly moist but never wet to the touch . Constantly dry hide boxes are the number one cause for a tegu to have shedding problems .Do not allow shed to become stuck on a tegus toes as it can lead to a loss of digits if it constricts blood flow.

 2. If you have checked your hide box and it is not to dry you need to check your diet . This is especially true for the Red tegu . Red tegus require a lot of fruits in their diet . A vitamin deficiency will cause your tegu to have problems shedding its skin.

Note :The easiest way to ensure that baby tegus get enough of the vitamins they need if they are not feeding directly on fruits is to feed them king meal worms or crickets which have been properly fed .

How can I remove small pieces of stuck shed from my tegu?

If there are no open wounds or any sign of skin infection you can use a small amount of olive oil . Apply a small amount of oil to a cotton ball or a clean cosmetic sponge and gently rub the affected area to soften the skin . Take a clean wash cloth and soak it in warm water then gently rub away the stuck shed .If there is any sign of skin infection or any open wounds contact your veterinarian before doing anything . *Do not use any kind of scented oil or any oil which may be toxic .

What kind of substrate should I use in my tegus enclosure?

Eucalyptus mulch ,Orchid Bark , Hemlock mulch , Cypress mulch.

Orchid bark and Eucalyptus are the most evnviromentally friendly of the usable mulches Eucalyptus also has the added benefit of repelling insects such as ticks.

Warning Do Not Use these in tegu cages :

Indoor /outdoor carpeting - Tegus like to dig and will eventually dig at and pull lose strings in the carpet getting their toes caught in it . This can lead to loss of toe nails or loss of toes depending on how tangled they become. Indoor /Outdoor carpeting will also make it almost impossible for you to maintain adequate humidity in a tegus hide box which will cause them to spend time soaking in their water bowl. If you are finding your tegu trying to soaking itself in its water bowl your cage is not maintaining enough humidity.
Sphagnum moss - can carry a fungus that can infect your tegu should it get scratched
Anything that clumps up  and dries hard once wet such as peat moss , cat litter etc. If it drys on your tegus toes it can cause shed to become stuck and restrict blood flow to your tegus toes.

Hay or straw - wet hay or straw readily grows a fungus which can cause respiratory infections .

How can you sex a baby tegu?

The only reliable way to sex a baby tegu is to have it probed as there is no visual difference between the sexes untill they are in the 25-28 inch size range. Probing should not be attempted by anyone who is not experienced in probing lizards .

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