New Owner

New B/W tegu owner here, its body is 6 inches long and its tail is 6 inches long, and the other day i fed it 10 crickets and it loved it, it was goin nuts! haha but now a couple days later i try and feed it meal worms, and it wont go for them. should i just stick to crickets and the occasional fuzzy until it gets bigger?
i also have tried some fruit like little orange peices, but wont eat them either. I even put them in front of him and it does the tounge thing, but nothing else
thanx in advance for any help

~KeV

Tegus are awesome to keep and Argentines make great pet lizards. They grow incredibly fast if fed well and tame very easily . Stick with crickets (dusted alternately with calcium and vitamins) and appropriately sized rodents. There is some controversy over the need for UVB but I've seen the tremors of early MBD in juvie Tegus that didn't have it available so mine get it until they are a year old. As adults a completely rodent diet is sufficient but you can vary it with roaches, superworms, chicks, and ground turkey. Don't be concerned if it won't eat fruit...it's not critical with Argentines. As it gets a little older you can mix some fruit in with turkey and they will eat it.
Any other questions, feel free to post. I've been keeping Tegus for about 4 years now and have Argentines, Blues and Reds. They are smart, inquisitive animals and a pleasure to keep. This is Felix at a recent educational exhibit.

Jiffypop thanks for all your help and Felix looks ummm big haha
how big is he or she and how much does it weigh? i dont know if the camera is adding 10 pounds or not haha

Felix is 5 years old, 50 inches long, and weighs about 17 pounds right now. He 's still gaining back some weight lost during hibernation.
I also have Blues and Reds. They are all interesting animals to keep. I think you've made a great addition to your family.
This is Thalia and her baby, Uno, hatched February of '03.

ok more questions for me the newbie

yea so far im happy with my tegu ( i named it Shugg, named after a fav band of mine ) anyways

I pet it, and it starts this heavy breathing thing goin on, and i dont know if it likes it or not, i pet softly on its back and it doesn't like it, its head is kinda ok, and under its mouth it seems to like, is it still to early to handle?

also i try taking it out and putting it on my arm and stuff to get used to my scent, or put it on my leg, and ill be sitting there, and it likes to take suicide jumps towards the floor,, i know its young, but how should i get it to start feeling comfortable with me? or is it still to soon. i dont want it hurting itself if it jumps from to far up.

i think that it for now, thanx in advance for any help

jiffypop, those are some big lizards, i cant wait till mine is big enough to scare the neighbors haha, im gonna have some fun haha
and if anyone has AOL Instant Messanger, my screen name is
deftones1717NOFX ill talk about tegus all day haha, i always have questions too
thanx
~KeV

Hey,
My name is Darren, and I have and Argentine B&W...wish i had reds and blues like jiff...im only 18 though, and my mom is upset enough with the Argentine and a few various corn's I have. But I just mainly wanted to post and say congrats on the tegu, and mention kiwi, my tegu seems to enjoy it, and I've heard of others enjoying it. Jiffy seems to know alot more, and id believe that its not necessary, but I'd go ahead and throw that in there now and then, see if he likes it...i have a screen name online too, Darrenakabill. Also, I have been reffered dog food, and he seems to like that. I'll go ahead and end this now tho, I believe I have rambeld on enough... Darren.

Wow jiffy those are some nice lookin lizzy's you have there =) going to be a owner within the next couple months, soaking up as much info as possible ! So it looks like ill be following deftones here around the forum we have similar questions.

-Jay