Good tegu books- reccomendations?

Before I spend the money, can someone give me an idea of what books are considered the best for tegus and also red ackies? I am researching both species, and would like some hard copy sources. Thanks in advance.

I found one of my old reptile magazines that had Tegu care. I can't remember where I put it. It was written by Bert Langerwerf, so it could be the same info he has at Agamainternational.com. Plus, Varnyard has some good care sheets stickied here.

There really are no real good books on tegus, however we can answer most any questions you might have here.

I've been reading through the tegu forums here and at TheTegu.com. I was just looking for a way to boost the basic info I've been getting... went looking for books but didn't seem promising.

I've also looked at your website, Bill, and Agama International as well. I'd like to get a black & white tegu, but I would have to keep it inside. I found a good sized cage at Animal Plastics... it is 96" long x 36" deep x 24" high. Would that be a good size, assuming we'd take her out for time outside the cage?

Also, I've had a hard time finding a really good list of things that could be included in the diet, and more specifically, a good feeding regime. I am sure I will come up with more questions as I continue my research. Thanks in advance for your help.

Edit... sorry Bobby, remembered B. Hill... came out Bill!

I like the "Popular Monitor and Tegus" book by Michael Balsai. It is a little old, but he has interviews posted on Melissa Kaplan's site that I have found to be informative on the subject of nutrition.

Originally Posted by SethsExotics

I like the "Popular Monitor and Tegus" book by Michael Balsai. It is a little old, but he has interviews posted on Melissa Kaplan's site that I have found to be informative on the subject of nutrition.

Well yes, and no. As for the book, there is a bunch of the info in there that is not true. The part about breeding is way off. Much of it was written by people that have very little knowledge of tegus.

Melissa Kaplan's site, has some info that is a bit off too. The care sheet about feeding Colombian tegus fruit. Colombian tegus are carnivores, they do not eat fruit very well at all.

Alright... so a Columbian Tegu is exactly the same as a "Black and White" tegu, right? That's what we are looking at... B&W Tegus and red ackies, to be specific. We like both... not sure which we'd like to get at this point.

So here's a few questions.

1. I read that Columbian B&W's are extremely easy to tame and that they do well as "pet lizards" if given the right amount of space and care. Is this true? To what extent? All of them?? Most of them?

2. Should you feed inside the cage or outside? I read that feeding larger lizards outside their cage is helpful in preventing aggression.

3. What sort of "injury potential" do tegus have?

4. Bobby, what do your tegus eat on a daily basis? I have found a lot of conflicting info about what to feed them... some lists with fruit, others without.

No, Colombian tegus are not the only Black n White tegus. The Argentine Black n White is the true Black n White. The Colombian tegus true name is the Colombian Black tegu, or Colombian Gold tegu.

1, No Colombian tegu is easy to tame, only the Argentine tegus are easy to tame, if done right. Colombian tegus do not become tame in my opinion.

2, No tegu should be fed inside the cage, it is better that they are never fed inside them. They can and will associate you with food. They will bite the hand that feeds them, this is not done in a aggressive manner. My advice to this is never feed them in their cage. Never let them see you feed them. The best way to cure this problem, is to not feed them in their cage. Put the food in a separate cage, then take the tegu from his cage to the food. This helps in many ways. You are putting him with the food, not bringing the food to him. This keeps the food aggression to a minimun. Also by doing this, you are handling him twice a day, once to take him to the food, and another when you return him to his cage. It also helps to keep from getting impactions. If you keep him on substraight, and remove him to feed him, then you could feed him on newspaper. Then there would never be a chance for him to ingest the substraights.

3, Tegus are one of the strongest reptiles, one thing that is very harmful to them is over heating. Tegus kept at high 90s to 100s will not live. They can take the cold much better than getting too hot. In the wild and here outside, tegus will not bask during the hottest part of the day. They will bask in the morning and evening. The hottest part of the day is spent inside their burrows.

4, As stated before, Colombian tegus do not like/eat fruit. The Argentine tegus do eat fruit. I feed mine a varied diet of rats, fish, turkey, boiled eggs and almost any soft fruit, no citrus or bananas. I do not have any Colombian tegus, I only raise Argentines.

Okay, thank you VERY much for the info.

I am currently looking at housing. I will not be able to have one until the '08 breeding season- I need a house first, as there is no way the parents would allow a big honkin' lizard to share their house!

I have been reading the forums at TheTegu.com, and a guy there keeps his in a giant 8' x 3' x 2' deep stock watering trough, with lights hung over top and a bed of cypress mulch. Is this an okay home, or would temps/humidity be too hard to regulate? The troughs are $160-200 at local farm stores.

I was also looking at an animal plastics cage that is 8' x 3' x 2' high, and I could have screens put into both ends for ventilation and heating purposes. It has sliding glass doors and costs $650. Steep, but I want to do this right. I am not by any means a carpenter and would not feel comfortable building a cage.

Any thoughts on best indoor caging?