Thinking of adopting a baby tegu? Disse firben vokser ret hurtigt og dramatisk, med en voksen han argentinsk tegu, der når størrelsen af en lille hund (rundt om 5 fødder).
I de første to år af deres liv, imidlertid, juvenile tegus er små og sårbare, and they require additional care in order to stay healthy and thrive.
If you have just adopted a tegu hatchling you are going to need to pay special attention to its environmental and dietary needs.
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Differences between baby tegus and adults
While adult tegus are mainly terrestrial, hatchlings and juvenile tegus are arboreal, spending much of their time climbing on trees in order to hide from predators (which include larger tegus!).
Physically, a young tegu does not really look much different from any other lizard, and they lack the typical “fat” jowls that distinguish adults from monitor lizards.
Their coloration is also different, young tegus often appear to be more green or orange compared to adults which may have black and white patterns (Marias frelser), gold and black patterns (tupinambis teguixin), or a “raw meat red” coloration (salvator rufuscens).
Growth Chart
Please note that tegu growth patterns can vary significantly among individuals.
Growth spurts and rates can differ based on various factors such as genetics, kost, environment, and overall health, there is no “ideal” size a tegu should reach at any given age.
The growth chart provided below serves as a general estimate and should not be interpreted as an exact representation of growth progression for all tegus.
| Age (Months) | Argentine Tegu Size | Red Tegu Size | Colombian Tegu Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 8-10 in / 20-25 cm | 8-10 in / 20-25 cm | 8-10 in / 20-25 cm |
| 6 | 18-24 in / 45-60 cm | 16-20 in / 40-50 cm | 12-16 in / 30-40 cm |
| 12 | 30-36 in / 75-90 cm | 24-30 in / 60-75 cm | 18-24 in / 45-60 cm |
| 24 | 48-60 in / 120-150 cm | 36-48 in / 90-120 cm | 24-36 in / 60-90 cm |
| Voksen | Op til 5 ft / 150 cm (large male adult) | Op til 4 ft / 120 cm (large male adult) | Op til 3 ft / 90 cm (large male adult) |
Handling and Taming
Because there’s no such a thing as imprinting for lizards, baby tegus won’t initially recognize you as their caretaker.
In order to get them to trust you, you will need to interact with them regurarly and handle them as much as possible so that they stop seeing you as a potential predator.
Many owners leave a used t-shirt in their tegu’s enclosure so that they learn to recognize their smell and associate it to “home”.
Juvenile tegus have a tendency to run from you but you need to be persistent in your handling.
Try to pet and stroke them whenever it’s feeding time so that they are out of their hides, do not pull them out yourself and do not grab them by their tail or they will see you as a threat.
They may tail whip and perhaps even bite but at this young age they are unlikely to do any harm.
When they reach “guberty” (at around 2 years of age) they might get moody and more aggressive than usual, it’s a good idea to put on some thick gloves when you are handling them because their bite may actually do some damage.
Husbrug
Baby tegus do not need as much caging space as adults, but because they grow quickly it may be more cost-efficient to house them directly in the enclosure they will stay in as adults.
The size of the enclosure will depend on species, aim at at least 8x4x4 for Argentine black and white tegus, Chacoan tegus, and Red tegus.
A 6x3x3 enclosure may suffice for Blue tegus and Colombian gold tegus. Keep in mind that these are minimum size recommendations and that males tend to grow larger than females.
 Vigtig 8 Fod PVC & Aluminiums kabinet – 96 L x 48 B x 48 H |  Vigtig 8 Fod PVC & Aluminiums kabinet – 96 L x 48 B x 72 H |
You will need to provide 12 hours of UVB light and adequate heat, with both a basking area and a cool off area, and make sure your tegu cannot accidentally touch the heat lamp as they climb.
Humidity should be relatively high, especially for red tegus which are prone to skin and shedding issues (70-90% humidity is recommended).
Replace their water bowl daily and spray the enclosure with a mist bottle. The substrate you pick should also be deep enough for them to burrow. Cypress mulch, coconut shell, reptisoil are good choices.
Hides are particularly important for baby tegus as they are especially vulnerable to predators in the wild.
Add sterilized logs and rocks to the enclosure so they can feel safer and reduce anxiety. Juvenile tegus are known for spending much of the day hiding.
Diet and Feeding
All baby and juvenile tegus, regardless of species, should be fed a diet high in protein in order to promote growth for the first two years or so.
This can be achieved by initially feeding mostly insects such as cockroaches, fårekyllinger, græshopper, regnorme, melorme, silkeorme og snegle.
As their mouths grow larger, you may be able to start feeding them pinkies and krybdyr. The Tegu Hatchling Bundle is a great option tailored specifically for juvenile tegus. (se: Bedste Reptilinks til Tegus)
Eventually, you can feed them raw chicken and turkey, rå eller kogte æg (with the shell), fisk og rejer; as well as vegetables and fruits such as carrots, peberfrugter, squash, græskar, mælkebøtter, jordbær, blåbær, æbler, druer, kirsebær, cactus pads and fruits.
| Kostbehov | ||
| Job udført for Juvenile (0-2 flere år) | 90% protein | 10% frugt og grønt |
| argentinsk handling (>2 flere år) | 60% protein | 30% grøntsager, 10% frugter |
| colombiansk tegu (>2 flere år) | 90% protein | 10% frugt og grønt |
Foderplan
Hvor ofte du skal fodre din tegu afhænger i høj grad af dens alder. Baby tegus should be fed daily and they will grow at a fast rate for the first couple of months.
They can be fed 4-5 times a week when they are around 1 year old, and less sporadically once they reach sexual maturity (rundt om 2 flere år).
| Foderplan | |
| Hatchlings (0-6 måneder) | Foder hver dag |
| Unge (7-12 måneder) | Foder næsten hver dag |
| Undervoksne (1-3 flere år) | Foder hver anden dag |
| Voksne (>3 flere år) | Foder to gange om ugen |
Best foods for juvenile tegus
Farm bred insects:
- Crickets
- Græshopper
- Dubia kakerlakker
- Discoid kakerlakker
- Kakerlakker
- Melorme
- Superorme
- Hornorme
- Regnorme
- Snegle (inklusive skal)
Andet hele bytte:
- Pinkies
- Chicks
- Quail
- Reptillink
Fisk og skaldyr:
- Reje
- Prawn
- All sorts of raw fish, cut in pieces
Eggs and poultry:
- Whole quail eggs (raw or soft boiled, with shell)
- Scrambled chicken egg served with shell pieces
- Ground chicken or turkey, dusted with calcium powder
- Chicken gizzards, heart and liver
Grøntsager:
- Grønne (f.eks. carrot, chicory, collard, dandelion, mustard greens)
- Squash (f.eks. acorn, butternut, kabocha, spaghetti, yellow squash)
- Green Beans
- Green Peas
- Snap Peas
- Zucchini
- Sweet peppers
Frugter:
- Bær (f.eks. blåbær, brombær, hindbær, jordbær)
- Meloner (f.eks. casaba, cantaloupe, watermelon)
- Kiwi
- Mango
- Papaya
- Banana
- Seedless grapes and dates
Mad at undgå
- Vildt fangede insekter
- Forarbejdet kød
- Dåsemad med højt natrium- eller sukkerindhold
- Avocadoer
- Azalea blomster
- Azalea blade
- Broccoli
- Smørblomster
- Aubergine
- Hamp
- Lettuce
- Marihuana blade eller blomster
- Løg
- Rosmarin
- Salvie
- Spinat
 Zilla Omnivore Mix – Insekter, Frugt og grøntsager + Calcium |  Zilla grøntsags- og frugtblanding |  Zilla grøntsagsblanding + Calcium |
Kosttilskud
Calcium supplements are especially recommended for all tegu lizards regardless of age and species.
Choose a kalktilskud, der er fri for fosfor og D3-vitamin and dust your baby tegus’s food with it once to twice per week.
Occasionally feeding whole prey smaller than your tegu’s mouth (f.eks. insekter, pinkies and shrimp or prawn) kan også hjælpe med at give calcium i modsætning til hakket kød.
Endelig, you may also gut load live insect prey with calcium and then feed them to your lizard.
Once a week, it is recommended to sprinkle or mix a multivitamin with your tegu’s food as well in addition to calcium, especially if your tegu does not get enough veggies and fruit in its diet.
 Zoo Med Repti Calcium uden D3 |  Repcal Calcium uden D3 |  Flukers Repta Vitamin Reptil Supplement |
TEGU HURTIGE LINKS
PetsWithScales.com er en informativ hjemmeside om pleje af store øgler. Vi indsamler og giver oplysninger fra forskellige kilder på tværs af nettet om, hvordan man holder og plejer krybdyr som kæledyr. De arter, vi primært beskæftiger os med, er tegus, firben, skinks og gekkoer. Vores mål er at levere information af høj kvalitet for at hjælpe kæledyrsejere med at få det bedre, mere informerede beslutninger om deres dyrs kostvaner, sundhed og liv.
PetsWithScales.com er en informativ hjemmeside om pleje af store øgler. Vi indsamler og giver oplysninger fra forskellige kilder på tværs af nettet om, hvordan man holder og plejer krybdyr som kæledyr. De arter, vi primært beskæftiger os med, er tegus, firben, skinks og gekkoer. Vores mål er at levere information af høj kvalitet for at hjælpe kæledyrsejere med at få det bedre, mere informerede beslutninger om deres dyrs kostvaner, sundhed og liv.