You may have heard that as far as big lizards are concerned, tegus make the best pets.
It’s true – they are docile, smart, fun to keep around, and not dangerous to humans.
But if you have cats, dogs or other small animals in your house, then you may wonder if it’s okay to let them play together.
Housing tegu with cats
Tegu lizards are actually quite similar to cats in terms of behavior.
They need a lot of personal space, are highly inquisitive, and do not crave your attention too often – despite still being cuddly at times.
That said, you should not let your tegu play with your cat without supervision.
Your tegu is unlikely to harm your cat, but it has a very strong bite capable of hurting it badly should something go wrong, and cats do tend to annoy tegus.
One wrong move and it could end very badly!
Can a tegu eat a cat?
No, your domestic tegu won’t attempt to eat a cat.
Even wild tegus mostly feed on insects and small rodents and birds, anything larger than that isn’t usually seen as prey.
On the other hand, your cat’s killer instincts you should worry about.
Never let your full grown cat anywhere near a juvenile tegu.
Housing tegu with dogs
Tegus and dogs can live together usually get along pretty well, because the dog won’t pester the tegu too much and tegus tend to keep to themselves.
Yet again, both dogs and tegus have the capability of hurting each other badly so it’s important to have them interact only under strict supervision.
Can a tegu eat a dog?
No, tegus don’t eat dogs. They can eat dog food, though.
A large tegu could potentially eat a small dog, but in general this is not what they would normally prey on and a pet tegu is unlikely to attack a dog of any size unless provoked.
Tegus and small pets
You should not keep your tegu anywhere near rodents, birds, or insect pets, because they will see them as a meal.
Even other small reptiles such as turtles and smaller lizards and snakes are at risk.
Housing tegus together
Two or more tegus can live under the same roof as long as they are each given their own space.
You will either need to set up two separate enclosures or build one that is big enough to accommodate both of them.
It is best to keep tegus of the same gender together, and you should not allow an adult tegu anywhere near a juvenile.
Do tegus get lonely?
Like most reptiles, tegu lizards are solitary animals and territorial, opportunistic creatures.
They live in solitude and do not get lonely, so it is perfectly acceptable to own a single tegu and never let it interact with other animals.
You only need to make sure to provide adequate enrichment conditions for them to stay happy.
TEGU QUICK LINKS
PetsWithScales.com is an informational website about big lizard pet care. We collect and provide information from different sources across the web on how to keep and care for reptiles as pets. The species we mainly deal with are tegus, monitor lizards, skinks and geckos. Our aim is to provide high quality information to help pet owners make better, more informed decisions about their animal’s diets, health and life.