Tegus are highly intelligent creatures and as such, they need constant stimuli.
Without sources of entertainment, tegus will get bored and unhappy, they will start showing signs of stress and could potentially even become aggressive, destroying everything in sight.
Luckily, there are many ways to entertain your tegu, first of all by providing enough space for them to wander around inside their enclosure, and outside as well.
When feeding, you can hide their food or let them catch live insects (we don’t encourage live feeding of rodents and other small animals).
Finally, you can let your pet lizard interact and play with various items and “toys”.
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Tegu enrichment ideas
Hides
Tegus love to hide. Hiding makes them feel safe from predators (in the wild, they are especially vulnerable to attacks from above by birds and flying animals).
Because tegus grow very big, it can be difficult to find adequate size hiding opportunities – a very big log or plastic bucket will do the job.
If you let your tegu wander around the house, you will often find them hiding behind your bed sheets – so it may be a good idea to get them their own rugs and blankets.
Pool toys
Floaties for kids actually make a good enough toy for adult tegus. Whether in water or on the ground, they will enjoy climbing on them.
Tegus are actually decent swimmers so you can let them bathe in an inflatable kids pool or bath tub making sure the water is not too deep and they are able to get out.
There are actually quite a few brands of floaties made specifically for lizards, but they are generally meant for bearded dragons which are considerably smaller in size than adult tegus. If your tegu is still juvenile though they may still fit!
Sumergio Inflatable Swim Rings for toddlers | Sethous Intlatable Bath Floaties for Lizard | Haichen Tec Swimming Collar Ring for Reptiles |
Cat toys
Cat toys can be a source of entertainment for tegu.
Mice toys for cats are best avoided because if your tegu mistakes them for prey they will attempt to swallow them whole.
Cat wands and toys that do not have small parts or feathers that your tegu could accidentally eat are safer.
Puzzle toys
Treat balls and puzzle toys for dogs work wonders when it comes to entertaining tegus and keeping them mentally stimulated.
Simply place your pet’s favorite treat in the toy and let the tegu smell it, they will then have to solve a puzzle (or more likely, try to destroy the thing) to get rewarded.
TRIXIE Dog Activity: Pet Strategy Games & Interactive Dog Puzzles, Great for Mental Stimulation | Pet Zone IQ Treat Ball – Adjustable Dog treat Ball and Treat Dispensing Toy |
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.
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.