Black And White Argentine Tegu Care Sheet

Life Span: 15-20yrs

Housing: These tegus will need a huge enclosure, even as babies, the enclosure is usually the most difficult thing about these animals! Providing the proper enclosure for these lizards will be costly and will require a lot of space. A good size for an enclosure is around 8ft however bigger is better, due to the size the enclosures may need to be hand made. 

Substrate: There are a few different substrates you can use for this animal, including, cyprus mulch, repti chip, eco earth and a mix of all of them! You must provide enough substrate to allow burrowing as your animal will love to burrow. 

Heating: A heat/basking bulb will be needed for these animals along side a bulb guard and thermostat, on the basking side you will want a range of 37-43c, on the cool side a range of 23-28c and a ambient temp of 32-35c. 

UVB/Lighting: UVB is a must for this species, you will want a tube rather then a bulb as the tube allows for a larger range for the rays to flow! To allow for a natural day/night cycle you should always turn of the UVB at night. 

Humidity: These animals have a higher humidity level at around 70-90%. To keep the levels up you need to provide a large water bowl, daily misting and a moisture absorbing/holding substrate. 

Diet and Water: These tegus are naturally omnivorous, meaning they can eat a mix of everything! Their main diet should consist of daily fresh veg, live insects, small meats such as chicken or turkey and the occasional mouse, Fruit such as strawberries should be kept as a treat. For water these animals should be given a very large bowl that is easy to get in and out off, this will aid is shedding, hydration and keeping the humidity up.

Housing Together: These animals are not recommended to keep together, they are far too large and can become very territorial.