How difficult would you say it is to look after a tegu? I'm interested in having a larger lizard once my living situation will allow it and I've been mostly looking into savannah monitors but tegus are a potential option as well. I've come to the conclusion that mammals aren't really my thing, pet-wise (I myself am one mammal too many under my care) and a weird reptilian dog would suit me better. :P
Some things are easy, some things are hard! They’re much more hands-off than a dog, and you have to work harder to earn their trust because they’re a wild animal. They can’t communicate like a dog can and they’re REALLY good at hiding pain- and vet care is expensive. They have different housing needs; heat, humidity, burrowing substrate- and yet they’re not gonna chew your stuff like a dog might. They aren’t biddable- they have no desire to please you- and yet when they decide they trust you, they’ll let you know. You have to know their body language, which isn’t as obvious or easily understood as a dog’s is, and you have to get them used to you slowly and carefully. A bad diet can fuck them up, and it can be harder to find a good diet for a tegu that’s easily available than it would be for a dog. I like tegus better than savs just because the way most savs enter the pet trade is pretty rough. Most of them are imported from Africa as babies and so they’re really fragile and riddled with parasites. There are some breeders- Daniel Rinckey is the first one that comes to mind- so if you get a sav, I’d recommend trying to get a CBB one. Tegus, on the other hand? Real easy to find a captive bred tegu. Or a feral- even a feral can (and likely will) tame down really well.Â
