The Things That Eat My Roaches :)

M

Marlene

Second Instar
Here's some pics of my little lizards (well, two wont be little later on ;) )

My Colombian Tegu, Aurix, and my fiancee's Argentine Tegu, Sparkplug

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<~ Aurix

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Sparkplug is to the left, Aurix is on top.

And, yes, I'm aware of the dangers of housing these two together, but Aurix was very aggressive in, and out, of his cage when he didn't have a cage mate. Now he's mellowed down quite a bit, but can still be a little brat. They're so cute when they curl up and bask together too!

Some older pics of Aurix around the time that I first got him:

http://calris.org/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=2479&posts=14&start=1

Here's my chunky "dwarf" Savannah Monitor, Mporomoko Wa Maji, or just "Maji"

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Om nom nom!

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Maji is about 3 years old, going on 4 and is just about 9" long, including her tail. She may be a little longer.

Some older pics of Maji on a different forum:

http://calris.org/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=3252&posts=6&start=1

 
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Thank you!

@ Ozy: Well, if you're lucky, you may end up with a dwarf monitor, like Maji, haha. Of course, her dwarfism was due to parasites that she had when I first got her.

 
i may at some point get a yellow ackie as i have a friend who just got a male yellow ackie at the Hamburg show, he already had two female yellows. so i should have a source for them soonish :)

 
I love the Tegus. How long to they get? We've got a water dragon, a breeding pair of beardies and a few geckos.

 
The argentine tegu will probably grow close to 4 feet and the columbian will probably make it to 3 feet. I'd advise getting an argentine for a first tegu though! They tend to be a bit more mellow and "tame" down a lot easier. My columbian has been a great tegu so far. He's hit his "terrible twos" stage where he throws random hissy fits. But he seems to be outgrowing that, thank goodness!

 
Thats a tiny sav! How much is eating? Do you mind if I ask how you are keeping its enclosure? Its unusual that the parasites stopped further growth after they were eradicated.

 
She's probably grown about 1/3" - 1/2" since those photos were taken. She eats almost as much and just as often as the tegus do. I kept the tank (on the hot side) at around 95 deg. F. She's also been through multiple moves (I'm a bit nomadic) and during the initial move-ins she didn't have a proper set-up, but that usually just lasted a week or two, then she'd move in to her enclosure and be happy again :)

One theory from one person is that she's just a primordial dwarf... So that's just what I've been calling her. She's very healthy (possibly a bit obese, actually) and content. She eats roaches/crickets dusted in calcium and roaches that have had liquid vitamins either dripped on them or in their water (once a week for the multivitamin). She also now has a "pool" in her vivarium to soak and poop in, which she does quite often... Oh! she also gets meal/superworms as a treat along with waxworms every now and then. She used to get phoenix worms quite often, but I can't afford those anymore.

 
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Marlene said:
She's probably grown about 1/3" - 1/2" since those photos were taken. She eats almost as much and just as often as the tegus do. I kept the tank (on the hot side) at around 95 deg. F. She's also been through multiple moves (I'm a bit nomadic) and during the initial move-ins she didn't have a proper set-up, but that usually just lasted a week or two, then she'd move in to her enclosure and be happy again :)

One theory from one person is that she's just a primordial dwarf... So that's just what I've been calling her. She's very healthy (possibly a bit obese, actually) and content. She eats roaches/crickets dusted in calcium and roaches that have had liquid vitamins either dripped on them or in their water (once a week for the multivitamin). She also now has a "pool" in her vivarium to soak and poop in, which she does quite often... Oh! she also gets meal/superworms as a treat along with waxworms every now and then. She used to get phoenix worms quite often, but I can't afford those anymore.
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Your diet sounds pretty good. If you are able, I would suggest also adding snails and crayfish to the diet. Both are great sources of calcium and other minerals.

When you say that temp for the hot side, is that the basking temp or the ambient temp? Do you know what the humidity levels are inside the enclosure?

 
That's the ambient temp, i'm not too sure of the basking spot. Possibly around 100. I've given her shrimp before (the local markets didn't have a small thing of crayfish) as well as salmon, which is her new favourite treat! I'll have to go out and buy some snails to try out on her.

 
Marlene said:
That's the ambient temp, i'm not too sure of the basking spot. Possibly around 100. I've given her shrimp before (the local markets didn't have a small thing of crayfish) as well as salmon, which is her new favourite treat! I'll have to go out and buy some snails to try out on her.
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Ah, ok that might be the issue. The ambient temps are fine, but the basking spot should be around 130-150. Its best to accomplish this with a low wattage flood light, like a 40-50 watt bulb or bulbs, depending on the size of the lizard. You want to make sure you arent drying out the substrate or lowering the humidity to any less than about 65%.

 
jarich said:
Ah, ok that might be the issue. The ambient temps are fine, but the basking spot should be around 130-150. Its best to accomplish this with a low wattage flood light, like a 40-50 watt bulb or bulbs, depending on the size of the lizard. You want to make sure you arent drying out the substrate or lowering the humidity to any less than about 65%.
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I tend to keep her substrate fairly moist, not like the tegu's substrate though. I'll have to get her set up with a better basking spot then! I thought the basking spot was supposed to be around 115-120 D.F. so I'll have to get that fixed! Luckily it should only take one good bulb, since she is tiny and she's not in a HUGE vivarium. I'm trying to save up so I can buy her a nice large one :) and possibly get some live plants in there for her.

 
Ya, the extra bump in temps should make a pretty noticeable difference. I shouldve said before, but that 130-150 should be a surface temp, not ambient. Do you have an infrared temp gun? Surface temps are a little hard to take with a probe as they have a housing around the sensor that deflects some of the heat.

 
jarich said:
Ya, the extra bump in temps should make a pretty noticeable difference. I shouldve said before, but that 130-150 should be a surface temp, not ambient. Do you have an infrared temp gun? Surface temps are a little hard to take with a probe as they have a housing around the sensor that deflects some of the heat.
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I don't have one... I usually just took off the coolside thermometer and set it on the basking spot... There's a probe on the hot side, but I just use it for the ambient temps.

 
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