Breeding plans
If you have future breeding in mind, then know
what animals you need to purchase. Most tegus sold in the pet trade are
no longer suitable for future breeding.
For future breeding in the USA or Europe, you
need to get Arg tegus, which were born in the northern hemisphere, say
in the USA or Europe.
Furthermore, if you buy older animals, you must
be 100% sure that they had their hibernations. All of them, also the
first winter!
I mention this especially, as almost everyone I
sell Arg tegus to, asks me what to do to keep their tegus from
hibernating.
Arg tegus, imported from the southern
hemisphere, are also not suitable for future breeding, unless a very
complicated scheme of cycling to the northern hemisphere is done, which
is impossible to do for most people, and difficult for people who keep
them outdoors in the right climate. In the USA Arg tegus are born in
July and August. So, baby tegus purchased in July/August/September are
born in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere Arg tegus
are born in January/February. So, baby tegus offered for sale in the
Spring time are imported tegus from the southern hemisphere and not
suitable for future breeding. We have many bloodlines in our
group, and have worked with our good friend and fellow tegu keeper Johnny LaRocca out of Georgia (who is the
largest and best breeder of reds in the USA) to enlarge our
gene pool even more, keeping some of his tegus on our farm to breed with
our tegus.
T. rufescens, T. merianae and T. duseni
are 3 closely related species, which all three have TWO loreal scales,
contrary to the tropical forms like T.teguixin, which have only ONE
loreal scale.
T.merianae has most dorsal scales: 123-148 in
a longitudinal row.
T. duseni and T.rufescens have here
only 84-103 scales.
T.duseni has less ventral scales then
T.rufescens.
The range of the red tegu stretches from central
Bolivia (15 degrees S.L.) over western Paraguay into western Argentina as
far south as 40 degrees S.L. In order to visualize better this distance, let
us compare it on the northern hemisphere: From Guatemala to Utah! It is
therefore understandable that within such a large range there must be
different types of Red Tegus. But most importantly, the ones living closer
to the equator will not tolerate cold as well, nor hibernate as long as the
ones from southern regions in Argentina. It is therefore that over the years
I always avoided to start working with the quite abundantly available Red
Tegus from Paraguay. The Red Tegus I wanted to work with needed to come from
regions between 30 and 40 degrees S.L. and that is only in Argentina.
Alabama is between 30 and 35 degrees N.L.
Finally, in March 2002 I was able to import baby Red
Tegus from Argentina that were from that cooler region. These also happen to
be nicer in color and larger in size as the more northern forms of Red
Tegus.
After a complicated way to cycle those babies to the
conditions in the Northern Hemisphere, I could breed them for the first time
in 2004: In August 2004 83 babies were born.
Then in August of 2005 another 43 babies were born.
Part of them is sold, but the main part I kept for future breeding. Likely,
the babies that were born in 2004 will start breeding in 2007 and that is
then the year I expect many more baby red tegus coming available.
Where in Argentina the T.merianae live
in the eastern moister half, the T.rufescens live in the western
drier half. It is therefore, that in winter I offer my Red Tegus somewhat
warmer and drier conditions to hibernate.
Babies I prefer to hibernate in boxes with fallen
leaves in the basement at 50 to 70 F. Then in the end of March I bring them
out again. One baby was overlooked in March 2005 and when I happened to look
between the dry leaves of these boxes mid August 2005 I found with amazement
a skinny, but healthy baby red tegu between those leaves at 75F. I put it
outside and it started eating right away after ten months of hibernation!
The food for these Red Tegus is about the same as
for T.Merianae. Rodents, boiled eggs, large insects like
roaches, cut up chicken (raw or cooked), and fruits like banana, cantaloupe
or grapes.
