OOPS, i forgot....

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Posted by contemplate on April 15, 2003 at 22:37:25:

In Reply to: did i make the right decision? posted by contemplate on April 15, 2003 at 16:04:23:

I paid 99 dollars, which was half off the regular price. i've watched animals come and go from that pet store. they had a couple of blue tegus for several months (they wanted 199 dollars apiece) and i watched their health carefully. their growth rates were normal (rapid) and they seemed very healthy and active, with no respiratory problems that i could detect (i may be new to tegus, but not herpetoculture). overall, i've been very pleased with the store, though i share everyone's concern with pet stores. as for the toes, i'm pretty sure he/she wasn't getting vitamins from fruits or vegetables. they recommended strictly crickets, mealworms, and pinky mice, with calcium powder dusted over the insects. as i understand it, vitamin deficiencies can cause shedding probs, which can lead to missing digits. thanx again

:well, i'm pretty excited because i bought a baby red tegu today. i've been reading this forum for quite some time and i've done my homework. i had decided to buy an animal from either st. pierre or agamainternational, but both were sold out and i was waiting anxiously. meanwhile, a local pet store (not your average petstore, very knowledgeable and they specialize in captive bred reptiles) acquired a baby red. it's about 16 inches long. I looked at it, but i wasn't ready. the tegu was missing most of it's toes on it's front feet, i assume it was caused by incomplete shedding from a vitamin deficiency. other than that, it looked very healthy. today i stopped by the store and they still had it. i bought him today, but now i'm wondering if it was a good idea. will his missing toes affect him in any way (besides climbing ability)? He was supposedly sold to the store by a private breeder in the area.

:another question is about temperature. i've read (at agama international) that b&w's can handle survive fairly low temperatures when hibernating, is keeping him outside year round feasible (i may need a supplimental heat source)? i live in central florida (near orlando) and there are only a few nights a year that approach freezing, usually the night temps are between 60 and 85 degrees. thankx for your time

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