# outdoor enclosure



## wetbeef (May 29, 2011)

hi, im looking at getting a tegu in a few months time, and was thinking about building a larg out door enclosure for it as it grows, i was thinking either useing a green house as a base or building a solid walled enclouser with some kind of gate way to and outsime are with a small pond. i was woundering if theres any factore or advise anyone could shre with me?


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## Tombo46 (Aug 5, 2010)

I was told that tegu's go a bit mental when they go outside, I did a bit of research and a hell of a lot of people had bad experiences with taking them outside.

I also think you will have trouble with ambient temps in a glasshouse. Are you in the UK?

Outdoor enclosure would be fine but in my opinion it would have to be solid walls and insulated and probably a lot more trouble than it's worth. Do you have room indoors for an enclosure? Adult tegu's tend to be pretty lazy so don't use giant enclosures. Usually just wake up, bask, eat, soak, poo, bury themselves.


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## Lil_nightmare (Feb 26, 2011)

Hey am going to answer on behalf of Wetbeef as he's deployed and may not be able to reply all the time.

We are in Devon. We don't have room indoors unfortunately its a new house we will be moving to in a month or so, so not sure on the exact dimensions of the garden.

If we where to build a breeze block building how big would it need to be to comfortably house a Tegu and would a large Heat lamp such used for lambs etc be sufficient to heat it?


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## glennwbp (Apr 28, 2011)

hi there. whereabouts in devon are you? i am researching tegus and take great interest in your plan....


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## OrigamiB (Feb 19, 2008)

Lil_nightmare said:


> Hey am going to answer on behalf of Wetbeef as he's deployed and may not be able to reply all the time.
> 
> We are in Devon. We don't have room indoors unfortunately its a new house we will be moving to in a month or so, so not sure on the exact dimensions of the garden.
> 
> If we where to build a breeze block building how big would it need to be to comfortably house a Tegu and would a large Heat lamp such used for lambs etc be sufficient to heat it?


I'm gonna say greenhouses are a bad idea, maintaining any sort of temperature will be near impossible and you'l have some pretty dangerous fluctuations.

As for making a new building/enclosure and heating it... have a read of this: http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/habitat/104638-heating-large-enclosures-how-guide.html


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## Lil_nightmare (Feb 26, 2011)

glennwbp said:


> hi there. whereabouts in devon are you? i am researching tegus and take great interest in your plan....



We will be living in a little village called horrabridge about 5 miles from plymouth.

Its not 100% we are getting a Tegu yet, as I am going to want detailed plans of an enclosure before i agree. So any help much appreciated


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## Ste123 (Apr 30, 2011)

Personally speaking if you take the basic idea of a vivarium (cube with a front door and heating) but just make it bigger for out doors,

How about buy a shed and insulate it, use the main door of the shed for your entrance and put up a barrier up inside the shed with a gate so the tegu. Heat the whole shed with reptile radiators and heat lamps for basking lights. 

You can lock the shed for security and to the normal eye it's just a garden shed to the neighbours. Sheds come in different sizes allowing you to go big and have more than one tegu in the future and also gives you the height so you don't have to crawl inside to clean.


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## Lil_nightmare (Feb 26, 2011)

Ste123 said:


> Personally speaking if you take the basic idea of a vivarium (cube with a front door and heating) but just make it bigger for out doors,
> 
> How about buy a shed and insulate it, use the main door of the shed for your entrance and put up a barrier up inside the shed with a gate so the tegu. Heat the whole shed with reptile radiators and heat lamps for basking lights.
> 
> You can lock the shed for security and to the normal eye it's just a garden shed to the neighbours. Sheds come in different sizes allowing you to go big and have more than one tegu in the future and also gives you the height so you don't have to crawl inside to clean.



This is a good idea thanks, although no to 2 Tegus...I want chickens lol


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## wetbeef (May 29, 2011)

thanks for all the replys, very helpfull. what kind of sizes would be optimal for it? i unerstand they like to burrow, would and an underground hide be an option?


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## Ste123 (Apr 30, 2011)

Yes and it could be something as simple as a hide box depending how elaborate you plan on the enclosure


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## Lil_nightmare (Feb 26, 2011)

Ste123 said:


> Yes and it could be something as simple as a hide box depending how elaborate you plan on the enclosure


WEll by the sounds of it im going to have no back garden left...


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## Ste123 (Apr 30, 2011)

Lil_nightmare said:


> WEll by the sounds of it im going to have no back garden left...


Lol you'll have a happy tegu though


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