Tegus are cold-blooded, which means that they are dependent on their environment for the warmth that is required for them to be able to move, digest, and carry out other metabolic functions. It also means that they can’t control their internal temperature. If a tegu gets too hot, can’t sweat or pant to cool itself down; instead, it must move out of the heat to cool down. Providing both warm and cool areas in the enclosure is called a temperature gradient.

The ideal temperature gradient for tegus is as follows:

• Basking surface — 125-135°F (52-57°C)
• Warm side — 90-95°F (32-35°C)
• Cool side — 75-85°F (24-29°C)

Make sure to turn off all lighting and heat sources at night to create a nightly drop in temperature down to 68-74°F (20-23°C). Nightly temperature drops facilitate your tegu’s best health by helping them sleep more deeply.

To make sure that you have the right temperature in each area, you will need an infrared temperature gun like the Etekcity Lasergrip 774. These handy tools offer pinpoint temperature readings for anywhere in the enclosure — a true must-have for any reptile owner.

How to heat a tegu enclosure

For hatchling tegus, a high wattage halogen floodlight bulb should provide enough heat to get the basking spot up to temp.

Once your tegu reaches yearling size, you may notice that a single floodlight bulb doesn’t provide a basking spot large enough for the tegu’s entire body. Because yearling and adult tegus are so large, it’s more efficient to use a series of halogen flood lights clustered together, creating a proportionally larger basking zone.

Finding out the right bulb wattage takes some careful experimentation to get right, which is one of the reasons why it’s so important to set up the enclosure well before getting the tegu! Here are some bulbs that work well for creating the basking heat that tegus need:

• Arcadia Halogen Heat Lamp
• Zoo Med Repti Tuff Halogen Heat Lamp
• Philips PAR38 Halogen Flood Bulb
• Sylvania Capsylite PAR38 Halogen Flood Lamp

For a 4′ tall enclosure, you’re likely to need 75-100w bulbs. Optimal wattage often varies in proportion to basking distance and room temperature. Avoid excessive bulb dimming, as dimming can drastically reduce the bulbs’ output of deep-penetrating Infrared A heat.

Place a hide on the cool end of the enclosure to give your tegu a secure place to retreat from the heat. Providing a place where they can dig their own burrow is also an option. (See Substrate Options for Pet Tegus)

“Teddy The Tegu @ OSC” by Michael King is licensed under CC BY 2.0