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Large monitor and tegu

Argentine tegu

Salvator merianae

Kept the same way as the ackie monitor and savannah monitor, so they share one kit: the same heat, light, and humidity, sized to the animal.

Build an Argentine tegu setup See the gear
Photograph of a Argentine tegu
Photograph by Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Care sheet

What it needs

We have taken these figures from published sources and are still checking them against our own experience. Treat them as a guide, and ask us before you buy.

Basking surface
52 to 57°C Measured on the surface the animal lies on, not in the air.
Daytime air
24 to 35°C The cool end, away from the lamp.
Night air
20 to 23°C
UV index at the basking spot
2.9 to 7.4 Zone 3. Open or partial sun basker, thermoregulator
Humidity
70 to 80%
Daylight hours
13 h in summer, 11 h in winter
Winter
Brumation Torpid for weeks, through the winter.
Where it lives
Fossorial, Leaf litter, Forest floor, Grassland or savanna
Adult length
100 to 127 cm
When it is active
Diurnal
How it lives
Terrestrial
Typical captive life
15 years

Our reading of the literature, not veterinary advice. Animals vary, and so do rooms, so take these figures, and any setup the builder puts together, as a starting point, and ask a reptile vet about your own animal. Where the figures come from.

From the catalogue

Gear that suits an Argentine tegu

Chosen for large monitor and tegu. The setup builder puts the whole kit together, sized to the animal, with the reason for each piece.

Build the whole kit

Same care group

Kept the same way

Where it comes from

Brazil (Amazonas, Rio Grande do Sul, Goias, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Ceará, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Sergipe, Piauí, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, Paraíba), Uruguay, Bolivia (Santa Cruz, Beni), Paraguay, Argentina (Formosa, Corrientes) USA (introduced to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina)

Breeding: oviparous

Where the figures come from