KeeprHusbandry You're a Pro? Click here to meet Rex
Atlas / Library / Teiidae / Gold Tegu
CITES II
Teiidae

Gold Tegu

Tupinambis teguixinกิ้งก่าเตกูสีทอง

Traceable. The figures above appear in the page we cite, which we opened on 10 Aug 2026. That means you can check them, not that we have confirmed they are right. dubiaroaches.com

Photograph: liz west · CC BY

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

CITES II is a global listing and holds in every country. National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/tupinambis-teguixin

‹ All husbandry guides
Temperature24–29 °C
Humidity70–80 %
Enclosure183×91×91
Diet4 days

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
24–29°Cool side
Warm side: not in our data

The cool side, 24–29°C. This sheet states the cool side only. It gives no warm side or basking figure, so the hot end is not in our data. Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet statescool 24-29 °C

Humidity

70–80%Target RH

The sheet states70-80 %

UVB

T5 12%required

The sheet statesColombian tegus require UVB lighting to thrive in captivity; Arcadia Desert 12%, 34" or Zoo Med Reptisun T5 HO 10.0, 34"; if the UVB is mounted over mesh, place the basking platform 13-15" below the lamp

Identity

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

70–80 % RHUVB tube6 ft3 ft
UVB tube
50100150200 cm
6 × 3 × 3 ft · 183 × 91 × 91 cmWidth × depth × height
167dm² of floor
Substrate: not in our dataWater: not in our dataWarm side: not in our dataHides: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet statesabsolute minimum enclosure size for a single Colombian tegu is 6'L x 3'W x 3'H

Temperature
cool 24–29 °C
Humidity
70-80 %

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Diet

Feeding rhythm

every 3.5 dAs an adult
8Meals in 28 days

Twenty-eight days, one row. Each band is a meal window. The sheet gives several ages on one line; this is the adult figure.

Why

The windows widen as they go because the interval is a range: four meals after a 10–14 day cycle land anywhere between day 40 and day 56.

The sheet statescrickets, dubia roaches, red runner roaches, black soldier fly larvae, mealworms, superworms, darkling beetles, hornworms, silkworms, snails, grasshoppers, chicks, quail chicks, egg (with shell), mice, rats, gerbils, small rabbits, shrimp, salmon, high-quality canned dog food; Hatchlings (0-6 months) 5x/week, Juveniles (7-12 months) 4x/week, Subadults (1-2 years) 3x/week, Adults (>2 years) 2x/week

Common questions

Is this one as tame as a red tegu?

Usually not. Gold tegus stay flightier and quicker to bite, so they suit someone who enjoys watching more than handling.

How big does it get?

Around a metre with the tail, smaller and slimmer than a red or a black-and-white tegu.

How long do they live?

Fifteen to twenty years with good care, so it is a long commitment.

Can I keep two together?

Better not. Adults are territorial and fights over food and basking spots are common, so one per enclosure.

What it needs

Enclosure at least 183 × 91 × 91 cmbecause enclosureabsolute minimum enclosure size for a single Colombian tegu is 6'L x 3'W x 3'H
A thermometerbecause tempcool 24-29 °C
A hygrometerbecause humidity70-80 %
UVB 12-12% (T5), stated as requiredbecause uvbColombian tegus require UVB lighting to thrive in captivity; Arcadia Desert 12%, 34" or Zoo Med Reptisun T5 HO 10.0, 34"; if the UVB is mounted over mesh, place the basking platform 13-15" below the lamp
Not stated: The heat sourcethis sheet names only the cool side: « cool 24-29 °C »

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation. What the sheet does not state is listed too, rather than left out: a kit that looks complete is worse than one that names its gap.

Sources

Others in this group

What this sheet states

77%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

This sheet states 5 of 7 of the fields this product runs on. What is missing turns something off: day/night engine and awake count on the globe, the diet section. We show the gap rather than fill it with a plausible number.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.