Rescue Spotlight - north bay tegu and Monitor rescue's Director, Kayla Goldberg
Tegu and monitor rescue has its own unique challenges. We are proud to feature North Bay Tegu Rescue in January's Rescue Spotlight.
North Bay Tegu & Monitor Rescue is based in Northern California offering a full range of services, including Tegu and Monitor rescue, rehabilitation, adoption, and education programs.
North Bay Tegu & Monitor Rescue is based in Northern California offering a full range of services, including Tegu and Monitor rescue, rehabilitation, adoption, and education programs.
Q. Why tegus and monitors?
A. About 9 years ago I was working in a small mom and pop pet shop that had a baby tegu, after a few months of that tegu not selling, I took him home and he's now my big baby reaching 4 feet. My passion for tegus grew from then. Throughout the years being involved in my local reptile community, I began taking in several rescues, often tegus and monitors . They are cute little babies but they soon outgrow their homes and not the average reptile person is committed to providing for such a large animal.
Q. How did the rescue get started?
A. Since my passion was with tegus and monitors, people just started asking me to take what they could not care for anymore. I was involved with several other reptile rescues and whenever a tegu or monitor came in, they required special care different than that of a snake or bearded dragon. It takes a lot of research, knowledge and money to care and most importantly feed them so starting a species specific rescue allowed me to focus on just them.
A. About 9 years ago I was working in a small mom and pop pet shop that had a baby tegu, after a few months of that tegu not selling, I took him home and he's now my big baby reaching 4 feet. My passion for tegus grew from then. Throughout the years being involved in my local reptile community, I began taking in several rescues, often tegus and monitors . They are cute little babies but they soon outgrow their homes and not the average reptile person is committed to providing for such a large animal.
Q. How did the rescue get started?
A. Since my passion was with tegus and monitors, people just started asking me to take what they could not care for anymore. I was involved with several other reptile rescues and whenever a tegu or monitor came in, they required special care different than that of a snake or bearded dragon. It takes a lot of research, knowledge and money to care and most importantly feed them so starting a species specific rescue allowed me to focus on just them.
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Q. Does the rescue have its own facility or are you based out of a home?
A. The rescue is based out of my home. Q. What are the challenges of housing such large reptiles in the rescue? A. Large cages! Providing huge cages with several feet of deep substrate, multiple basking areas, large ponds with filtration, it gets pricey! The cost of building or buying such an enclosure is hundreds and then maintaining the high temperatures in such a large space just sky rockets the electric bill. So many people believe that you can house a tegu or monitor in a standard glass tank, screen top, with 1-2inches of bark (like the pet stores tell you) but that is ultimately leading to a long slow death of dehydration and cold. In order to provide proper housing, it MUST be a custom made wood enclosure that is designed specifically for holding deep substrate and keeping in humidity. |
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Q. What is the average cost to the rescue for each new reptile that you take in?
A. Depending on the size of the animal but an estimate would range between $300-500 per animal that comes in, mostly in housing and feeding cost. They aren’t easy to find good homes for so they stay awhile. Q. What is the main source of your funding? A. Our main source of funding is my husband’s hard earned money. I’m a stay at home mom so we rely on one income. Q. Do you ever have to turn reptiles away due to money constraints? A. Yes. We are private organization with limited space and resources. We are very serious about not over-crowding or neglecting the animals in our care, and must turn away some in some cases. If we can't take in a tegu or monitor here at the rescue, we'll still help find a home for it while it remains in the owners care or refer them to another reputable organization. |
Enclosures like those aren’t very common, they usually have to be made and that gets expensive! Just the right kind of burrowable substrate is $60/yard, to provide 2+ft of substrate in such large cages so that alone is pricey.
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Q. For reptiles coming into the rescue, do you have a size limit?
A. Our size limit depends on which cages we have available for housing at that time and if we have the funds available to build an enclosure that is not already taken. Are there any kinds of tegus or monitors that you cannot handle? I am more comfortable with tegus than monitors, so tegus no. I can handle even the meanest and nastiest guys. But with monitors, its really a different ball game. They are faster, more agile and have those long snake-like necks that can easily reach back and get ya. Their bite is also a lot worse as they are considered to have venom glands and nasty bacteria in their mouth. So handling any large monitors is really a 2 person job to insure that no one including the animal gets hurt or stressed.
A. Our size limit depends on which cages we have available for housing at that time and if we have the funds available to build an enclosure that is not already taken. Are there any kinds of tegus or monitors that you cannot handle? I am more comfortable with tegus than monitors, so tegus no. I can handle even the meanest and nastiest guys. But with monitors, its really a different ball game. They are faster, more agile and have those long snake-like necks that can easily reach back and get ya. Their bite is also a lot worse as they are considered to have venom glands and nasty bacteria in their mouth. So handling any large monitors is really a 2 person job to insure that no one including the animal gets hurt or stressed.
Q. It is a common understanding or notion that large lizards are dangerous to own or difficult to handle. Do you have problems with aggression in the rescue and what causes it?
A. It really depends on the particular animal itself. Tegus are naturally calmer and easier to handle than monitors. So its rare that we get a really aggressive tegu in, if so its usually a scared young one that just hasn’t developed any trust in humans. Most species of monitors however, are not “tame”. The tame ones only tolerate you, but they do not appreciate human interaction and handling. Some species such as Nile and Ornate monitors just will not tame down… so if you come across one that sits in your hand, that’s a sure sign that its weak, sick, cold and just too scared to move. What do you do to take precautions from being injured? I always wear thick leather gloves up to my elbows when interacting with the larger guys. Anytime I need to take anyone out, theres a second person present and no distractions. Remaining calm and slow helps reduce stress on the animal. I spend a lot of time around the enclosures so they get to watch me and slowly learn that I bring the food so I am a positive thing to them. They are a lot smarter than people think. They will learn to recognize their care-taker.
A. It really depends on the particular animal itself. Tegus are naturally calmer and easier to handle than monitors. So its rare that we get a really aggressive tegu in, if so its usually a scared young one that just hasn’t developed any trust in humans. Most species of monitors however, are not “tame”. The tame ones only tolerate you, but they do not appreciate human interaction and handling. Some species such as Nile and Ornate monitors just will not tame down… so if you come across one that sits in your hand, that’s a sure sign that its weak, sick, cold and just too scared to move. What do you do to take precautions from being injured? I always wear thick leather gloves up to my elbows when interacting with the larger guys. Anytime I need to take anyone out, theres a second person present and no distractions. Remaining calm and slow helps reduce stress on the animal. I spend a lot of time around the enclosures so they get to watch me and slowly learn that I bring the food so I am a positive thing to them. They are a lot smarter than people think. They will learn to recognize their care-taker.
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Q. What is the main reason that brings these monitors and tegus into the rescue?
A. (Health, injury, too large for the keeper to manage?) Size. They simply get too big for their owner to care for anymore. Pet stores sell cute little hatchling tegus and monitors and those hatchlings don’t stay small for long. They quickly grow into 4+ft animals! That’s a lot of animal to house and feed. Feeding an animal of that size gets very expensive. Most, if not all of the animals we receive have not been housed correctly or fed proper diets. With tegus and monitors, you cannot simply throw them a mouse . They require very specific and varied diets. |
Bella, Black and White Argentine Tegu.
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Q. What is the typical veterinary or medical care that newly rescued monitors and tegus need?
A. We have a few wonderful vets that we work with. All the lizards do get a fecal done to check for internal parasites upon arriving at the rescue and are treated on an individual basis. Since most of the lizards that come in are sick or injured, we always start off with a blood panel to check for deficiencies. If the lizard appears completely healthy and we see no reason to go to the vet other than for a check up and fecal, we observe for 1 month before the lizard goes up for adoption. We ensure that they get the vet treatment and rehabilitation that they need and no sickness will go left untreated.
Q. Is there a condition or a type of injury that you see frequently?
Most common injury seen is lost toes and tail tip from retained shedding because of improper humidity and/or two animals being housed together and they nip at each other.
Q. Do you have a favorite veterinarian or reptile expert that you seek advice from?
A. When needed, we go to Dr. Ken Harkewicz in Berkley, Ca or Dr. Lynne Lankes in Marin, Ca. Its quite the drive but worth it, to see two very reputable herp vets. I have learned so much from a good friend and mentor, Chad Lane who has worked with Monitors for over a decade.
A. We have a few wonderful vets that we work with. All the lizards do get a fecal done to check for internal parasites upon arriving at the rescue and are treated on an individual basis. Since most of the lizards that come in are sick or injured, we always start off with a blood panel to check for deficiencies. If the lizard appears completely healthy and we see no reason to go to the vet other than for a check up and fecal, we observe for 1 month before the lizard goes up for adoption. We ensure that they get the vet treatment and rehabilitation that they need and no sickness will go left untreated.
Q. Is there a condition or a type of injury that you see frequently?
Most common injury seen is lost toes and tail tip from retained shedding because of improper humidity and/or two animals being housed together and they nip at each other.
Q. Do you have a favorite veterinarian or reptile expert that you seek advice from?
A. When needed, we go to Dr. Ken Harkewicz in Berkley, Ca or Dr. Lynne Lankes in Marin, Ca. Its quite the drive but worth it, to see two very reputable herp vets. I have learned so much from a good friend and mentor, Chad Lane who has worked with Monitors for over a decade.
Herschel
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Q. Do you see the effects of poor or improper diet?
A. Oh yes! More with monitors than tegus but most of the animals that come in, are overweight from too many rodents, underweight from their owner not being able to keep up with their demands of feeding daily. Monitors and tegus can really pack away some food! Long-term dehydration and kidney issues from not enough substrate and high enough humidity. Respiratory infections from being kept too cold. Eye infections from being on a sand substrate, injuries from live rodents and metabolic bone disease from no UV and improper diet… the list goes on and on. 
Herschel and Pearl have a story. Click this picture to read about them.
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Q. Is there anything a new keeper should know about diet or supplementation? (Examples - is it OK to feed rat pups every day and nothing else? Or what is the difference between a baby diet and adult?)
A. There is a lot of crap floating around on the internet about keeping these large lizards, if I had to put a number on it, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that 95% of care sheets and books out there are outdated and completely wrong. Even some of the big named companies such as LLL Reptiles have care sheets that tell you to do exactly what you shouldn’t, particular in monitors. Tegus are much easier to care for and house than any monitor… monitors are simply just another ball game, one for the more experienced and financially stable person. Tegus can thrive in a 6x4 or 8x4 for pair sized cage, they only need 5-8inches of a burrow-able substrate, much less than what monitors require. Tegus can eat meats such as ground turkey, organ parts, rodents, chicks, insects, eggs and fruit! Studies have shown that in the wild, a tegus diet is up to 50% fruit! Their diet needs are easier to come by, a trip to the grocery store can get you most of what they eat. Their basking spot needs to be around 110f degrees and they will also hibernate 4-6 months out of the year. Whereas with monitors, they get larger, are more active therefore needing much larger enclosures, those enclosures need to be built to hold several hundred pounds of a sandy loam or dirt/sand mix substrate that is 2ft deep. Monitors are natural burrowers and will create humid burrows that helps keep them hydrated. Misting the cage daily or even soaking them does not keep them hydrated. They do not absorb water through their skin or vent like some other reptiles, the only way to hydrate themselves is by breathing humid moist air, through the eyes and by drinking water. #1 death of monitors is dehydration so the importance of a deep substrate and humid enclosure cannot be stressed enough. Monitors diet is much more demanding as well, especially in the commonly owned Savannah Monitor. Savannahs are insectivores and do not eat carrion or meat in the wild. So a staple diet of insects such as dubia roaches is a must when keeping savannah monitors. Rodents should be fed sparingly. With any monitor you should always stick to whole prey food items, meaning no ground turkey, no organ meats… only whole animals. Such as rodents, chicks, quail, fish, crawdads, prawns, mini crab, snails and other insects. Whole prey isn’t as easy or cheap to provide as just a trip to the grocery store. They are bottomless pits too! Its harder to make a monitor feel full and they have an incredible feeding response so watch those fingers and hands! Young monitors and tegus should be offered more insects than rodents/meats. Here at the rescue we breed dubia roaches, superworms, crawdads, quail and rodents. In the future we would like to breed snails and earthworms as well.
A. There is a lot of crap floating around on the internet about keeping these large lizards, if I had to put a number on it, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that 95% of care sheets and books out there are outdated and completely wrong. Even some of the big named companies such as LLL Reptiles have care sheets that tell you to do exactly what you shouldn’t, particular in monitors. Tegus are much easier to care for and house than any monitor… monitors are simply just another ball game, one for the more experienced and financially stable person. Tegus can thrive in a 6x4 or 8x4 for pair sized cage, they only need 5-8inches of a burrow-able substrate, much less than what monitors require. Tegus can eat meats such as ground turkey, organ parts, rodents, chicks, insects, eggs and fruit! Studies have shown that in the wild, a tegus diet is up to 50% fruit! Their diet needs are easier to come by, a trip to the grocery store can get you most of what they eat. Their basking spot needs to be around 110f degrees and they will also hibernate 4-6 months out of the year. Whereas with monitors, they get larger, are more active therefore needing much larger enclosures, those enclosures need to be built to hold several hundred pounds of a sandy loam or dirt/sand mix substrate that is 2ft deep. Monitors are natural burrowers and will create humid burrows that helps keep them hydrated. Misting the cage daily or even soaking them does not keep them hydrated. They do not absorb water through their skin or vent like some other reptiles, the only way to hydrate themselves is by breathing humid moist air, through the eyes and by drinking water. #1 death of monitors is dehydration so the importance of a deep substrate and humid enclosure cannot be stressed enough. Monitors diet is much more demanding as well, especially in the commonly owned Savannah Monitor. Savannahs are insectivores and do not eat carrion or meat in the wild. So a staple diet of insects such as dubia roaches is a must when keeping savannah monitors. Rodents should be fed sparingly. With any monitor you should always stick to whole prey food items, meaning no ground turkey, no organ meats… only whole animals. Such as rodents, chicks, quail, fish, crawdads, prawns, mini crab, snails and other insects. Whole prey isn’t as easy or cheap to provide as just a trip to the grocery store. They are bottomless pits too! Its harder to make a monitor feel full and they have an incredible feeding response so watch those fingers and hands! Young monitors and tegus should be offered more insects than rodents/meats. Here at the rescue we breed dubia roaches, superworms, crawdads, quail and rodents. In the future we would like to breed snails and earthworms as well.
Q. What is your adoptions process?
A. We set adoption fees at our discretion. Adoption fees serve to protect tegus and monitors from individuals who would exploit the adoption process for commercial breeding or resale. 100% of adoption fees go toward operating expenses at NBTR. We aim to keep any fees significantly lower than market prices to make adoptions more affordable to good homes. We also reserve the right to lower or waive adoption fees at our discretion if it helps place animals in the best homes. We always require that a potential adopter already have an enclosure set up and have tested the temperatures and humidity levels prior to bringing home an animal. We ask for a photo and sometimes we will do a home visit first. We do not have an adoption application but we will interview and talk to anyone interested to get a feel for their knowledge. I am very picky as to whom adopts these animals as they are not for the average reptile keeper. They are for experienced keepers who are fully aware of what they are getting themselves into. Because of that, finding a good home that can provide everything needed isn’t easy and we have these animals for quite some time.
Q. Is there anything that you want to say that we didn’t ask? (Speech time…!)
A. Research Research Research! And when you think you’ve read it all, read it again, and then again! Look at your own future too, moving, college, job, family life. Can you bring a huge cage with you when you move, can you afford a huge increase in your electric bill, will you be home daily for feeding, who will feed your large lizard if you go on a vacation, there is a lot of responsibility when caring for any animal especially one so large.
A. We set adoption fees at our discretion. Adoption fees serve to protect tegus and monitors from individuals who would exploit the adoption process for commercial breeding or resale. 100% of adoption fees go toward operating expenses at NBTR. We aim to keep any fees significantly lower than market prices to make adoptions more affordable to good homes. We also reserve the right to lower or waive adoption fees at our discretion if it helps place animals in the best homes. We always require that a potential adopter already have an enclosure set up and have tested the temperatures and humidity levels prior to bringing home an animal. We ask for a photo and sometimes we will do a home visit first. We do not have an adoption application but we will interview and talk to anyone interested to get a feel for their knowledge. I am very picky as to whom adopts these animals as they are not for the average reptile keeper. They are for experienced keepers who are fully aware of what they are getting themselves into. Because of that, finding a good home that can provide everything needed isn’t easy and we have these animals for quite some time.
Q. Is there anything that you want to say that we didn’t ask? (Speech time…!)
A. Research Research Research! And when you think you’ve read it all, read it again, and then again! Look at your own future too, moving, college, job, family life. Can you bring a huge cage with you when you move, can you afford a huge increase in your electric bill, will you be home daily for feeding, who will feed your large lizard if you go on a vacation, there is a lot of responsibility when caring for any animal especially one so large.
Joanna, argus monitor.
Rex, Kayla's first tegu, is 9 years old.
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If you would like to help Kayla and her rescue efforts at North Bay Tegu and Monitor Rescue, please click the Paypal 'Donate' button to the right. This Paypal link is a direct link to NBTMR's donation account and is in no way connected to Everything Reptile(.org).
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