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[natas]

Have fun

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[herpkingdom]

Tegus are by far my favorite lof the larger lizards.

I have had several over the years and found them to be the best. (Iguanas run a close second)

I look forward to reading everyone's adventure with Tegus.

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[NicoleRussell]

My tegus and Igs are my favorites as well HKD......any pics from your personal collections?

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[herpkingdom]

Unfortunately, I haven't had a Tegu since 1997.
Or an Iguana for a year or so.

All of my pics of these guys are no longer around. The ex trashed everything reptile related

But, when I get back to the states, I might get me another Argentina B&W Tegu. I find them to be somewhat less high strung than the Columbian B&W's. DOnt know why that is, just always found that to be true with the ones I have had.

And I'm sure some Iguanas will find their way to me with the rescue opening again when I get home. I just now acquired the 501(c) status for it and hope to have it doing rescues in the beginning of '05.

	Iguana Iguana

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[haroldo359]

those black and white columbian tegus, how is their temperment?

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[herpkingdom]

As babies they are a little flighty, but as they age and if they are handled on a regualr basis, become calmer and more tolerant of humans.

I may be a bit biased towards the Argentines as I have never had a baby Argentine, only baby columbians. But I have dealt with both as adults and find the Argetines to my liking.

Now Gold Tegus are a different story. These are the poor man's tegu. You can pick them up at any show for like $20 each. Most are from farms and are not the best specimens. I have had them as both babies and adults and find them to be a lot less tolerant to handling and more likely to bite and whip you with their tail.

I haven't had the Red or Blue Tegus yet, but who knows what the future holds for my collection.

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[NicoleRussell]

HKD if you had tame Columbians consider yourself lucky. Problem is Columbians are the least expensive and most extensively distributed in petstores and so most people have a bad view about tegus. Also many people do not know how to tell the difference so there is a segment that feels they have had a nasty Argentine, when in fact it was a Columbian (so many petshops have their stock mislabled too).
Argentine BW's are sweet animals when cared for correctly--the only stories I have heard of owners getting hurt by them is if their husbandry is very wrong ( they are very forgiving in that area) and they are being mishandled in some way. Once you read all there is to know about their care---taming them is no real process. Mine were friendly out of the box---the only problem I have ever had was my own ignorance that first summer...she got away in my yard and I did not have it setup properly.....long story/short story is the female dropped her tail and became antisocial. She didn't bite me or act aggressive--she just wanted nothing to do with people for many months. I have to say she is totally out of the woods and back to her sweet self again.
But this is a good example of how patient the animal is.
They are smart and have such different personalities--they enjoy human interaction and basically my male will flip when you don't let him out to explore----he plays witth children and is very happy sleeping in bed with me.....which I do not permit......at the end of the night he goes back in his cage. But that he will accept. As long as he is let out for some strolling he's fine!
The female is the more aggressive--she basks right o top of him sometimes---she eats first---poor baby gets pushed around but he seems happy with her.
Reds seem very nice--blues and then the crossess....endless.....the albino tegu was something I really wanted....but after reading a few posts here from JS I have decided to stay away from albinos now---even though they are awefully beautifull to look at
Chacoans are more attractive to most people--I have both and really enjoy the differences

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[Bry]

Nicole, I've been interested in keeping an Argie B&W Tegu for some time now. But right now, living space doesn't allow for me to house them properly. So I just do a little research on them here and there for when the time does come. A lot of times, I've seen a Chacoan sold as a separate species, or they are sold as a morph of the Argie B&W. So, what exactly is a Chacoan? Also, for those of us considering a B&W Tegu, how do you tell the difference between Argies, Colombians and Chacoans based on appearance alone?

Bry

	Morph A morph is a color or pattern variation that is proven to be genetic. Common morphs include albino, anerythristic, gentically striped, Hypomelanistic, and many others. Morphs also include combinations of simple traits such as "Sunglow" which is Albino and Hypomelanistic. These traits may be recessive traits, co-dominant traits, dominant traits, or created through selective breeding (ie Pastel).

[haroldo359]

so, arg. b&w's are better than columbian ones which are better than gold ones. right?

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[NicoleRussell]

(This was taken off Bert's site)

Keeping and Breeding the Argentine Black and White Tegu
Scientific Differences Between Argentine and Columbian Tegus
(by Bert Langerwerf)

The differences discussed below apply to Argentine Black & White tegus and all Columbian tegus. Thus with "Columbian tegu" I mean any tegu coming from Columbia, and with "Argentine tegu" I mean the Argentine Black & White tegu. Now let's talk about the scientific name of this tegu. It used to be called Tupinambis teguixin until not too long ago. But their new name is Tupinambis merianae. The Columbian tegus are now called Tupinambis teguixin. There is a definite biological difference between these two species. One difference, among many, is that the Argentine tegu, T. merianae, has two loreal scales while the Columbian tegu, T. teguixin, has only one (the loreal scales are directly between the nostril and the eye - see the picture on the right).
Click Here for more visual comparisons -->http://agamainternational.com/merian...teguixin.shtml
The Argentine Black & White tegu is also called the giant tegu, as it is the largest tegu in the world. Also easily observed is the difference in skin types. The Argentine Black & White tegu has a beaded skin, like that of a gila monster or an anolis. The Columbian tegus have very smooth scales that completely cover the animal. The Columbian tegus are smooth, like a skink almost. The Argentine Black & White tegus also have two linear arrays of yellow dots, one on each side of its back, running from the neck to the beginning of the tail . Those yellow dots form two clearly visible lines on the Argentine tegu's back. The Columbian tegus lack such lines. A non-scientific way to tell a Columbian tegu from an Argentine Black & White tegu is by knowing the purchasing price of the tegu you are looking at. If the price is around $100 or less (most likely $50), than you have a Columbian tegu. Also, by probability theory, the odds of seeing a Columbian tegu are much higher than the odds of seeing an Argentine tegu, simply because the Argentine tegu is much rarer and impossible to export from Argentina.

Our Argentine tegus are the largest tegus of South America, reaching more than four feet in length. Having kept in captivity both the Argentine and Colombian tegus, I can say that the Argentine tegus are also less jumpy than the Colombian ones. Furthermore, the Argentine Giant tegus are cold tolerant and can even be placed in hibernation. Thus no expensive heating devices are needed to keep the Argentine Giant tegu healthy in captivity; they can be kept outside in many places. A very important thing to note is that these Argentine Giant tegus are very intelligent and thus also much more easily tamed than Columbian tegus. Important too is the fact that our Argentine tegus do not only eat meat as the Colombian tegus do, but also a lot of fruits, vegetables, cat-foods, and breads. If your tegu does not eat anything besides meat products, it is most likely a Columbian tegu of some sort.

[NicoleRussell]

I personally would not buy anything other then an animal with bloodlines from Argentina....the BW's are really the nicest out of all of them.
The reds (who are from a warmer part of Argentina) are beautiful but require different basking temps and diets. The reds get heavier but the BW's are longer. The blues seem beautiful but they stay smaller (which might be a plus for some people)...and are not as cold tolerant as the BW's.
For a first tegu a B/W is great......a male will get bigger as a rule---also people will sware the chacoans get larger--- but in my house my female black headed tegu is much larger --so you never know.
Many breeders sell chacoans for more money because of the coloring and possible increase in size. They are very attractive animals and if you are only buying one this is the one I would suggest. Also with males, you would not have to worry about egg laying and possible problems associated with it. So for a first tegu a chacoan male is perfect.
If you decide on a pair though get one of each---the differences are very nice to see.

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[NicoleRussell]

Originally Posted by Bry

But right now, living space doesn't allow for me to house them properly. So, what exactly is a Chacoan?

A chacoan is a white headed Argentine B/W tegu.
Bert suggests an cage that is 8 feet long---and my original cage was a huge L shaped cage that was more like 10. The thing is though, they never used anything other then the basking site, and the burrows (which is where they sleep). The rest was a waste. I think this was mainly because I let them roam alot. With all that exercise they didn't need the space so I cut the cage down to 6 feet---which is perfect (as long as you let them out). The top needs to be low to get the basking temps right (and they are terrestrial anyway).....so a cage that is 6(L) x 3(w) x 2(H) is doable.
This pic were taken when I first got the new cage. It has been simplified even more now.

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[NicoleRussell]

Chacoan male with Bert at Agama....I believe he takes this male to Daytona with him.

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