1. Are they friendly? Do they like to be handled a lot? Are they playful?

No. They aren't friendly or cuddly nor are they playful. No reptile is. However, they can be docile and easily handled.

2. How fast do they grow? I'm interested in the smaller tegus (Columbian black & white and maybe the blue tegu) and will most likely get the columbian b&w.

Colombians have a reputation for being very nasty tempered and not handleable. My argentine is about 2 years old and 4 feet long. They grow fast.

3. Are they hard to take care of? I've been reading a lot of their maintenance and they don't seem that bad to me, but I want more input from those who have them as pets.

yes. They are. They need HUGE enclosures and have high energy. They can be messy with their food and poops, and need a lot of cleaning to keep it sanitary. They need to be able to burrow, and need deep substrate. Its easy to care for the little guys, but for most people, housing an adult in an appropriate enclosure is difficult and problematic. A MINIMUM cage size of 8x4x4 is needed. Also, they're still reptiles and can't be trusted not to bite. Under the right (or wrong) circumstances, even the "friendliest" tegu will bite, and an adult can do some SERIOUS damage.

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