Well, it seems that whenever you look at care sheets of any herp, you find conflicting info, in my opinion. The Argentine breeders I recommend would be either Varnyard herps or Sisco reptiles, both of which you can find on the thetegu.com. Likewise, thetegu.com has the most reliable info. In the meantime, here's a quick summary of the differences. We have two Argentines and a Colombian in our house.



Argentine B/W

Averaging in length to around 36 inches snout to tail, with a calm dispositiion if handled properly. Can be food aggressive and territorial, so consistent handling and feeding techniques will serve you well! Ours eats outside of her 6ft enclosure (they require a lot of floor space) and then walks around the living room for a while. Very docile and easy to handle, even at her size. In the pet store, they should be priced at around $80-$100 for a hatchling and probably $200 and up for an adult. They eat a whole food diet consisting of rodents and other meat sources along with fruit.



Colombian B/W or Black and Gold

We love our little girl! She's a little under 2 feet long but most of it is tail. She is much more territorial, huffs and tail whips, but can be picked up if you slide your hand underneath her. She is faster and less trusting of her environment, so we don't let her cruise the living room. She likes to sit on our shoulders, though. They just require a lot more time to settle down and will never be as handleable as the larger Argentine. They are sold in pet stores for $40-$60 on average, so sometimes people think they are getting a cheap Argentine. You must learn to tell the difference if you want an Argentine and not a Colombian! They are carnivorous and do not hibernate like the Argentines. While we like our Colombian, I would not recommend them to anyone as a pet unless they knew what they were getting into and had a lot of time and patience. If you're looking for the large lizard to hang out with you, the Argentine is the way to go. I don't know of any Colombian breeders; most of them are farm raised if they are captive bred and at a pet store. There may be an occasional breeder here and there.

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