went back into some forum pages (30 or so) and found all the information Rick at Thetegu.com wrote. I don't think he'll mind me posting this. here it is:

The Argentine Tegus are found throughout Argentina, but most of the ones in the pet trade are from the cooler middle to southern parts of Argentina. These tegus hibernate during the winter when it is cooler. The main central area of Argentine is hot and humid during the summer (December to February) and cool in the winter.

The Blue Tegus however, are not seen in these areas. They have not been noted in the wild in Colombia either. These animals are known to be less cold tolerant than Argentine Tegus as well. Currently there is no scientifically given species name for this tegu. When seen, they appear very much to be Argentine Black & White Tegus (T.merianae), but with a trained eye you can see the visual differences. Upon closer inspection you will also see that the scale meristics do not match any of the currently described species of Tupinambis.

What are Blue Tegus? Where are they from? Until now it has been unknown. Mostly because they do so closely resemble T.merianae that when spotted or photographed in the wild, they were assumed to be an already described species. Recently some photos of a blue tegu eating a rattlesnake have surfaced. The photos were taken by French speaking photographer, Daniel Heuclin. I contacted Mr. Heuclin with a series of questions, which after some time I received the reply I had been waiting for. The reply to my main question, if you are reading this.. It's your question too... "Where is the Blue Tegu from?"

Well, we now have the answer, from a man, a photographer, beyond repute. A gentleman with nothing to gain or loose from the truth. His answer.. French Guiana!

Mr. Heuclin took these two pictures in French Guiana, which is a territory of France in South America, located east of Suriname and directly above Brazil.

The Blue Tegus range may extend into Brazil & Suriname, but this has not yet been documented.

The weather in French Guiana is completely different from Argentina. In French Guiana the weather and climate is Tropical. The dry season is from August to December; The rainy season is from December to January and April to July. It is hot all year round, with cooler nights. Average temperature in French Guiana is 27°C (85°F).

This would explain why Blue Tegus are not as cold tolerant as the Argentine Tegus. This also explains why it is believed that Blue Tegus do not require hibernation. It is my opinion based on the above information that Blue Tegus brumate rather than hibernate, much like the Ball Pythons. Unlike hibernation where temps are dropped and food intake is stopped, in brumation the daytime temps remain the same and the night time temps can be dropped slightly. Food intake does not need to be modified.

We now have a more detailed name: French Guiana Blue Tegu

Pics are available from this post:

http://thetegu.com/postt3082.html
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John Light

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