Reptile & Amphibian Forums

whats the difference between the 2 besides location?
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My lovely baby's
1.3 Sugar Gliders... Sugar*Joey*Ophilia*Surf
0.2 Columbian Red-Tail Boas... Red*April
0.0.1 Western Hognose... (no name as of today)
0.2 leopard geckos... Ghost*King
0.0.1 sulcata tortoise... Shelly
0.0.1 leopard tortoise... Speedy
1.1 Kenyan sand boa... Digger*Sandy
3.0 cats... TP*Char*Tyson
0.1 grey Chinchilla... Cookie
1.0 Chihuahua terrier mix... KuJo
and im only 19...

Argentines are going to be MUCH larger, not just in length but they become much bulkier and heavier bodied. Argentines need almost 50/50 on meat to fruits as an adult. Colombians eat all meat, every once in awhile some might eat some fruits. And for the most part Argentines are MUCH more docile than the Colombians. Though i think this is due to Argentines being CB and the majority of Colombians are WC. Though there are more and more Colombians being CB.
Also, Argentines' scales are more beaded, and the Colombians are going to be very slick.

Thanks so mcuh!
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My lovely baby's
1.3 Sugar Gliders... Sugar*Joey*Ophilia*Surf
0.2 Columbian Red-Tail Boas... Red*April
0.0.1 Western Hognose... (no name as of today)
0.2 leopard geckos... Ghost*King
0.0.1 sulcata tortoise... Shelly
0.0.1 leopard tortoise... Speedy
1.1 Kenyan sand boa... Digger*Sandy
3.0 cats... TP*Char*Tyson
0.1 grey Chinchilla... Cookie
1.0 Chihuahua terrier mix... KuJo
and im only 19...

Here is a visual to help you when looking at tegus.

http://thetegu.com/contentid-10.html

Rick
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The Tegu Community - theTegu.com

Other physical distinctios are:
1. loreal scales, the scales between the nostril and eye. In Columbians there will be 2 scales, in Argentines 3.
2. Argentines have more of a defined pattern going down the back from neck to top of the tail. These are just 2 white stripes on the each far side of the back.
3. Argentines come from cooler areas (generally) and can be more tolerant of cooler temps.
This is all stuff you can read at the Agama International website. It is full of info on this type of thing and provides pictures of examples that you should take a look at rather than try to decipher my descriptions. It'll also tell you just about anything you ever wanted to know about Argentines.
As far as attitude, all I can tell you about is my Columbian. She's about a year old and is an eating machine. Not a biter but still doesn't like to be handled. I fully anticipate getting scratched to heck and back with a side of tail whipping when I remove her from the cage. All Columbians aren't the cujos you may read about here, but I'd still say mine is the exception to the rule as far as not biting. That's also not to say there aren't some nasty merinae out there. If you're choosing, I'd go for the Argentine. Still wouldn't trade my girl for nuthin', though.

i have one columbian and a pair of red argentines, and i think the argentine and columbians are as different as night and day in disposition. my columbian is like a regular lizard. it has only grown to about 28 inches while the red are over three feet long and really look like they are 6 or 7 times as big as the columbian. my columbian used to be tame but i don't mess with him as much now and he has reverted back to being mean. i take my reds out everyday and let them run around pretty much unsupervised like u would a dog or cat. i could never do that with the columbian. he'd run off like u'd expect any lizard to do and i would never see him again. i had a juvenile red once that i no longer have that escaped from his cage. before i knew he was missing, i found him playing with my toes while i was on the computer. the reds are fearless. i try to block their path so they won't go under the sofa and they just walk right over me and do what they want. i used to have ornate niles; if i just gave them a dirty look they wouldn't even think about going under the sofa. the reds are slower moving and more laid back. they will stay on your lap and let you pet them for a little while but then they get antsy and want to run around the room and explore. i let them go for hours until they tire out and i put them back in their room. the only time they go a little crazy and become a little aggressive is when they r being fed. then they run around and snap at anything in hopes that it will be food. the female is less antsy than the male and she tolerates the petting for longer periods. she is a real sweetheart. these r lizards i trust more than other lizards even my iguanas. the female will push a cup on her head and travel around the room like she thinks she's hiding from everybody, as if she thinks no one can see her because she can't see anyone. if they're hungry, they look at u with this imploring look as if to say "r u going to feed me now".