Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my petstore has some 10" baby paragay red tegus. they are 109$ and are captive breed, this is the best store id ever been to. they keep very good lizards. they only carry lizards and spiders and snakes. now are red paragray tegus a good choice for a beginner lizard taker carer ofer person? or should i got with some other kinda tegus. if red is fine plz tel lem cuz they look koolest

Reds are fine. If you go to Ron and Stella St. Pierre's Website, bluetegu.com, there is some information posted on them. I just acquired a red tegu myself.

paraguayan (sp?) reds are pretty much the same as Argentine Reds, just from a different region. though iv been told they get a bit smaller, sometimes a little more skittish, and dont have as a good as color. but if you want them, and they are already there. i would buy something local rather than having to ship it to you. (i hate having to ship animals) but before you buy it realize if its male, it will probably get to a length of 4½ft. possibly 5ft. and within the first year can grow to 4ft in length. they require a huge amount of food, and space. though if you can provide what they need. in my opinion there is no better "pet" lizard. Taz was in a 55gal then a 5x4x3 and is now in a 8x4x4. he is just about 3yrs atleast 4½ft. and has hibernated for half his life. so he has had 1½yrs to grow. though he is "puppy tame". because he follows me whereever i go around the house. he just does it. and goes nuts if he sees me and hes locked up in his cage. he only goes in there at nite to sleep and whenever he needs to warm up.

You have received some good advice above. First impressions are usually right. Temper that with some research. You know if the pet shop was clean and animals well cared for. Can they and will they give you hatch dates and breeder names. I have begun asking for that info and the pet shops I deal with give it to me with no problem. I once saw a ten gallon tank that had 12 - 15 of the sweetest little egyptian uromastix. They were cold and the tank was dirty...That pet shop didn't last long. There was no way to afford the vet bill. Enjoy the research and the search. Let us know what you get.

Mike B.

Btw, pet stores will often say an animal is captive bred when it is not. Sometimes they will say an animal is captive bred when it was ranched/farmed in another country and imported (in other words, the animal is still badly stressed and not used to humans). If the store won't tell you who the breeder was, I would assume the worst, esp. at $109, which is a it less than what I would expect to pay for a captive bred red. If you are serious about getting a tegu, I'd recommend getting the healthiest you can, even if it costs a little more. It seems to me that most people on the list speak most highly of Bert (Agama International) and Ron St. Pierre (bluetegu.com). The B&W I ordered from the St. Pierre's this summer is an amazing little guy. He's beautiful and bold, not at all skittish. His appetite has been great since the first hour I had him, and he's growing like a weed. He was curious enough about me to come up and look at me through the door of his cage just minutes out of the shipping box, and he was sitting on my hand sleeping by the third day.

yes all the tegu there are captive breed. the place i go to is called captive breed specialties. they no more about lizards thn i could ever no in 2 lifetimes it seems. lol

Wow! You're so lucky to have a place like that near you. There are two local pet stores here that do a good job of reptile husbandry, and several that are deplorable. The only nearby reptile store shut down at the end of last year.