Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Im thinking that size wise a black and white columbian tegu would be best for me cause my parents wouldnt go for a lizard that gets much bigger. So since i have heard a lot that they are harder to tame. Does anyone know if theres a good way to tell by handling the juveniles which would be the most tame when it grows up? Or does the temperment when theyre young not really give a good impression of how theyll be when theyre fully grown?

As the saying goes, "don't judge a book by it's cover." If I had bought Blake with the thought that he was going to continue to have the attitude that he had, I might not have bought him. He was quite the little terror. But now he's a total sweet heart. I let him out loose in the apartment and don't have to worry about being able to catch him again.

They do stay relatively "small." About 3.5'-4'. They don't get really bulky. At just around 3' Blake weighed a little over a pound and a half and the vet said that he was definitely healthy looking. Of course is still growing. But he's really mellowed out. Especially with age.

As an example, this will be his second year participating in an animal costume contest. I also had him as part of my wedding procession. Not things that you would do with a mean and unpredictable animal. However, I do caution you that it took a lot of time and effort on my part to get him there. I still handle him on a daily basis even if it's only to take him out of his enclosure to go to the bathroom.

They still need a lot of room though. They're really active lizards and Blake is all over his enclosure when he's awake (6.5'x3.5'x4', it has two upper levels that he loves to climb up onto). I still think that he needs a larger enclosure, but this will do for the time being.

Hope that helps you. I absolutely love colombians because of Blake. But they are a bit of work.

Lindsay

Some comforting words, Blake's girl. I just got a new blue who is not mean, but doesn't like to be handled much yet and goes nuts when it's time to eat, and I was hoping he'll get better in time. I guess I was spoiled by my already calm red when I got him. I have had much worse monitors who don't even let me come near without whipping and hissing, so I guess I shouldn't complain. My blue lets me hang out by him, just doesn't like being picked up.
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-reptilian9

I would have to agree to what Lindsay is saying. Tegus like all animals are individuals, some will like human interaction and some will not.

Of course I come from the school of thought where regardless if the animal is "tame" or "tameable" or not it shouldn't matter, it should be appreciated for what it is.

-Kit

PS: Lindsay did you ever get the e-mail I sent you last week?

-K

~

im 18

are you gonna go to college? you might want to think about that... dont get mad, though...
ian

yeah im currently going to community college and after im gonna go to a 4 year, but i dont plan on living on campus so ill be here to take care of it. BTW ive also decided on an argentine black and white and over the next few months im gonna build a large terrarium for it when it outgrows the 50 gallon long i have right now(not sure what size, somewhere around 6ftX4ftX?for height)

ok, just checking. a lot of kids think its ok to have 5 foot lizards in dorm rooms. in that case... go for it!
ian

heh, yeah... dorm rooms aren't big enough for people or 5 foot lizards. but the university always thinks its funny to try and put 2 or 3 people in one of those closets.
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if nothing else, i at least amuse myself!

bingo...

IANS MOTHER: its an important and necessary experience.

ian

all i have to say is that i got my Argentine B/W from bert at agama international (www.agamainternational.com) and he is simply the greatest reptile i have ever owned. if you can shell out 100 bucks for a lizard who will only be a little bigger than a colombian, you will get a friendly, social, interactive lizard right out of the box.
ian

Here's some more food for thought. I have had a much easier time potty training my colombian than I have my blue. With Blake, I would say it took a week and he would wait for me to get him out of his cage and take him to the bathroom. After that, no "accidents" in his cage. With my blue, I'm still working on it. She will actually wait until I put her back in her cage to go to the bathroom.

I'm making these comparisons between the two at roughly the same ages (Blake is over a year and a half older than Trinity). My colombian was and is a lot more fearless than my blue. He's into checking everything out. She's a lot more mellow and shy.

Lindsay