Reptile & Amphibian Forums

If it wasn't obvious, I was pretty sure I had a columbian. But after viewing a few pictures and this guy turning out to be pretty tame, I'm not so sure.

The petstore told me they thought he was columbian, but frankly, I don't think they could tell a columbian b/w from a red tegu.

The thing that made me think he was a columbian was how dark he is. But I've seen a few pictures of rather dark Argentines that have patterns similiar to this one.

So help me out..

(I was going to send the picture to Agama International, but less than two weeks ago, he said he was "Going out of town next week for two weeks" so I think he's probably still out of town.)

That's an Argentine. You can tell by the patteren that looks like 2 lines going down his back.

Go to Agama International's website. Bert has a good description and photos concerning these two species. You need to count scale patterns on the head and face. It is very simple to do. I believe it is the loreal scales that you'llbe concerned with.

Some Columbians are calm and tame well...or so I've heard...I've never met one like that. You may have gotten lucky.

The pet store most likely can't distinguish anything. Hopefully you got an Argentine at a Columbian price!

Good luck,

Brian

I was just never totally sure what the Loreal scales where. But I think I've finally got it figured out. Two scales between the eyes and the nose = Argentine, one = Columbian?

I think I've figured it out. Before, I always thought that the Loreal scales were something on TOP of the head. But now I'm fairly certain that they're the ones between the eyes and the nose.

And in that case, I'd have to say he is most certainly an Argentine. Based on the color pattern (like the other poster said) and the scale pattern. The scale pattern matches the ones on Agamainternational.com perfectly.

That's a pleasant suprise. While I had no problem owning a Columbian, it's nice to know that I have much less to worry about now in terms of him becoming a vicious blood thirsty monster that some columbians are said to become.

But also it's a problem because of the additional size. Oh well, I'll work it out. I plan on him being mostly a free roamer when he gets larger anyways.