Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I thought tegus are tame, but the guy at the pet store said they are aggeresive and meen lizards! whats the deal are they tame or are they aggeresive lizards that can be tamed on occacion?

I was told exactly the same thing by two different pet shops. One employee told me she wouldn't have one if they gave it to her for free. She said she had been bitten so many times just cleaning the cage she hated them. Another pet shop showed my a 10" blue and if he put his hand in the cage above his head the tegu went for it. However, if he took it out with gloves it was not agressive at all. A friend of mine has 5 (2 b&w, 2 red and 1 blue) and all of them are great, they act like dogs. These are very well cared for, he has knowledge of their behavior and spends a lot of time with them. They are wonderful. Like any pet, especially those with big teeth, you have to research the animal and have a lot of patience. Some tegus have better dispositions by breed, and it seems the older ones are the most tame, the babies require a lot of work. Good luck, I am still considering one myself.

Pam

any lizard/animal can be aggressive. it all depends on how much time is spent around the animal and how it is treated. tegus tend to tame down with age as long as they're around people atleast a few times a week and aren't antigonized or bothered when they don't want to be.if this is your first lizard i would probably say yes it will be aggressive. if you want something that will tame down a lot easier then get a bearded dragon. make sure if you do decide to get a tegu do plenty of research ahead of time. they are very smart, nice reptiles, and very easy to care for if you just take the right steps and keep everything the way they want it. if you have any more specific questions then let us know, people on here are pretty good about getting back to you about stuff like this. they just want to make sure that the animals get the best house they can and can live a long healthy life.

Yeah I'll also vouch for bearded dragons, they don't have a mean bone in their body. When my tegus were babies they could be called aggressive but I think it's more of a defense thing. The people at the pet stores where probably working with babies or adults in too small of cages/no hide spot so they didn't feel secure. Both of my Argentine tegus are absolute angels.

I just recently acquired three(1.2) blue tegus. The females were alwasy pretty calm. However, the male appeared to be kinda aggresive and i figured he was just being protective. However, as the weeks passed, I noticed that he calmed down and was getting acustom to having my friend and I tend to him and his girls. Now, instead of chasing my hand away and displaying aggressive behavior, he follows my hands around his enclosure to see what I am up to and allows me to pet him or move him around. I am not expert, but I sort of think that the key is to let your Tegu get used you in his/her own time and just spend a lot of time working with them. They make great pets!

my two year old (in august) red argentine has a very nasty attitude. i decided on getting a red because of their color and their supposedly calm temperment. i think i got the exception to the rule. after she 'woke up' from the winter, she was quite calm and i hoped that she was finally tamed down, but after she really woke up, she returned to her typical 'red-headed' self. i have to admit, tho, i love that attitude i spend about 1 minutes with her everyday hoping that she'll chill.
but like the rest said, you just have to realize and accept that not all 'nice' lizards are 'nice'. from what i hear, most tegus have pretty good temperments, but there IS the exception, keep in mind. -k