Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got a new baby colombian black and white tegu, "Magi." He is about 5 months old and 12 inches. I have been looking all over for information on these guys with not much luck. I am looking for information on diet and temperment. I'm a little worried because a lot of what i have found says that the colombians aren't very nice. Magi is a sweety though he just chilled on my shoulder at work the other day fo rlike 4 hours and doesnt mind being handled. I have even been able to allow children to handle him. Any thoughts? Will he get worse as time goes on? I have had a zillion different reptiles including a large savannah monitor and an adult red tail boa so I am up for a challenge I just want to know there is hope. Also everything i read says different things on diet. I know that different tegus have different requirements. Does anyone have much experience with colombians?? I appreciate the help,
Thanks,
Andi

Ok i am in your same boat, mine is 11 inches....They are not mean as long as you keep up the3 handling.....let them know you are their friend.....Mine loves peeled grapes cut up small and mango and ornage and strawberries....also i give him a few dusteed crickets ontop... of that i feed every dayas it is important while they are young and growing, also pinkies are good. No waxworms btw not nutritious, also a vitamin supplement is also good, an interesting fact is that in the wild tegus diest is mostly veg and fruit, however captives eat more live meals....crickets are great for young ones casue they are good exercies and protein, plus its fun to watch your tegu go into killing mode and run around the cage.....if crickets get away from him and hide you nwil be amazed at how well he can trakc them through scent and hearing, they can spot those lil guys buried or hidden form far away....yours sound s rally nice tho if he chilled on your shoulder for 4 hrs.....mine usually likes to hop out and walk around

Hello! Welcome to the wonderful world of colombians!! They are absolutely my favorite of the tegus! I've been working with two vets with my little guy, so I've got some backing to what I say as well as a few years of practical experience. I work as a research assistant in a medical education facility, so I've got access to pretty every journal out there. There are only a few papers that have anything to do with colombians, and the few that do are not trying to find things out about colombians specifically. Their research is to extrapolate information and use it broadly in terms of lizards. Basically, not very helpful.

First thing I'll tell you, there is hope!! My Blake is a total sweetheart. He's been dressed up for Halloween and entered in contests. He was in my wedding. I've taken him just about everywhere with me and have had no problems letting people handle him. He's a total sweety. However, it didn't come easy. I got him when he was a little less than two months old and he was nasty. Time, patience, and consistency are the key. Be consistent and you shouldn't have many problems.

As far as diet goes, colombians are almost exclusively meat eaters. Fruits and vegetables make up a very small portion of their natural diet. There are other tegus who eat a lot more fruits and veggies, but colombians are NOT one of them. I'll give you my feeding schedule for Blake.

Sun. - Canned monitor diet
Mon. - 4 fuzzies (he's been refusing mice of late)
Tue. - Canned monitor diet
Wed. - 4 fuzzies
Thur. - Canned monitor diet
Fri. - Tegu smoothy (various fruits and veggies, eggs w/shells, bone meal, and MinerAll I)
Sat. - Canned monitor diet w/MinerAll I

As you can see, he only gets fruits and veggies once a week and that's about all that he will stand for. Blake is also an adult so he doesn't need to be supplemented as often. I know that this food regimen works because I've had blood work and an x-ray done on him and everything has checked out perfect. As far as a juvenile goes, I would probably be supplementing three times a week and definitely feeding mostly protein foods.

Good luck! And if you have any more questions, I'm more than happy to help you out with whatever I can!

Lindsay

Thanks for the reply. Glad to know that there are nice colombians out there. I was curious where I could get ahold of the canned monitor diet? Right now Magi gets crickets and mealworms and natural balance turkey dogfood and I have offered pinkies but he ownt take it. the only thing I have actually seen him eat is the crickets and to little pieces of chicken I offered him. Any suggestions?

mine really likes fruit......he eats grapes alot for some reason...peeled and chopped to fit in his mouth.....he loves crickets....and groundturkey....so epoepl sa they really love eggs......I dont know if they are bad for them tho but apparently they love those things, ive never fed em to my tegu but maybe someone else can help more

When they're young, tegus should definitely be getting crickets and mealworms and such. If your little one is eating fruits and vegetables, then that's great. Go ahead and keep feeding him whatever he'll eat in that department. The place that I got through to get the canned monitor diet is www.petwarehouse.com. Click on the reptiles section and then go to the food area. They give you a small quantity discount if you order 8 or more. Not too much of a big deal, but every little bit is nice.

If you're thinking of eggs, only do them occasionaly. I would say that about once a week is the most frequent that you should be doing it. I can't remember are the hardcore facts about eggs, but they're definitely not good in large doses and colombians have a tendency to eat only eggs if given too frequently. Which is totally not a balanced meal at all. So stay clear of that.

If you're going to do any sort of meat product, get the leanest that you possibly can and follow the SDZ diet recipe so that it's a complete and healthy meal. A little ways down on the forum you'll see some postings about the negative effects of varying the diet. Definitely follow the instructions. The formula is that way for a reason.

Also, if you can get your guy eating whole prey at least once or twice a week, that would be great. Mice and rats are a complete meal and easy to store in the freezer.

Any other questions and I'm totally willing to help you!

Lindsay