Reptile & Amphibian Forums

By way of History - We have kept our Argentine Red and our Columbian Blue tegus together since they were young hatchlings. The Red is about 6 months older than the Blue, but “Bogie” (the Blue) has outgrown Maggie and is about twice her size. He’s about 26 inches long, snout to tail.

Until recently we had only been guessing on their sex - but apparently our guesses were accurate. Bogie has recently been displaying his manhood - and Maggie is the center of his attention.

Here’s the problem - He is so much larger than she is and he’s mauling her. Biting and scratching her back and neck every time she emerges. I’ve heard that the aggressive “courting” behavior is normal - but has anyone seen a situation where the male will grab the female and fling her across the cage? Does this seem normal - or cause for concern? Until these last few weeks they have always been best buddies, sleeping on top of each other etc. Now we’re concerned. Any advice?

Thanks. MAP

I keep pairs and trios together and I've never seen one of my Tegus "fling" another across the cage. We have had bites and scarring on the neck and shoulder areas of the females but nothing that sounds quite that aggressive. I'd separate them as soon as possible if they were mine, at least until they are closer in size.