Reptile & Amphibian Forums

well last sunday, i bought an argentinan black and white tegu (a little under a foot long)& i just realised that he doesn't have a tongue...he has like a little stub...i called the place that i bought it from & they said that it wouldn't affect him but it if bothered me that much, that i could bring it in & they would give me another one...the problem w/ that it that this place is 2 hours away from my house, but when i called the reptile place that i regularuly go to, they said that that wasn't good because tegus use their tongues to smell & that it could affect him in the long run, but the place where i got him from said that it wasn't a problem because he is captive bred & doesn't have to search for his food, but i had to take a pinkie in tweesers & put it in his mouth for him to eat it, so i'm on here looking for a 3rd opinion on if not having a tongue is a problem...thanks

First, I feel terrible for that reptile, it has a tough life ahead. I suppose it'll grow used to it, provided it is well cared for. If you feed it regularly in the same dish and same area, it will probably grow accustomed to eating there and know where to go when it is hungry. However, a tongue to a lizard is like wiskers to a cat. Its their security/scensary organ. If you cut off a cats wiskers, they're liable to end up wedged in a small space that they assumed they could fit in, like an engine compartment. I think, though, cared for properly, the lizard would learn to be ok without it. I'm with the pet store, though. If it bothers you, trade it in. Or atleast get some sort of compensation.

Mikal

tc5000 a friend of mine has a tegu named lucky that also has a stub. He is an argentine tegu approx 2 1/2ft long (maybe 3ft). He's a beast! This hasn't created the slightest problem for him and I like it! Just like any other animal with a problem, they will adapt. Feed it anywhere...it's a tegu and they don't care lol. I'm not so sure they can't still smell somewhat but just not as good as they could before. tc5000 was lucky enought to get this guy. Someone previously had purchased the animal and brought it back because of it's tongue. He named him lucky because he was lucky the person brought him back. Personally I would keep him. He will do just fine. Here are lots of pics:

http://thetegu.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album07&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

Chat a bit with tc5000....Lucky's a great tegu!
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John Light
JL Exotics
Contact Me
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Just making a clickable link from the url in the last post..

Click here to see Lucky

Rick
theTegu.com
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theTegu.com(munity)