Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I am new to the forums but not to reptiles. I have been keeping reptiles for about 14 years however i had to sell my animals a few years ago and havent bought any since then but just recently decided to get back into keeping reptiles. I searched around various sites trying to find something to buy. I started thinking about buying some ackies. Ive always kept smaller reptiles because I didnt have the budget for larger cages and for the food. That is not a problem now so I decided maybe I'll try to find something bigger. I searched everywhere but every large monitor I researched seemed to be either "tame" but too large or just the right size yet aggressive. Then I came across a site that was showing pictures of Black and White tegus. There was a guy holding a male B&W tegu in his arms and his daughter had another one in her arms. For some odd reason I've never heard much about tegus or thought to research them. I sure wish I had. I was intrigued by how people described how tame they can be for a pretty big lizard. After reading up for about 15 minutes I knew that a B&W Tegu was just what I wanted. I have all the basic things I need for a baby tegu and a cage to hold it for a month or 2 until I buy or make a bigger one. The place where I ordered the baby from said it should be here Wednesday. I can't wait to get the little guy in his new home. If anyone has any tips I'd greatly appreciate it. I've done a lot of research and am still researching atm, but any little bit of information will help greatly^^

there are two different types of black and white tegus. colombians and argentines. in the past the argentines were quite expensive. lately because they have become so popular and because so many people have been breeding them they have become much cheaper. the price on the colombians have always been cheap because they are rarely captive bred. the colombians still continue to be popular not only because they are cheap but also because they are smaller. a lot of people are afraid to get an argentine. they fear that such a large lizard will be too hard to manage. i don't have a black and white argentine, but i do have a red argentine. i, also, have two black and white colombian tegus. i really am disappointed in my two colombians though i still want to keep them, and i do not plan on getting rid of them. they seem nervous, are always hiding, aren't much fun to play with, and act pretty much the way smaller lizrds behave. my red tegu, on the other hand, is marvelous. he has loads of personality. so much so that he doesn't even seem like a lizard. he seems more like you would expect a miniature dinosaur to act. he is much bigger, much smarter, and much cooler than my colombians. i have never had a black and white argentine but i have watched other peoples' large black and white argentines. i was impressed they really seemed cool too.

Yeah my tegu is an Argentine B&W. I read Columbians tend to be more aggressive and more flighty as well as being smaller. I wanted something big and more tamable so I chose an Argentine B&W. I was looking at a few Red Tegu and almost bought one instead of a B&W. I hope my little tegu is here by the time I wake up. Spent all day setting up his/her cage. Made sure all the temps were good and everything was set up.

I know tegus are omnivorous but is that something that they grow into or do they feed on insects as well as fruits and veggies even as a baby? If so what fruits and veggies do they seem to prefer to eat?

Thanks for any information. Not as many care sheets as I was expecting to find while researching. Most I did find only talked about them feeding as adults.

About 10 this morning I recieved my beautiful baby Argentine B&W Tegu. I'm really impressed how calm and tame this little guy/girl is. I had to pick him up out of his shipping container because he had burried himself in the middle of it all. He looked around flicking his tongue everywhere appearing to have not a care in the world I was holding him. After looking at him and making sure he was fine I put him in his cage. He walked all over examining everything and took a drink of water and went over to the basking spot. He sat there sunning himself and looked around. He looked me up and down. First thing I noticed about this guy is how good his eye sight was. He saw my cat walk into the room before I did. He wasn't alarmed. I was expecting him to start running about like a crazy person at the sight of my cat. All he did was flick his tongue a few times and looked at her for a few seconds and went back to enjoying the warmth of the basking spot.

After a few hours I decided to feed him. I got a few crickets and tossed one in. He rushed over and gobbled it up and looked around for more. I tossed the other 2 crickets I had in and he quickly ate them. He looked around for more and then looked at me. It was as if he was saying "What, that's all? Gimme more!". So I threw in 5 more crickets and he ate all of them except for one. He then crawled over to the basking spot and went to sleep. I went to take the leftover cricket out and he opened his eyes, walked over, licked my hand a few times and went back to his basking spot. I've read about these being very curious and intelligent lizards and they definately are. I'm extremely happy I decided to get an Argentine B&W Tegu. If anyone reading this is thinking of buying a tegu I would highly recommend one. I've only spent a few hours with this little one and it's one of the most interesting lizards I've ever had.

i want one ! who did you order through, how big is the baby, what cage setup and substrate are u using and how much did you get it for

LLL reptile isnt bad but its in CA. I wouldn't order them from them though and pay for shipping. If you are going to order it anwyas then I would personally go through either thebluetegu.com or agama international. The are very know in the tegu world and have been breeding tegus for like over 20 years or something like that. Agama disclaims that they will also always answer you emails if you bought yours from them. If I would have known about them before I got mine and did tons of research on them I wouldve gone with those breeders instead of the local pet store pet kingdom. I havent really had any probs with mine though. But if you had the opportunity wouldnt you want to get it from the best? good luck

Yeah I've heard great things about Agama International. The only problem is that I don't have a credit card ATM so my mom let me use hers but she decided where we ordered from. LLL Reptile wasn't my first choice but it was on my list as I've ordered things from them before for the same reason mentioned above. Once I get a credit card I will look at other breeders but as for now I have to deal with what my mom says is ok. I guess she thought LLL was better because it had a more well put together site/more proffesional looking(in her opinion). She didn't listen to what I said about other sites so I was stuck with what she wanted. Anyways I have a perfectly fine Argentine B&W Tegu that looks just like other baby tegus advertised on major breeder sites.

Yeah its cool Jaso4 I was talking to savannahboy he wanted one he said. LLL is really good anyways and I have talked to them on many occasions at reptile shows out here. I have even been to their store in Escondido its kinda small though.

heh, if you think the LLL Escondido store is small, go to Reptile Depot.. it's about the size of my walk in closet.
How the hell they stick so many animals in there is beyond me, and despite their impressive collection, they do have a few deaths.. I don't think it's from lack of care, but cramped conditions= Stress and some of the herps just don't make it.

LLL Is a good store, knowledgable staff, good prices.. it's certainly not the best out there, but they do what they can and I enjoy them, I always buy my things from them at the shows.
-----
2.5 Leos
2.1 Beardie
1.0 Burm
1.1.24 Common Boa
0.1 Sav (Bosc) Monitor
0.1 Monkey Skink
Wish for: Candoia Sp, Frilled D