Need some advice on a possible purchase.
I’ve been considering getting a Tegu for some time. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted a Blue or an Argentine B&W. I liked the color of the former and the size of the later. But I have noticed, on websites like this, some very high white B&Ws that had the lighter colors that I liked in the Blues.
I was just at a reptile show this weekend, and there was a tegu, like that for sale. The seller did not know the sex of the tegu, but that it was a Argentine Black and White and over a year old. His (I say he…but again, I don’t know the sex) tale was broken off midway.
On the bright side, he had no other blemishes, had all his toes and nails (no warped or overgrown nails), was nice and robust, alert looking, clean, and clear eyes and nasal passages. He had a very nice, clean, high white head and coloration. And the tail itself, though broken and at half length, had healed up nicely (if someone who didn’t know anything about Tegus saw him, they’d probably assume the species has a broader, shorter tail).
They were asking for $150 for him…but after talking with them and showing interest, they said they’d go down to $140.
I still wasn’t sure, but they let me hold him and I was very impressed with how tame he was. He didn’t even squirm in my hands. He was very squirmy in the little cage, looking for a way out (the owners said he was smart enough to figure out how to jiggle the top off the little display cage, if they didn’t watch him carefully. But once out of the cage he was content to sit in my arms and, was very calm despite the very noisy, congested warehouse.
I just got back from college and was not set up to take a lizard home that day, so I (with a bit of restraint) figured I’d do the responsible thing and wait and think it over. I got their email address (they’re local) and said I’d let them know if I was still interested (and he wasn’t sold).
My question is, what do you all think about the sale? Is $140 a fair price on a high white, yearling B&W, of indeterminate sex, and a good disposition? How hard is it to get these high white specimens? Am I better off just waiting and getting a hatchling? Is it a gamble as to the coloration of a baby tegu?
I have experience with reptiles, but have never owned a tegu (though I’ve read up on them and hovered over forums like this for a few years now).
Any opinions appreciated.
-Josh
