Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,
What do guys think is a better pet, I can't decide B&W tegu or a green iggy.
Thanks,
Rob
PS this would be my first lizard

Honestly none of these are a better beginner lizard. They both require giant cages. tegus need more ground space and iggs nead both ground space and height in there cage. The lizards both attain large sizes, hwich makes them eating machines and prettty much youll be spending alot of maeny. Id try to go with a bearded dragon there awsome youll never get bored. I have ablue tegu and he is awsome but i first started off with a beardie. Think about it. Kevin

Agreed, neither is a beginner lizard, but if you are determined to keep one or the other I'd go with the Tegu. Green Iguanas are a really high maintenance pet that will not tolerate mistakes in husbandry very well. A tegu is a bit more forgiving of mistakes as long as they are not catastrophic. They are also easier to feed. The Iguana requires a wide variety of foods to stay healthy and the prep time for these foods is no fun. For an adult tegu you just remove their meal from the freezer and let it thaw! Tegu enclosures are easier to build and maintain.

My vote for a first-time lizard owner would be a Blue Tongued skink! Personality plus fairly easy to keep.

Most iguanas are imported from south america and wholesale price is around $1.89 if you order over a hundred, Argentine black and whites are awesome animals to own, but not a beginners animal, if you like the activeness of tegus, you can go with ackie monitors, they stay small and can help you get ready for the feistyness??SP of larger monitors or tegus,

Iguanas are known for being one of the worst lizard captives to own, they almost always have internal parasites, and when they hit sexual maturity they are on a insane level of feisty, but that is not all iguanas, I know a few people that have kept them with little or no problems,

If this is your first lizard go with a more managable lizard, like a blue tongue skink, or a beardie as stated in the posts above, and work your way up to ackies then onto tegus or mid sized monitors,
Good luck
thanks
tony butler

I totally agree with the general consensus. Neither is a good first time lizard. The top three first time owner lizards are bearded dragons, blue tongue skinks and leopard geckos(not in any order). I have all three and I would agree. I have Iguanas and am wondering if it was a wise choice. I knew they got big and thats not a problem, but they are a little more wild than I expected. I've always heard tegus are not the greatest pets unless you are an experienced herper. Of course, the only tegu I have is the golden which I have read are usually monsters and hard to tame. Try a different lizard. Leopard geckos are easy to handle and from my experience dont bite often or hard. Bearded dragons tame easy and are fun, but if they break thier tail off, its gone and does not grow back. I just got my blue tongue skink, so I can't tell you much about him. Do a little more research. Good luck
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------Misty-------
5.12 Corn Snakes --- 1.0 Tokay Gecko
2.1 King Snakes --- 1.0 House Gecko
1.2 leopard Geckos --- 1.0 Golden Tegu
1.1 Bearded Dragon --- 0.0.1 Savanna Monitor
1.1 Green Iguana --- 0.0.1 Chinese Water Dragon
0.1 Crocodile Gecko --- 1.1 False Water Cobras
1.1 Jungle Corn --- 1.0 Ball Python
0.1 Kenya Sand Boa --- 0.1 Rose Hair Tarantula
1.1 Emperor Scorpions --- 3.0 Ferrets
1.1 Congo African Grey (parrot)
0.0.3 Prairie Ringneck Snakes --- 0.1 Dog

adopting a green iguana thats already tamed..There are hundreds at those reptile adoptions centers.And many of these adoption centers will help you pick out the right one for your household..They can give you all kinds of help on the care and handling too..Just a thought..I do think tegus can be rather scary if your not used to handling untamed animals..
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I'll do some research on blue tongued skinks and take from there.
Rob

Ive got a huge northern that is the greatest pet in the world.,Very intelligent and will come to the enclosure door when he wants out..Very friendly, good eaters(actually little pigs)..Some people dont like the way they look, like big sausages with tiny legs but they are very good pets..........My gets a bit cranky when he is shedding but thats the only time..
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