you are much better off with an argentinian as your first tegu. they have better temperaments than colombian especially if you want to hold it. the argentines eat a bigger variety of food also. dont feed it an all rodent diet. try going to agamainternational.com and read about the argentines...it will give you a better idea of how they are. yeah sometimes people sell animals with missing/regenerated tails or some scratches but it doesnt always mean they are unhealthy. to be safe just start off with a baby so you form a "bond" with it. tegus are hardy lizards just read as much as possible from diff. places and ask questions if you havent already found another message posted with the answer. i hope this helps.
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0.0.1 frilled dragon- monster
1.1.0 white's tree frog- popeye, jack
0.1.0 southern painted turtle- ms.tortle
0.1.0 crested gecko- crimson
1.0.0 pinto hedgehog- dante