Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok so I have been thinking about getting a Tegu for some time now and would like to get to be able to pick at some of you more experienced and new owners of these guys.

My questions are:

1. What are some of the best species for beginners?
2. Do they require any special lighting like Bearded Dragons and such like this?
3. What are some of their favorite foods, and how often they need to be fed?
4. Can they be trained to be able to sleep on a nice mat with newspaper and with a heat pad and then be able to go to be potty trianed?
5. Would you suggest a male or female?

I would also love to see some of your Tegus and personal experiences.
I have many snakes but would really love to get a more social animal to add to my family of reptiles!

Thank you so much!

Welcome to the tegu forum and kudos to you for doing your homework first.

1. What are some of the best species for beginners?
Argentine Black and White and Reds would be best for beginners. Colombinas are great, too, but require more patience and time for handling.

2. Do they require any special lighting like Bearded Dragons and such like this?
Yes, they are dependent on UV for proper calcium metabolism, especially when young and experiencing rapid growth. They also require heat for basking. They are active and need more space than a beardie in proportion to their body size.

3. What are some of their favorite foods, and how often they need to be fed?
Young tegus under 18-24 months should be fed daily, as much as they will eat (which can be quite a lot). Adult tegus can be fed every other day so as not to encourage obesity. I gauge the look of my tegus (I have 4) to determine frequency of feeding to maintain an ideal weight. I let them eat their fill at each meal.

They are omnivores and opportunistic feeders, so they eat just about anything! Whole foods are best so that they get a natural source of vitamins and minerals. I feed mine fruit and meat at each meal, about 1/3 fruit and 2/3 meat. Some days they eat more meat, some days more fruit. I rotate their choices, but they get rodents, quail chicks, small fish, organ meats, chicken, insects, watermelon, sweet potato, cherries, grapes, apples, pears, papaya, banana, peaches, mangoes, grape tomatoes...basically whatever is on hand.

4. Can they be trained to be able to sleep on a nice mat with newspaper and with a heat pad and then be able to go to be potty trianed?
Hmmm...probably. If you set up a nice basking spot, they may hang out there, but they usually sleep in burrows or hides. I have a Colombian tegu that prefers to poo on paper outside of her enclosure. But I think she has us trained, LOL.

5. Would you suggest a male or female?
Either. I don't think there's much difference there. The males get bigger, but I like the sleek head of the females. It's just personal preference.

This is a bit of a slow forum since there are two huge tegu websites out there. I have to run, so I don't have time to dig for pics. I did want to answer your questions, though!

Thank you so much for the response and yeah I have registered to i think it is Tegutalk.com. I am more leaning to get a female cause i also like the slimness to the head and just that they get a little smaller is always a plus for i think a beginner almost like snakes. I am also thinking about an Argentine B&W. Do you know how much those run compared to the colombians. And what about the Gold tegus are those a form of Colombian I cant find too much on those guys.

Gold tegus are a form of Colombians. If you see black and gold, gold, or Colombian, it's the same type of tegu.

Too bad Varnyard (tegutalk) is sold out of Argentine B/W for the season. I have two of his tegus and I think he has the best. Prices vary...depends on what people want to sell them for and what people want to pay, just like snakes. You can look in the Classifieds here and get an idea. I'd say the average price for a hatchling tegu is about $100, but you'll find some that are less, and some a little more. Adults will vary from $150-$300, depending on size and quality.

I think it would be prudent for a beginner to learn the difference between Colombians and Argentines so that you can be certain you know what you're getting. I saw a tegu on my local Craig's List where someone's mom was selling the lizard and supplies for what seemed like the price of a Argentine. But the pic was clearly a Colombian. There is a thread below started by Flavia that shows the difference, but you can learn by seeing pics on the Internet as well.

I have looked a lot on the classifieds for the Argentines and it seems nobody has them. When does the breeding season start and when do they usually start to come out of the eggs? I want to get ahead of the ball game so when the time comes to get one i want to make sure it is an Argentine they seem like the best choice so far. I work at a reptile shop and we were thinking about bringing some in that were produced by Bert Langerwerf who just recently passed away. So if those are Argentines I would just pick one of them up sometime. Thank you so much for the advice and all the information. I cant wait to get my own little girl to add onto the love of Tegus. Please if you have any other information please let me know!

Many of the adults are either hibernating or beginning to go down. Breeding season is April-May"ish" and hatching time is over the summer.

I emailed you as well (twice).

i have a gold tegu,it's like 20or30cm,do you want tu buy it？
it‘s like 100 dollars I will send it to your house（the 100 doollars is including postage）
He is gentle, he does not bite, but he is timid. He likes to eat salmon and beef. He likes hot He does not like people touching his back, but he does not bite even if you touch his mouth. When you get angry you will jet, because of personal reasons I have to sell him, please treat him well,
If you want to buy, please email me and we can confirm the next step
cwy20030913@gmail.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-cBOkmv0Q8&feature=youtu.be