# Tegus bad reputation in the U.S. pet trade



## VARNYARD (Nov 24, 2007)

Tegus bad reputation in the U.S. pet trade, tegus have been seen to have a bad reputation over the years. This is due to the Colombian tegus in the pet trade; they have been in the pet trade for many more years then their cousins the Argentine tegus. For this reason many people think they are all bad based on the history that the Colombians have made in the pet world. This is not to say that all of the Argentine tegus are very tame, tegus are like many other animals, each one has it's own personality. I have seen many tegus that strive for human contact and yet others that have no desire to be near a human. That said, I have also even seen tegus that did not like to be with other tegus, but would rather be loners. 

Tegus are on the Cites lists, and are being studied to see how the numbers have decreased in the wild populations. Some experts claim that there is a estimation of 1.5 to 2 million tegu hides exported a year from Argentina and surrounding regions. These animals are used for leather and food, commonly hunted as a source of income throughout their range. There are efforts to try to protect these awesome animals; it is very hard for these animals to keep up with the demand for food and hides. Tegu hides are used for belts, wallets, purses and even boots. The local people find the meat from these animals to be very desired they hunt them with dogs. The dogs locate a hole where the tegu is hiding, then the local people dig the animal up. It must be also realized that the native people have depended on the local wildlife as a source of income and food from the beginning of settlement there. For many of these people it is just a way of life, however there have been efforts to educate the local people on how to save this awesome asset to their region. The thing to remember is that the government funding is very limited on adding much needed protection of these animals, this makes it very hard to control or manage local populations.


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