# What Kind of Tegu is Diego?



## carcharios (Jul 27, 2010)

Here are some pics of Diego now that he's gotten bigger and no longer hibernating through the summer. He is the Tegu my wife brought for me from our local PETCO. You can see Frieda and Kimo in the pics as well and you'll notice how much darker they are and how they're pattern is nothing like Diego's. Diego has much more white on him and almost looks like a blue (minus the dark muzzle) or an extreme perhaps? Any info would be greatly appreciated. The last two pics are of Kimo and Frieda.


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## DMBizeau (Jul 27, 2010)

I say Diego is a chacoan.


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## TEGU_JAKE (Jul 27, 2010)

I agree I think its an Extreme


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## carcharios (Jul 27, 2010)

Not sure if you can see it in the pics, but Diego has cream colored markings down his back. They're actually little dots that are an orangish cream color as opposed to the white everywhere else. It would be awesome if he were an extreme!


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## chelvis (Jul 27, 2010)

I'd have to say he looks like an extrem or a high white... i know bobby has or had a group of white head tegus he was working with.


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## chelvis (Jul 27, 2010)

Oh and nice looking tegu!!


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## slideaboot (Jul 27, 2010)

A B/W and Blue cross, maybe?


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## DMBizeau (Jul 27, 2010)

the white bars across his back is what makes me say extreme. He might be a cross but whats what made me go with extreme.


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## txrepgirl (Jul 27, 2010)

To me he looks like a extrem Giant or a high white b/w. In the last pictures he looks like a female. Do you feel any bb's by the vent ?


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## DMBizeau (Jul 27, 2010)

Looks like a male to me but could just be a big girl. I'm interested to know if you have a positive sex on it. I know reptastic and I have both had big females that looked like males.


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## jd61285 (Jul 27, 2010)

I vote he is a male giant, just my opinion.


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## Guest (Jul 27, 2010)

A lot of people here are saying he might be a giant, but I thought the way to identify giants was a combination of head shape, and the full V-marking on the underside of the chin? With the angles of the photographs, I can't see a V. Beautiful looking Tegu though


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## reptastic (Jul 27, 2010)

Kebechet said:


> A lot of people here are saying he might be a giant, but I thought the way to identify giants was a combination of head shape, and the full V-marking on the underside of the chin? With the angles of the photographs, I can't see a V. Beautiful looking Tegu though



Looks like a female to me and im thinking high white b/w or extreme(more so extreme). the "V" isnt an accurate way to tell them apart, both of my female b/w's had a clear visible "V" under their throats and they were both definate normals. you should try and send bobby a pic and he will tell you if you have an extreme or a normal b/w. either way you have a gorgeous tegu there.


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## jamelyn77 (Jul 28, 2010)

wow you got this guy at petco? beautiful tegu whatever you decide his roots are.. good find!


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## DMBizeau (Jul 28, 2010)

The more I look at it, the more I check out my guys for reference. I think its a hybrid of some sort now but he is one great looking tegu. Maybe a blue x b&w.


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## slideaboot (Jul 28, 2010)

DMBizeau said:


> The more I look at it, the more I check out my guys for reference. I think its a hybrid of some sort now but he is one great looking tegu. Maybe a blue x b&w.



Yeah, that's exactly what I think too.


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## carcharios (Jul 28, 2010)

I have not sexed Diego yet. I'm not sure if it's a he or she. The head size looks a little small in comparison to the body similar to my larger girl, Frieda. On the other hand, it looks like there may be jowls forming and Diego is still young and smaller than Frieda. 

I did compare Diego with some pics of Extremes from the Chocoan Giant forum and he definitely shares very similar markings. Here is an example of one of Bobby's I believe next to Diego. The top one is one of Bobby's (I think it's Bobby's) that was posted on that forum. The rest of the pics are of Diego.


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## DMBizeau (Jul 28, 2010)

Regardless of what he is that is one great looking tegu which is all that matters. Looks like a male to me but its just a guess, when they are that heavy at that size its so hard to tell by looks.


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## slideaboot (Jul 28, 2010)

Yeah, DEFINITELY a score for a PetCo pickup!


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## carcharios (Jul 29, 2010)

Diego was the first tegu I ever really saw. I saw him while getting crickets at PETCO. They never have tegus usually but they had gotten two in and had sold the larger of the two. I picked up Diego for about $80 with my online coupon. He was always sleeping at first and went into hibernation / brumation for about 11 months straight. I was really concerned because last summer, while Frieda was active, Diego refused to come out of hiding. Of course, I had him inside under lights and not in his outdoor enclosure like I have him now. Since putting him outside he's probably tripled in size. I think the diet of chicken necks has helped too!

Speaking of which, Frieda is now walking correctly. She no longer slides her body but rather walks with her belly and tail held off the ground. I am positive it was the chicken necks because prior to this, she was not walking this way. I really do think she was lacking the calcium and phosphorus because she's always been in the outdoor enclosure getting full sun whenever she wants. What a difference the necks have made. She's also grown substantially too this summer - is getting close to her mate, Kimo's size. She's also more active than she had been previously. 

Today, I'm going to move the two big guys into their new cage and transfer Diego into their old one. I'll take some pics as soon as I finish.

By the way, Tegu diversity is just amazing. I was at a great pet store in Fountain Valley, near Huntington Beach, CA called Prehistoric Pets, and they had a bunch of tegus there. Each one looked so different from the next. Quite an amazing amount of diversity in patterns, sizes, etc. They also had a ton of different monitors and some huge pythons big enough to eat my kids.


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## Rhetoric (Apr 28, 2011)

Wow great find! lol, I know I'm posting on old topics but crazy petco had tegus! I've seen some savys but no tegus at petco or petsmart. He sure is a pretty guy.


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## laurarfl (Apr 29, 2011)

Now I'm joining you on the late posting! What a gorgeous tegu!


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## carcharios (Apr 29, 2011)

Yeah, it was a fluke. The girl who works there said she got two of them in and that they usually never get them in. I've had reptiles all my life but had never seen a Tegu before I saw Diego there. I had to get him. At first, I didn't even know what kind he was since his loreal scale is not segmented in two like most black and whites. He was thin and first and hibernated for close to 11 months straight - right through the first summer. Last summer he finally woke up and I moved him outside and he tripled his size. 

I just moved him (or her) outside again last week and am praying for the best. I lost my big black and white male, Kimo earlier this week and can't figure out what went wrong. No signs of trauma aside from a little tenderness on the nose from rubbing against his rubbermaid tub. He was plump and didn't seem malnourished. Anyway, I'm hoping that Diego never gets what Kimo did. At some point this summer I'd like to sex him and mate him with a Chocoan!


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## Rhetoric (Apr 29, 2011)

He's gorgeous. I saw the thread about Kimo, I'm sorry about your loss. Hopefully your other tegus will have long healthy lives.


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## reptastic (Apr 29, 2011)

Do you have an updated pics I would love to see how he is turning out


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## carcharios (Apr 30, 2011)

Sure. He hasn't grown a whole lot though since he/she was dormant all winter. I'll try to snap some this weekend if he/she comes out of the den for some sun.


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## carcharios (Jun 24, 2011)

Still haven't gotten around to taking some more pics of Diego. Frieda, my big female, is doing really well - even without her companion Kimo  My new unnamed male is doing ok too - even though his ribcage is still flared from the MBD. I've been giving him chicken necks lately and full sun and have seen a big growth spurt and much improvement in his lower jaw. I'm hoping to get some new pics off in a week or so and when I do, I'll post them.

Also, I'm pretty sure Diego is a female. If anyone is interested in breeding their male - especially if it's a high white or blue, I'd be more than willing to breed her. I live in Southern MD. I initially wanted to breed her with Kimo this summer but Kimo died literally one week before he was to be released into his outdoor enclosure for the summer. Go figure...


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## reptastic (Jun 24, 2011)

Man i would love to breed my high white rayne with her(if he is indeed a male lol)But he wontt be ready to breed for another year or 2, have you seen pics of bobbys female b/w magnolia Thats raynes mother she is super white







im really hoping to find a nice high white female to breed with in a few years, with the right female those would be some killer tegus lol


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