# Which smells worse?



## dabears51 (Feb 21, 2012)

Hey guys and gals! I've been lurking on the tegu forums for quite some time now. I have read tons of material regarding Argentine tegus as well as Cyclura iguanas and feel that I'm ready to own one. I've owned various reptiles throughout the years and would love to own either of these two walking dinosaurs!

Now, I wouldn't mind having a B&W Tegu that I can devote a lot of time to tame and feed appropriate foods to. At the same time, a Rhino, Caymen cross or Cuban rock iguana sounds tempting too, simply for their ability to become docile as well. Enclosure size is not an issue for me. Bigger is better and I have the space for it. I read all the pros and cons about each except for one...POOP!

Can anyone who owns both species tell me which one smells worse? I assume they both poop the same amount since both get quite large. My wife doesn't mind me getting either one but was simply wondering which one smells less. lol.


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## james.w (Feb 21, 2012)

My tegu smells worse than the rhino that I used to have.


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## reptastic (Feb 21, 2012)

I must say when I had my rhino, I didn really smell much of anything when he pooped but my tegus could clear a room lol


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## DaLoaner (Feb 22, 2012)

oh yea tegu poo is sooooo soooo bad. my worst fear is not getting bitten but getting pooped on. it happened when he was little, but now that hes 3ft plus....im terrified. 

When im home and he poops im quick and clean it up smell isnt as bad but, those days i have work(which like most of us the 5 days a week) the poops sits for a few hrs, under the heat light which keeps it nice and warm for me, the room smells soo bad. still love my gu though.


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## laurarfl (Feb 22, 2012)

Oh yeah....poop! I hear ya DaLoaner! There's nothing like coming in to fresh baked poop, lol. I have a green ig and his poop is much more tolerable. The difference is a herbivorous diet vs carnivorous/omnivoros diet. Since my larger tegus live in the garage, it isn't as offensive. I also take them out on porch to free roam where they can poo and I hose it off. There are ways to deal with the poo. I also bathe them and have them poo before they are allowed to walk around the house.

I love my tegus, but I also love all sorts of iguanas. I think igs in general are more aloof. I like the friendliness of the tegu.


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## dabears51 (Feb 22, 2012)

Funny how my first post ever is about poop! lol. I LOVE tegus but am really leaning towards a ground iguana now. Now it's deciding which species. I love the Rhino's dinosaur-like look and grey color but I also like the Cuban's head structure and stripes. Decisions, Decisions.


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## dragonmetalhead (Feb 22, 2012)

Depends on diet. As a general rule, herbivore dung doesn't reek as potently because most vegetation has little odor. Carnivores usually have more pungent stools. Kodo's poop smells either like rotting carrion or the backside of fisherman's wharf (if he's been eating silversides). He is not only the smelliest reptile I've worked with, he's one of the smelliest animals of any taxa I've worked with. Seriously, you could asphyxiate a cape buffalo with a baggie of tegu droppings. That being said, tegus are magical lizards and make fantastic pets.


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## TeguBuzz (Feb 22, 2012)

I use to own a cayman cross, the smell of his crap wasn't even noticeable until I'd go in to check him out. My tegus on the other hand, let's just say as soon as I start smelling that stench of rotten death, I clean it up before it gets any worse. Luckily, after about 10mins, the smell wears off. The crap of a vegetarian/fruit eater smells a lot less bad if at all as opposed to a beast that eats ground turkey, rodents, chics, fish, crayfish, etc.


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## Dana C (Feb 22, 2012)

reptastic said:


> I must say when I had my rhino, I didn really smell much of anything when he pooped but my tegus could clear a room lol



It isn't just about the horrible smell, it is the smirk he gets on his face when he knows he did clear the room. I can't imagine how quickly he could clear out a Starbucks and smirk afterward.


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## cheezy (Feb 23, 2012)

Hey, sorry to throw this thread a little off topic but does anyone know if a caiman lizard poop stink? How about when males scent mark?


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## TeguBuzz (Feb 23, 2012)

cheezy said:


> Hey, sorry to throw this thread a little off topic but does anyone know if a caiman lizard poop stink? How about when males scent mark?



The scent marking has no smell.


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## Rhetoric (Feb 23, 2012)

I haven't owned an ig (a cuban rock would be my choice) but when my tegus poop, everyone is well aware. Eggs and seafood seem to create the most pungent BMs. I stay away from eggs but they love fish.


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