# Tegusonly family



## kendrick silimon (Sep 8, 2014)

I'm wanting to know how many people out there have received there new best friend from rodney irwin and if you can share your experience and pic's of your tegu with me. I'm a tegu owner thanks to him and my little buddy is just the best so sweet and docile.


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## Rebecca Stout (Sep 8, 2014)

He sure is healthy looking!


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## kendrick silimon (Sep 8, 2014)

He is and growing non stop lol


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## LiamTheLizardMan (Sep 8, 2014)

It's like we're connected!


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## kendrick silimon (Sep 8, 2014)

Family.... we are a big family that's why I started this thread lol


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## Jacobhreptiles (Sep 27, 2014)

I'm getting my Argentine from him. its amazing that he proves wild caught DOES NOT mean wild. i can not wait to get mine and i hear nothing but amazing things about him and his tegus.


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## kendrick silimon (Sep 28, 2014)

Yes he has some of the best tegus around and for a great price post pics when you get it we would like to see it


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## Josh (Sep 29, 2014)

I spoke with Rodney on the phone last week. I personally like what he's doing. He's helping to preserve Florida's habitat and native species and finding good homes for beautiful animals that deserve good care. Seems like everyone wins to me


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## kendrick silimon (Sep 30, 2014)

Yes your right that's why I chose him to get my tegu from his cause is just perfect not to mention it's my hometown. .lol


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## future tegu keeper (Oct 28, 2014)

He is so cool at the last reptile expo I went to I talked with him about the fire bellys


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## kendrick silimon (Oct 28, 2014)

Future tegu keeper if you look at my threads you will see I built a enclosure and I did for under 200 dollars


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## future tegu keeper (Oct 28, 2014)

Thx


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## Alonso (Dec 2, 2014)

New owner. Been about 2 weeks now. Great temperment! Great eater!


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## kendrick silimon (Dec 2, 2014)

Oh they are the best to be wild. I've seen some that are captive breed that are no where as kind and gentle as these babies


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## Alonso (Dec 2, 2014)

Yeah that was when i first got him. He is in shed now. Very calm except when i slide tge glass open. But after he likes to come up to the opening and get his neck scratched.

Letting him adjust. He isnt even afraid of my dogs.


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## kendrick silimon (Dec 2, 2014)

Yes mines the same way you must feed inside the cage


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## Alonso (Dec 2, 2014)

Sweet. As long as he doesnt become cage agressive. 
I will update as he grows.

Cmon there has to be more!


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## kendrick silimon (Dec 2, 2014)

No I was asking do you feed inside his cage lol


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## Alonso (Dec 2, 2014)

Oh right now i was cause he isnt quute comfortable coming out. But i am about to start taking him out and putting him i. A separate tub to eat. Just till he will come out on his own.


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## kendrick silimon (Dec 2, 2014)

Yes that would be best that will stop him from charging when the the cage opens he thinks it's feeding time


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## Alonso (Dec 2, 2014)

He doesnt charge. He runs away. Lol


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## kendrick silimon (Dec 2, 2014)

Oh ok lol


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## sphenodon (Dec 3, 2014)

I think it's a pretty cool way idea to help remove them from Florida. If I were to get an Argentine, I think I'd get one from him. Does he ever have hatchlings?

I think I'm actually more interested in the Columbian tegu though. I don't really like some of the pics I've seen of the tegus with huge jowls. unless they were just overweight and extra big...


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## Alonso (Dec 4, 2014)

The jowels just means its an adult male. No. Overweight at all.


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## kendrick silimon (Dec 4, 2014)

That's what I thought too


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## sphenodon (Dec 4, 2014)

Alonso said:


> The jowels just means its an adult male. No. Overweight at all.


I think I saw a video of this guy (MacGyver): 



Not sure if it was this particular video or another one but it just looked really hideous to me.  monstrously huge jowls when I first saw this one (my initial intro to tegus). I was like, I hope they don't all grow up looking like that... 

Edit: actually it may have been this one


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## Alonso (Dec 4, 2014)

Yeah as far as i have seen Reds and B&W get big jowels.

The blues i have saw are that jowely. They also dont get as large.


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## Alonso (Dec 4, 2014)

Aren't*


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## Roadkill (Dec 4, 2014)

The jowls are a typical trait of all the male tegus in the _Salvator_ genus, it's a secondary sexual characteristic. However, that particular _Salvator rufescens_ in the video links above is obese. It is not the jowls that are the indicator, the limbs and tail give away the body condition.


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## Alonso (Dec 4, 2014)

Alright thanks for the clarification. 

He is saying he doesnt know if he wants an aregentine because of the jowels. He just though it meant they were obese.


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## sphenodon (Dec 4, 2014)

Roadkill said:


> The jowls are a typical trait of all the male tegus in the _Salvator_ genus, it's a secondary sexual characteristic. However, that particular _Salvator rufescens_ in the video links above is obese. It is not the jowls that are the indicator, the limbs and tail give away the body condition.


I'd want a hatchling...I'm assuming sex can't be guaranteed that young. That's why I was leaning more towards a Columbian. I don't mind if it takes extra work for taming. Ultimately I'd like an active, interactive lizard who is extremely food motivated for my training experiments.

Interestingly enough, I've found my beardie appears to be mostly/only responsive to visual cues but my blue tongue skink appears to be more responsive to auditory (or possibly vibration) cues. I'll bet it would be fun to work with a tegu! 

Sorry to the OP, I'm totally off topic.


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## Rodney Irwin (Feb 27, 2015)

Roadkill said:


> The jowls are a typical trait of all the male tegus in the _Salvator_ genus, it's a secondary sexual characteristic. However, that particular _Salvator rufescens_ in the video links above is obese. It is not the jowls that are the indicator, the limbs and tail give away the body condition.


Thank you Roadkill for shedding light on an all to common problem. Obesity is just as bad for tegus as it is for humans.
The heart,digestive system, lungs and limbs suffer and shorten the life of animal. Many people like to watch their tegu eat
and do not realize they may be killing it with kindness.


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## Brittany (Mar 16, 2015)

Got my girl from him 4 weeks ago and love her to death


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## Rebecca Stout (Mar 18, 2015)

Very white!


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## kendrick silimon (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes most of his are high whites


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## Rebecca Stout (Mar 18, 2015)

Ohhhh really? I didn't know that! I thought they were most often normal or tanish. Am I wrong? I hope others chime in.

I know he has, or has had a lot of what he calls "fire bellies". I know for fact he's noted for those and those are not high whites. 
I'd like to hear a round about guess of how many high whites as compared to normals. There is a reason for me asking, which I'll explain after some replies.


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## Rebecca Stout (Mar 18, 2015)

Okay, so I just went all over his site. And I'm seeing mostly white and black or cream and black. A small percentage of firebelly (he made up the name to id them). And it's very updated.
edit: went over his site in depth. he says he has them, so with that statement and along with your photo I know thats true. But in all the videos and photos of them, there isnt' any shown.


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## kendrick silimon (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes he did I have three of what he calls high whites from him


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## Rebecca Stout (Mar 18, 2015)

Pretty neat. I didnt know. So, he has them, but from what I'm seeing ... the bulk of his stock is white/cream and black.


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## Rebecca Stout (Mar 18, 2015)

So how old was yours when you got him/her? And was it already fairly tame? There is a chance mine is from him (complicated story). And she acted wild, but sweet. No matter how freaked out, she never even motions like she will bite. Shes tame now by the way.


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## Rebecca Stout (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh by the way, were you there? Cause I"m curious about something. Is there any particular age that dominates his stock? Like are they mostly adults and adolescents, babies, yearlings or what?


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## Brittany (Mar 18, 2015)

Rebecca Stout said:


> Very white!


Do you think my girl is a high white when I got her from him he said she was just bake and white with a fire belly


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## Rebecca Stout (Mar 18, 2015)

The first pic looks standard. The second pic is a bit over exposed... but it looks like it to me. Yours is a fire belly? Oh how neat. You should take a pic and show it off! Lol.


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## Jacobhreptiles (Mar 18, 2015)

doesn't seem "high white" it looks pretty average maybe a little more white than usual


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## Jacobhreptiles (Mar 18, 2015)

my new one from tegusonly. he is cage defensive but so awesome


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## Darien F. (Mar 18, 2015)

I just purchased a male fire belly sub adult from Rodney a few days ago. Upon arrival, he was very sweet and already very docile and he loves to eat and explore! Rodney sells magnificent tegus and I give him props for the amazing work he's doing for the tegus of Florida and the ecosystem in which he is saving. Thank you, Rodney and as I said If I ever am looking for another tegu, you will be the one I go to. And if anyone I know is ever looking to buy one, you can guarantee that I'll be sending them your way. Thanks again


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## Brett Wilson (Mar 20, 2015)

I purchased my tegu Fraenir almost two months ago now. I got him from Rodney at Tegusonly.com because I really liked the idea that I could not only get a new addition to my ever growing family, but I could also help in saving him from being killed. Rodney was quick and very informative about when and how he was going to be sending me my new tegu. Unfortunately USPS isn't anywhere near as dependable as they once were, so there was a slight delay in the arrival, but thankfully he was in brumation anyway.

I'm overwhelmingly happy with Fraenir, and can't wait until he's big enough that I can tell for sure what gender *hopefully he* is. I fully plan on getting another tegu from Rodney so I can have a go at breeding them here in Texas. I get nothing but questions and interest in Fraenir when I take him to the park, so I'd like other people to be able to experience owning a tegu as well.

As you can see in the pictures he gets along with everybody. The only one who won't go near him is my chinese water dragon, but he's just afraid of everything right now. The only time Fraenir has ever shown any sort of aggression was when my dog got too excited while outside, wasn't watching where she was going, and accidentally kicked him. All he did was stand up real tall and open his mouth at her though. In any case, if someone kicked me I'm pretty sure I'd be pissed off at them too. The pictures of Fraenir and Gefjun*the dog* are from a couple days after the incident though, so he doesn't hold any grudges or anything.


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## Jacobhreptiles (Mar 21, 2015)

post a pic of his belly


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## Jacobhreptiles (Mar 21, 2015)

and hind legs


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## Brett Wilson (Mar 21, 2015)

I've already done all the sex checks, and unfortunately they all point to Fraenir being female, but I've also been told by people including Rodney that sometimes it can take quite some time for the male bits to show up.


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## Jacobhreptiles (Mar 21, 2015)

well i would say 89% (Im no professional) that that is indeed a male


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## Brett Wilson (Mar 21, 2015)

What makes you say that?


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## Jacobhreptiles (Mar 21, 2015)

Brett Wilson said:


> What makes you say that?


the pores seem fairly prominent, and females have them and firebellies may be a bit harder to tell, but maybe i'll say 80% sure it seems like a male


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## Brett Wilson (Mar 21, 2015)

Your sudden drop of 9% is VERY reassuring. XD


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## Jacobhreptiles (Mar 21, 2015)

Brett Wilson said:


> Your sudden drop of 9% is VERY reassuring. XD


haha true, i am no expert which is why i took that 9% away and it still is young so could go either way obviously


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## Brett Wilson (Mar 21, 2015)

Yea, he's only a yearling. I guess I'm just going to have to be patient. >.>


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## Brittany (Mar 23, 2015)

Got a little snap shot of his/her belly


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## Brittany (Mar 23, 2015)




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## Brett Wilson (Mar 23, 2015)

Well if mine is 80% sure to be male, I'd say that based on the pores that you're would most likely be a male as well.


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## Brittany (Mar 24, 2015)




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## RedFox (Mar 26, 2015)

I got my tegu from TegusOnly about a week ago. Rod was great to deal with, sent pics of her (maybe a her, that is) before shipping, and she came through great. After months of reading about them--how intelligent and easy going they are--I took the plunge. Couldn't be happier, she's super mellow, great appetite, zero aggression, easy to handle, couldn't care any less about our dog and cats (although she's small so I protect her), and actually comes up to the front of her cage when I sit down in front of it. Can't believe these guys aren't THE most popular reptile and available everywhere (although they shouldn't be loose in Florida and I'm glad Rod is helping to address that problem).


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## RedFox (Mar 26, 2015)

... She's a good looking girl too, I should add!


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## Rebecca Stout (Mar 27, 2015)

I can't see the pores in these! I can most, though not all of the time (because I"m new). Dang.


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## Brett Wilson (Mar 27, 2015)

The pores kinda make a line lengthwise down their thighs. Find the line, and you can find the pores.


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## Brittany (Mar 28, 2015)

You can see the clusters of white


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## Abigail Sykes (Mar 29, 2015)

I got my boy Dino from Tegusonly. I was very satisfied and even got him checked at the vet and he is healthy as can be.  very happy with my tegu.


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## Walter1 (Mar 29, 2015)

Fine looking fella


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## Abigail Sykes (Mar 29, 2015)

thank you


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## jAxTecH (Jun 4, 2015)

I bought my Tegu last Sunday at the Repticon show in Orlando. He/She was in his "scratch n dent" offerings. Only "issue" with mine is about 2-3" of tail tip is missing. Otherwise an outstanding tegu. Only oddity I noticed since bringing her home was at the show this Tegu was Stunning in color contrast. Back of neck and shoulders were a crimson color red that faded to a orange "tiger strip" over the ribs to a white n black poka dot pattern over the hind quarters out to the bands on the tail. Since the show at home has "mellowed" into a gold over black look. Not sure if this is a heat issue (basking light is UVA 75watt) low temp at night is 79° or just how this Tegu reacts when in a bin with 15 other Tegu's. Either way I love her and thank Teguonly for rescuing them and allowing people to have the opportunity to give these wonderful creatures a second chance. Below is a couple pics of Enki.


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## Brett Wilson (Jun 4, 2015)

A little growth comparison for Fraenir.


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## Brett Wilson (Jun 4, 2015)

jAxTecH said:


> I bought my Tegu last Sunday at the Repticon show in Orlando. He/She was in his "scratch n dent" offerings. Only "issue" with mine is about 2-3" of tail tip is missing. Otherwise an outstanding tegu. Only oddity I noticed since bringing her home was at the show this Tegu was Stunning in color contrast. Back of neck and shoulders were a crimson color red that faded to a orange "tiger strip" over the ribs to a white n black poka dot pattern over the hind quarters out to the bands on the tail. Since the show at home has "mellowed" into a gold over black look. Not sure if this is a heat issue (basking light is UVA 75watt) low temp at night is 79° or just how this Tegu reacts when in a bin with 15 other Tegu's. Either way I love her and thank Teguonly for rescuing them and allowing people to have the opportunity to give these wonderful creatures a second chance. Below is a couple pics of Enki.View attachment 9474View attachment 9475



The color change is probably one or both of two things. As babies, Tegus are a LOT more colorful, and they lose it as they age. When they're going into shed, they will dull in color as well. So he's either just really young still, or he's just about to shed. You shouldn't need to worry about anything though, your little guy looks pretty good.


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## jAxTecH (Jun 4, 2015)

Your right about the shed..after the soaking in the tank all the body dead skin wiped away except for the tail..still pieces resisting falling off so far.


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## Brett Wilson (Jun 4, 2015)

Yea the tail can be annoying sometimes. Fraenir still has the same tail shed from two sheds ago. It's slowly flaking off though.


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## jAxTecH (Jun 5, 2015)

Hmmm interesting... I wonder if a lil dawn dishwashing liquid rubbed over the tail and left to soak for 10-15 mins would "aid" in the tail shed coming off easier? Enki body shed peeled like a banana when I towel dried her. Think I'll give it a few more days see what happens on its own before I attempt a assist. Thanx for feedback. Good luck.


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## Brett Wilson (Jun 5, 2015)

Well the tail is going to be a pain in the butt pretty much every time compared to the body. The scales are a lot closer together it seems. Let me know if the soap trick works though! I'm sure Fraenir's tail is getting pretty itchy. XD


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## loweryrr (Jun 26, 2015)

Just received my female tegu from Rodney and I must say I'm happy with my purchase. He gave me a discount for her missing a good portion of her tail but she hasn't been aggressive at all. She's still a little nervous but I know that will change with time. I prefer saving a tegu over buying a tegu and I think Rodney is doing an amazing thing for Florida and the tegus. These truly are amazing animals and their intelligence blows me away. Here is a pic of her eating outside her new home and a pic that Rodney sent me.


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## loweryrr (Jun 26, 2015)

jAxTecH said:


> Your right about the shed..after the soaking in the tank all the body dead skin wiped away except for the tail..still pieces resisting falling off so far.


I have seen people who put lotion on their reptiles to soften up stuck on skin. Another idea is adding a little baby oil to their soaking water, just double check that its not toxic to them. I doubt it would be but it would never hurt to ask a reptile vet.


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## Walter1 (Jun 27, 2015)

Loweryrr- You got a good pal, for sure. She looks very you g, so her tail will have regrowth over time.


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## Zhollend (Jul 8, 2015)

Just received my hatchling from him today! My first Tegu!


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## John7429 (Jul 31, 2015)

I'm the new second owner of a tegu that came from Rodney. GREAT lookin specimen!


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## Rodney Irwin (Aug 1, 2015)

Rebecca Stout said:


> Pretty neat. I didnt know. So, he has them, but from what I'm seeing ... the bulk of his stock is white/cream and black.



Hi Rebecca,

When you see a T.m. that is cream in color, It is about to shed. After shedding, all the cream colored scales become white.


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