# rescued tegu



## armison89 (Jan 8, 2011)

i got a 2010 giant tonight that has an orange belly. they were using a large heat rock in his tank is that the reason for the orange?


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## Guest (Jan 8, 2011)

it could be from the substrate. my tegus underside has an orangy tint but not nearly as orange as yours. maybe its just the way its skin is. either way congrats on your new tegu!


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## armison89 (Jan 8, 2011)

he was on eco earth. i think it might be the heat rock bc i wiped it off with a wet cloth and it turned orange.


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## Mr Critter (Jan 8, 2011)

Looks like thats a normal black & white tegu, not a extrem.


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## Guest (Jan 8, 2011)

Agree, not a giant extreme tegu.


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## eddyjack (Jan 8, 2011)

Very interesting, I have never thought a thing of it but my B/W female has always had that coloring on her belly. Several that have seen her have commented on it as well and we have all simply thought that it is normal. I do however keep mine on the coconut fiber and now that you mention it, that could very well be the cause.
Either way I would not worry to much about it as it has never seemed to be an issue with mine.

And by the way, what a beautifull little critter! Congratulations and way to go on the rescue.


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## TEGU_JAKE (Jan 8, 2011)

I think its a normal Black and White but one of my tegus has an orange stomach, some tegus stomachs change colors when they are going into hibernation.


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## armison89 (Jan 9, 2011)

the guy said a friend of the guy he got it from breeds tegus so i think its a giant hes a head pic


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## eddyjack (Jan 9, 2011)

If mine comes out today, I will take a picture for you to compare.


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## armison89 (Jan 9, 2011)

from the pics bobby posted mine is 100% a giant.


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## Toby_H (Jan 9, 2011)

Orange bellies are fairly common on Tegus... from my understanding it's usually a result of the substrate...

Eco Earth is crushed/pulverised coconut shells which contains a lot of "tannins". Tannins are actually tannic acid which is in most (possibly all) forms of wood. In the aquarium/fish hobby it is well known that driftwood leaches tannins into the water which turns the water a tea color. It sounds very logical that the same tannins are what is turning your Tegus belly orange. 

The only other result of tannic acid / tannins that I am aware of is that it lowers PH, as anything acidic in nature will do...


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## Guest (Jan 9, 2011)

Armison89, didn't you just get an extreme giant tegu "female" from Varyard last week? Just look at that one and compare... the V under the chin is not "connected" on this new tegu in the picture, and the head/snout of a giant is more sharp/ crocodile like.


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## armison89 (Jan 10, 2011)

yes i did the 2 i have look the same. the pic i got sucks bc he wouldnt stop moving.


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## VARNYARD (Jan 10, 2011)

Who was the breeder? I am the only breeder of the giants in the US. I see a normal as well, look at the this: <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.tegutalk.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1978" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1978</a><!-- l -->

As for the orange belly, that is normal in the Argentine types of tegus.


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## armison89 (Jan 10, 2011)

ok thanks bobby


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## Kingwolf26 (Jan 11, 2011)

I think he is naturally orange. My female tegu has an outstandingly natural reddish orange stomach and she hasnt seen eco earth in a year. I will show you guys some pics


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## Kingwolf26 (Jan 11, 2011)

and it is questionable of what your tegu is because of the focus and the absense of a full body pattern shot


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