# Argentine Vs Columbian Tegu



## Tegu Boss (Sep 1, 2012)

Hello I can't decide to get an argentine BW or a Columbian. Argentines are reportedly much more friendly, but also a lot more
Expensive. So I guess my question is is it with the extra 100$ for the argentine? Thanks. Ps in the list below I didn't get the tegu yet but I am getting one once I decide. Also if I get an argentine should I get a red or BW? Is there a difference other than color? Thanks[/quote][/code][/php]


Read more: http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=12332#ixzz25FALYapE

I also forgot how much are blue tegus? Thanks.


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## Rhetoric (Sep 1, 2012)

Hopefully you'll have your tegu a long time. If you want an argentine don't be afraid to spend the extra $100. Color is preference, there aren't any care differences between reds and bw. Some people say reds eat more fruit but that's all I've seen. Reds are also more expensive than bw. Price for blues varies due to gender, market inflation, age, size.


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## Tegu Boss (Sep 1, 2012)

Thanks I will probably go with the argentine black and white. Typically they are less temperamental than columbians, correct?


Thanks. I will Probably go with the argentine BW. I want my tegu to be very friendly and colombians reputation isnt quite as good as argentines. I have been doing research for a long time and I decided to finally get a tegu.


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## Rhetoric (Sep 1, 2012)

I've never owned a Colombian. Some people on the forum have mellow Colombians but generally, yes, argentine tegus are easier to work with.


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## Tegu Boss (Sep 1, 2012)

And being a beginner it would probably be better to have a tegu that is relatively easier to work with.


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## larissalurid (Sep 1, 2012)

I know multiple people with quite friendly columbians :] I think they are given a bad rap


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## Tegu Boss (Sep 1, 2012)

Yeah. I agree. However I stick by the fact argentines are generally more friendly


And uh what exactly is a kinkajou, it is like a lemur? And what is the care for them?


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## larissalurid (Sep 1, 2012)

Tegu Boss said:


> Yeah. I agree. However I stick by the fact argentines are generally more friendly
> 
> 
> And uh what exactly is a kinkajou, it is like a lemur? And what is the care for them?





Idk, many columbians are nice and argentines can be very timid and aggressive as well. My extreme still won't even let me touch him.

Kinkajous are actually illegal in many states, but a few points of why they aren't like having a cat, ferret, or other easy animal to keep:

-Although they are adorable and innocent looking they are NOT domesticated animals, they can and will hurt people when very scared, being territorial (he would jump at his cage door and squeak in a defensive way like "GO THIS IS MY AREA WHO ARE YOU" to people, although he never would to me since i'm basically like his mom. he's never been aggressive in any way towards me as well as how i raised him quite well) as well as food aggression that he's shown before.

-Why is any of that not just cute when he squeaks to say get away or im scared, etc. and telling you to get away by either trying to bite or scratch? His nails are made to climb in the trees high up in the jungle so they are SHARP. Even when just playing or him jumping off me, climbing up me, etc, i'd get many long scratch marks lol. Also his teeth are like 4 huge fangs adn a ton of other smaller teeth. He can really hurt someone if in the wrong hands where someone doesnt know how to handle a kinkajou (and they are not easy to handle lol believe me they want to jump everywhere, their back feet turn 180 degrees backwards, and their prehensile tail is super strong). 3 zooligists checked him out one time and said he is the only one they have seen in the whole country who isnt completely vicious and doesnt try to attack every single person he sees. Even so, he still isn't a domestic animal and he's shown aggression before in sitaions where he was scared or being protective.

-His cage is about 7 feet tall, 4.5 feet wide x 4.5 feet deep with a tree and perches in it as well as a sleeping box we made. That can't fit in everyones house lol, plus he needs hours of time out to exercise and play. He bolts all over the house and gets into a lot of trouble, knocking things over, getting into things, opening things, climbing on everything and up the walls, etc. As well as needing outdoor exercise. You can't let them leave your sight for even 5 seconds without them breaking or getting into something or bolting out of the room.

-They are nocturnal, sleep all day and awake all night, so even though you might stay up really late, you eventually have to go to bed and have him in the cage, he jumps around all night making LOUD banging noises on the metal with his feet from jumping everywhere. He needs to be fed around 9pm. 2am. 6am and he squeaks all night which their calls are so loud that they can be heard a mile away (literally) so its QUITE loud. Back when i still lived with my parents I had to move out of my room once we got him and sleep somewhere else for years.

This isn't everything about him, but I have been around exotic animals my whole life, learned how to handle them and everything else I could about them. So just if you see a cute animal (anyone) don't always assume all animals make good pets. Many people all the time (especially when it comes to reptiles where lots of exotic things are available to people now) will see something cute and get it with no idea of the care, how aggressive they can be, etc.

This I just copy and pasted from when many people were saying they wanted to get one and I have to explain why he isn't like having even a tegu or iguana or something.

They are part of the procyonidae family and not related to lemurs, although they look somewhat similar.


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## Tegu Boss (Sep 1, 2012)

Wow that's a mouthful


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## larissalurid (Sep 1, 2012)

Tegu Boss said:


> Wow that's a mouthful



lol yea. I don't recommend them as pets for 99% of people really.


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## Tegu Boss (Sep 1, 2012)

Yeah lots of animals sold these days don't make apropriate pets for most people who see it and want it and don't even know what it is or how to care for it. It's a shame.


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## cole_schank (Sep 1, 2012)

I have a colombian and he is awesome! people give them bad reps when they have never even held one, they just read that somewhere online and decide its true. Colombians are smaller than the other breeds, but have much bigger attitudes to make up for it. if you want to put in a little extra work and attention then go with a colombian, because the end result is definitely worth it. I hope this helps with your decision. I want to stop this bad reputation that these awesome tegus have.


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## Tegu Boss (Sep 1, 2012)

Cool I'll consider it. They are significantly cheaper than argentines...


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## larissalurid (Sep 1, 2012)

Yup I think Cole Schank said it perfectly!


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## Quartzyellowjacket (Sep 1, 2012)

Here is proof that Colombian Tegus are horrible monsters, I regret owning Baragon. He scares me greatly. 
[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZidB466nhmw&feature=youtu.be[/video]


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## james.w (Sep 1, 2012)

Do you understand the main reason for the price difference?

@Quartzyellowjacket - why don't you have any substrate in the enclosure? How old is your Colombian?


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## Quartzyellowjacket (Sep 1, 2012)

james.w said:


> Do you understand the main reason for the price difference?
> 
> @Quartzyellowjacket - why don't you have any substrate in the enclosure? How old is your Colombian?



Because I recently clean out his cage, he's under a year old.


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## cole_schank (Sep 2, 2012)

Quartzyellowjacket said:


> Here is proof that Colombian Tegus are horrible monsters, I regret owning Baragon. He scares me greatly.
> [video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZidB466nhmw&feature=youtu.be[/video]



Hahaha what a vicious little child eating tegu! Great video man and a gorgeous tegu!


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## Murkve (Sep 2, 2012)

james.w said:


> Do you understand the main reason for the price difference?



Ooh! Ooh! I do! Colombians are most often Wild Caught. This results in a cheaper price, but usually often means a more skittish lizard that may not adjust well to captivity, not to mention a possible parasite load.

Argentines are most often Captive Bred and Born, resulting in a more well adjusted lizard, and usually very healthy.


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## larissalurid (Sep 2, 2012)

You should watch this video, I think it shows very well about how columbian tegus are lol. (watch the whole thing)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZidB466nhmw&feature=g-all-c


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## Tegu Boss (Sep 2, 2012)

Wow QuartzYellowJacket that is hilarious. I am definetally getting a columbian, because I spent so much on caging and substrate and decorations  I ordered the stuff online today. I will order my tegu as soon as the supplies arive. One question, a 100gallon reptarium is good for a hatchling, right? he can stay in there a while i think. Once he is big enough he will free roam my closet most of the time and i will get a 260 gallon reptarium if he wants to have a cage (he could permanently free roam the closet, and its a big closet) or i could get him a 260 gallon reptarium.


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## james.w (Sep 2, 2012)

What are the temps and humidity where you will be keeping the cage? How big is your closet?


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## Tegu Boss (Sep 2, 2012)

I am going to have an automatic mister and heat lamps, basking spot lamps, and uvb. my closet isnt quite a walk in closet but it is a large closet. that was what i was wondering about, keeping the humidity up in the closet.


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## james.w (Sep 2, 2012)

Why are you going to use a complete screen enclosure? What are the measurements of your closet (length & width)??


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## Tegu Boss (Sep 2, 2012)

I am going with the screen enclosure for money reasons. A 100 gallon is i think 60-70 bucks on Josh's Frogs.com. I was going to ask, should i cover parts of the screen to keep moisture in? i saw on youtube some guy taped over the sides and half the top to keep in humidity. Is that a good idea? Thanks. And I don't think my closet idea will work out. I have a bunch of junk in there and nowhere to put it, and if i put him in there now he would surely die  and we sure dont want that to happen.


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## james.w (Sep 2, 2012)

If you can't afford to properly provide for an animal, why would you get it?

40 gallon breeder tanks can be picked up for $40 when Petco does its dollar a gallon sale. Or you could build a simple enclosure out of wood for about $100.


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## Tegu Boss (Sep 2, 2012)

With an aoutomatic mister and half the top covered i am sure it will be humid enough, i am using that stuff in a brick that expands in water and that suposedly raises humidity. And i have a moist hide.
And I actually was going to get a 40 gal. breeder but i wanted the poor guy to have more room.


Lots of damp spagnum moss too


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## jamesnyborg (Sep 2, 2012)

Wow larissa, that is hands down the cutest animal I have ever seem.


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## Teguzilla (Sep 2, 2012)

I agree with James. If you can't afford to get the required supplies or if you think going a cheaper route, you should wait to get a tegu. Get a 40 gallon breeder or larger if you can. You can also try to find one used on craigslist. I've found plenty of used glass and custom built enclosures on there. That screen cage is not going to work at all. A tegus nails will tear the screen in no time and that thing isn't going to hold the proper humidity or temps.


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## larissalurid (Sep 3, 2012)

Yea I think you should wait as well until you can give the lizard what he really needs. Don't ever just try to take the cheaper route and end up with an unhealthy lizard :[ It's just not fair to the poor thing. They can't live in a 40g breeder forever either and will soon need a 6x3 cage. Building it will be a few hundred dollars for that alone (or buying one can be thousands), never mind full spectrum lighting that needs to be changed regularly, tons of substrate, food, etc.


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## Murkve (Sep 3, 2012)

larissalurid said:


> ...tons of substrate...



Quite literally. It's not uncommon for all the required dirt and sand to weigh in excess of 1000 lbs.


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## got10 (Sep 4, 2012)

larissalurid said:


> Tegu Boss said:
> 
> 
> > Wow that's a mouthful
> ...



I know JUST what you mean,I have a GS/ wolf hybrid, Love him to death but the worse decision on family addition I EVER made. Never buy anything because you THINK you can take it on. When we got him we had another dog that was older and very docile but would keep him in check. That dog had since passed then the other fella was becoming for lack of a better word"buck wild" so we got a pitbull as a playmate, so that he would have an animal about as rough playing as he is. Though they sort of balance out each other . It was still not a very well thought out decicion as a pet.


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## cole_schank (Sep 4, 2012)

Tegu Boss said:


> With an aoutomatic mister and half the top covered i am sure it will be humid enough, i am using that stuff in a brick that expands in water and that suposedly raises humidity. And i have a moist hide.
> And I actually was going to get a 40 gal. breeder but i wanted the poor guy to have more room.
> 
> 
> Lots of damp spagnum moss too





petco has their deal going on now, so 40 bucks for a 40 gallon is a steal. my little guy lived in a 10 gallon his first month and is now in a 40. colombians grow slow, so that will be big enough for awhile. add cypress and one of those under tank heat pad to keep it humid. zoomed and exoterra have awesome all in one uva/uvb and heat bulbs, but they are costly so add that to your budget. go to a lawn and garden store and buy a big basking rock for cheap. a 40 is definitely big enough for now. youre going to spend some money getting everything set up in the beginning, but after that all you really have to worry about is food which is cheap, considering tegus will eat a lot of what you eat (eggs, tuna, lean beef and turkey and chicken.. lean beef occasionally as a treat) and crickets and mealorms etc.,are super cheap. but the lights are the most expensive things in owning a reptile in my opinion. im glad you reconsidered.


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## triston1239 (Apr 5, 2016)

Hopefully someone is still on this forum but if i was to get a captive bred colombian tegu hatchling would it make a great pet


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## Walter1 (Apr 5, 2016)

It depends on what you think constitutes a great pet.


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