Any Idea Bobby? My "Black & White"

[Pikey]

Hello Bobby,

I've never had to ask you anything on here before, but i'm a little confused about my Argentine Black & White.

She is 11 Months old. She is From a Local Pet shop. I got her in early September of '09. She was hibernating then slept Sep-end of Oct.
Woke up in Nov was up every day until mid/late Dec. then slept till Feb. At the age of 9 months was 37" in lenght. She lost her Green coloring at the age of 8 months, but maintained a Yellow/Orange on her Back, Tail, & Belly. The back of her Head & Neck are a beautiful Creme Color. The only real White is down her sides From Snout to Back Legs & the under side of her Neck.

I've contacted the pet shop & they are not sure if she was WC or CB (they were trying out different Suppliers then (but will not give out any info on them)

I Have found a guy how says he breeds Reds & Black & Whites. He says the B&W's he breeds keep the yellow/orange their whole life, but has since stopped responding (Guy named Nikko Gambino, Rochester NY)

Any Idea if i have just and "ODD BALL" B&W or maybe a Cross of some unkown kind?

Here are pics that progress from about 8 weeks old to 2 weeks ago

The Last 2 pics are from about 2 weeks ago & are in the out side pen, She is muddy, but you can still see the yellow/orange

Here is also a video (it dosen't show the colors very well, but i figured the my info & pics the better an answer i could get)

(heres a link incase it dont embed)
Link:http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u116/Pik3y/?action=view&current=HarleyHisser.mp4

 

[Pikey]

the "fuzzy pic" at the bottom seems to be a button that will take you to the video

 

[Citrinellus]

Maybe its possible that she is from a different regional variant that we are used to seeing? Regardless she is a great looking tegu, especially the spotting pattern on her legs.

 

[Herplings]

She looks pretty neat and interesting.

My B&W lost all her green coloring by the time she was like 3 or 4 weeks old. It is crazy yours stayed green for 8 months.

 

[Pikey]

ur tegus dont have the "spotted legs"? my male jonesy does. i tought all of them had the spotted legs (never really checked to see if others do or dont)

 

[Citrinellus]

ur tegus dont have the "spotted legs"? my male jonesy does. i tought all of them had the spotted legs (never really checked to see if others do or dont)

I don't have my tegu yet, I'll be getting mine late July from varnyard. I'm not sure whether all tegus have spotted legs, I just noticed them on yours.

 

[lazyjr52]

From the 5th pic I would say that she is an extreme giant. That orange coloration is normal and usaly goes away with time.

 

[Pikey]

Ok so the Cockroach pic/vid was at about 9 1/2 months old.... i brought her in for a bath and lazy time inside.... and She has lost all of her White is now yellow/orange every where, but creme on the back of her neck & all of her head (top, sides, & neck) she also has the "V" under her chin like the Extremes

 

[VARNYARD]

Your tegu is a normal, I have some just like this or even brighter, some even have orange spots too. Tegus are polymorphic, meaning in tegus they are known for occurring in several forms and there are no set rules as for color or pattern. Normal tegus can range from very dark to very light in color, and they can show whites, blacks, grays, yellows, reds, oranges and even greens in the color. These all can also occur in the same clutch within siblings.

In 1859, Charles Darwin said this, On the Origin of Species:

I refer to those genera which have sometimes been called "protean" or "polymorphic," in which the species present an inordinate amount of variation; and hardly two naturalists can agree which forms to rank as species and which as varieties.

So all though, black and white are the primary color in normal Argentines, many other colors may also occur as well. Same is true when it comes to pattern. You might breed two very dark tegus and get some very light ones, or breed very light ones and get dark ones, there are no set colors in normal tegus, and they can vary a lot from tegu to tegu.

You ever seen a child that had blue eyes and blond hair when both parents had brown eyes and dark hair? The same is found in tegus.

 

[Pikey]

Ok thanks for the info thats what i was thinking "odd ball" B&W, just wanted to get your opinion on the matter since it's origins are unknown. I was hoping she would end up like the 2 Orange B&W bert had at Agama inter.

 

[VARNYARD]

Ok thanks for the info thats what i was thinking "odd ball" B&W, just wanted to get your opinion on the matter since it's origins are unknown. I was hoping she would end up like the 2 Orange B&W bert had at Agama inter.

I talked to Bert about those two tegus, they were not orange, it was due to stained skin from the Alabama red clay. The same is true with my animals, some look gray due to the stain from the gray sand here. Once they shed, they have no orange and these have no gray.

 

[Pikey]

Ah ok i always wondered about them cuz i he has pics up 1 male and said they were that color in the winter always.

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and this one some one baught from Agama a "High Yellow"

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[VARNYARD]

Look at the picture, have you wondered why everything in that picture looks yellow?