lets get some oppinions

[MuddyRedneck]

so im new to this fourm but not new to reptiles, however im not really here for myself lol. my little brother has a birthday comming up and is fasinated with reptiles of the four legged kind. he loves my snake and all but really wants a lizard with some "meat on its bones" is how he puts it lol. so instead of getting him the bearded dragon im thinking of getting him either a B&W tegu (heard there big and easier to tame) or a iggy. im leaning more tword the rock iggy because they grow slower and are well nicer lol. iv delt with green iggys in the past and feel they are really a hit or miss and proper housing and taming only gets u so far. this is gonna be a learning experience for us both so lets hear your oppinions

 

[kaa]

Honestly, I would say go with a bearded dragon, or a crested gecko. They are easier to take care of and still a fun animal to have. If you have lizard experience, I would say you should go for it and your little brother can learn from your tegu. By the way, I suggest the tegu over the iguana. I've never owned the rock iguana, but I have had some greens.

Another thing to keep in mind is all the care a tegu requires. I am sure you av done some research on the tegu. So you know that they require a huge cage, uvb, lots of food. They hibernate for a good amount of the year. They are also sensitive to cage feeding. They are not an animal you can just feed when you have time or let it sit in its cage and expect it to just be tame. If you and your brother are ready for the commitment, then go for it. But I hope you ask ANY AND ALL question here. Everyone on this bored will be more than happy to help. Please keep us informed on your decision.

 

[txrepgirl]

How old is your brother ? I had a lot of different lizards before and I honestly have to say that the Tegus are by far our ( my boyfriend and I ) favorite lizard. We still have a Brearded Dragon, Frilled Dragon and a leopard gecko besides the six Tegus we have. I like them but you can't cuddle up with them as well as you can with the Tegus. The Argentine black/white, red and the extreme giant Tegus do get very big. If you want to you could get a Argentine blue Tegu. They don't get as big. But they cost a lot more because they are more rare. Here are some videos of my son and I with one of our Argentine b/w Tegu. So you can see how tame they can be if you handle them a lot. We had all of our Tegus from when they were hatchlings.

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[MuddyRedneck]

oh yea iv been reading posts on this site all day, lol i have some experience with iggys i just have none with tegus which is why im here. my little brother is 17 so im not trying to buy my 5 year old a retic i got myself one of those :cheers. and as for the enclosure thats actually a rason i kinda wanna get him a tegu, i love building things and just recently finished a cage and want another project. i like that they give u the room for creativity (understanding req are met) unlike most snake species and some lizards. i got a whole room to play around with for the room when its big enough. plus if i understand right, they can be allowed to free roam (safely) more then the iggys.

 

[brutus13]

As you know lizards require a lot more attention than snakes (I have both so speaking from experience) I hope your brother understands the time that needs to be committed to a tegu. It's for sure an everyday duty that can't be ignored. I have Beardies and will be getting my tegu from varnyard herps probably in July. I just know that tegus are huge and if your brother is mature and is ready for the challenge then go for it. You've came to the right place for advice. There are a lot of cool people here!

 

[kaa]

Oh, you say little brother, I think like 10 yo. A 17 yo. could do fine with a tegu, Get him on here though. Make sure he is prepared. I do agree with txrepgirl. The tegus are my favorite lizard that I own. I have 5, 4 black and whites, and an all american. i say go with the bnw, just in case they aren't your thing. That way you are only out 150. Also, not trying to suck up, but go with a Varnyard. They are the best I have seen, and Bobby offers lifetime service practically. Probably one of the best breeders I have dealt with. If you get a '10 baby, that should give you enough time to learn what you need to know. They are awesome animals.

 

[MuddyRedneck]

yeah hed be alright and id be there to keep him in check, hes pretty good with our dogs. just wanna make sure i know enough to beable to show him how to do it and make sure its something i think he can 100% care for.

so since size isnt really an issue are the diets diffrent between the colors or are there just little changes here and there?

 

[kaa]

Just little changes. Like i think reds eat more fruit than bnw's. Check out the main tegutalk page, there are a few care articles there.

 

[MuddyRedneck]

ima have to do that, cause i think ima eaither go with B&W or the giants,

 

[Adam87]

frpm my understanding weather im right or wrong on this but i think the argentine black and whites tame down the easiest of all the tegus but they grow wicked fast haha for instance i got buddy at 15" at the end of feb its now may and hes 30" haha so i would start planning for a huge enclousre soon haha. but the only other thing i should say which im sure u are already aware of is research research research good luck

 

[txrepgirl]

It's good that your brother is a teenager. I thought, too, that he is still very young. This is why I asked about his age. To be honest with you I think all Tegus are easy to tame if you put the time into it and do it the right way .

 

[reptastic]

well i have 2 b/w's and a red and the b/w's seemed to tame down pretty quickly, but my red pyro is a little firecracker and showing no signs of letting up lol. like everyone else tegus are by far my favorite reptile, i have other reptiles, but these guys are the best! i think he would be happy with one of bobbys babies! just remember they can grow faster than the speed of light lol, so keep that in mind when building his enclosure, if he feeds them as much as they can eat everyday,keep them hot, give them something to burrow in and keep the humidity up they will be "big" happy lizards! good luck!