Hello! My name is Courtney my bf Tristan and I were looking into geting a large lizard. Not an iguanna too many running around Florida. We have multiple Chameleons and have had an array of various reptile all of our lives. We wanted something that could roam around the house and make us laugh. We though about Savannah monitors but it is not yet the season for babies and we arent big on wc imports. While visiting a wholesale reptile warehouse in our area I fell in love with the hundreds of baby tegus. I picked one out that didnt squirm when I touched it, as well as held for a few minutes. At the moment I have it in a clear blanket box red heat light and a tube uvb. Its eateing 9 3/4 crix a day. I havent yet tried any other foods. His semi permanant home is a 29 gal long with screen locking lid that I havent set up. The blanket box will be its feeding bin. I figured it would be best to leave him in there to get acustomed to eateing in there before introducing it to its new home. I dont have a name picked out yet. While lounging on the bed it walks just under the blanket and lays on me with its head sticking out. It is still very small 14in total length im guessing. I havent decided on what kind of substrate to use yet. Im thinking cypress but none of my local pet stores carry it, where else can i get it? I also thought of coconut fiber as it isnt as hard of a substrate for something so small? Will post picks sometime this week. After 2 days of researching tegus online I am glad I found this place!!! what is the normal size for introducing a leash/ harness?
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Proud New Columbian B&W Tegu Parents
- Thread starter Courtney
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- 416
Too bad you didn't do the research before you bought the tegu. If you had then you'd already know that you bought a WC or farmed import. There are no CB Columbians in the US. The fact that your young Columbian is so docile is a little disturbing since they are usually feisty, biting machines. I'd suggest a vet checkup and fecal exam as soon as possible.
Cypress can usually be found at home improvement stores but if you can't find it the eco-earth or coconut fiber will work.
Glad you found the site and find it helpful. Good luck with your new Tegu!
Cypress can usually be found at home improvement stores but if you can't find it the eco-earth or coconut fiber will work.
Glad you found the site and find it helpful. Good luck with your new Tegu!
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- 1,055
Columbians are generally referred to as "Black and Gold"...
Argentinians are generally reffered to as "Black and White"
Arg get quite a bit bigger (3~4') and are often quite a bit tamer... Col stay smaller (1.5~2') and are known to be quite flightly and often aggressive.
As mentioned, Col Tegus are all Wild Caught imports...
Arg Tegus typically hibernate, especially their first winter. So if your guy had 'hundreds' of active baby Arg Tegus it is likely they were born in S America either in the wild or on farms.
Arg Tegus follow a breeding season pretty well so they will either be born in early summer (if born in Norhtern Hemisphere) or born in late fall (if born in Southern Hemisphere). Since yours is 14" in Feb, if it's an Arg, it's likely S American born.
You've got to be cautious with those impulse buys. It seems you guys knew what you were looking to buy, but learning about the specific species you are looking at is essential.
Argentinians are generally reffered to as "Black and White"
Arg get quite a bit bigger (3~4') and are often quite a bit tamer... Col stay smaller (1.5~2') and are known to be quite flightly and often aggressive.
As mentioned, Col Tegus are all Wild Caught imports...
Arg Tegus typically hibernate, especially their first winter. So if your guy had 'hundreds' of active baby Arg Tegus it is likely they were born in S America either in the wild or on farms.
Arg Tegus follow a breeding season pretty well so they will either be born in early summer (if born in Norhtern Hemisphere) or born in late fall (if born in Southern Hemisphere). Since yours is 14" in Feb, if it's an Arg, it's likely S American born.
You've got to be cautious with those impulse buys. It seems you guys knew what you were looking to buy, but learning about the specific species you are looking at is essential.
it is disapointing that it is a wc i forgot to mention that i knew it was and that is also what had stoped us from geting a Savannah when the season hit. When i mentioned that it wasnt skitish i meant that it didnt freak out. it was by no means just calm and sickly. its quite the other way around. it seems to enjoy lounging around with us. i just picked one that was more human tolerent than the rest. I gave him a little bit of organic baby food today that i had left over from hand feeding my gravid veilds. he loved it. i dont know what sex it is, nor does it really matter to me. Going to take some pictures today. im also seting up the temp tank. till this weekend im going to use heat treated nature bark. i do all my reptile shoping in 2 places an hour from my house and i make that trip once a week. I had alrady made that trip before i brought the baby home. he seems to already be growing. :-D
Okay, just a few corrections. First of all, Columbian black and whites and Columbian Black and Golds are two different color phases of the Teguixin. Also, Columbian tegus get 3-3 1/2 feet not one and a half to two. Also, you can tame down a Columbian but it will not be easy. They are mostly ranched, so yeah basically wild caught.
im completly confident my baby will be as calm as a puppy. i know it will take alot of time and patience. my baby is black and gold with black and white belly and legs. wet yellow spot is the spilled bananna baby food mixed w H2O. He was in his feeding bin which was also his temp home for the last 2 days. He is now in his 29g long. will post pics of the set up tomorrow.
rmzsuzuki89
New Member
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- 157
Definitely a cutie.
