Should I buy him?

[aerodan]

Hi All,

I'm rather new here, having been a Bearded Dragon owner for a while now. I spotted a black and white Tegu in the local herp store and was drawn to two things that seemed rather unique from all of my research and reading about tegus:

1_ As soon as I put my hand in the viv, he (or she) just walked right on and loved being held! S/he couldn't wait to get out of there.

2_ He/she is really active - if I put my hand one-in-front-of-the-other like continuous stairs, s/he'll keep climbing and climbing. I've never seen such an energetic animal.

It's about an 8 inch long juvenile. Is this behavior normal for a baby, but they get more skittish when older? Or is this unique behavior that is a sign of a good start?

Is the highly energetic behavior of constant hunting and climbing a sign that this is going to be one tough customer later?

I have no idea if this is a male or female, and won't for some time... but so far, I'm in love ;-) However, I don't want to get in over my head - and I'm really curious about these behaviors.

Is this a good'un?

Thanks for any assistance,
-Dan

 

[KoreanDeathKid]

Welcome to TeguTalk, you'll find it very helpful here
8 inch long juvenile? that sounds a bit odd
but tegus are very curious animals, and some of them love attention, i'm not too sure if s/he will act the same was after you bring it home with you
you can tell if the tegu is a male or a female by looking for it's jowls underneath their cheeks or throats (i don't know what to call that body part lol)
it would be so much easier to tell if you could take a picture of this little tegu

 

[aerodan]

Great idea - I'll head over there and take a snapshot tonight! Thanks for the response, and more to come.
-Dan

Welcome to TeguTalk, you'll find it very helpful here
8 inch long juvenile? that sounds a bit odd
but tegus are very curious animals, and some of them love attention, i'm not too sure if s/he will act the same was after you bring it home with you
you can tell if the tegu is a male or a female by looking for it's jowls underneath their cheeks or throats (i don't know what to call that body part lol)
it would be so much easier to tell if you could take a picture of this little tegu

 

[PinkPunisher]

Not trying to burst your bubble but you more then likely won't be able to tell what sex it is unless you get it probed, take it to a long time experienced tegu breeder like Bobby, even then he might not be sure or you just wait for a year or two for it to become sexually mature.

That does seem like a good sign though on how it's acting. 8"s is really small for a juvenile I say that has to be either a extremely stunted juvenile or a hatchling. To determine if it is a hatchling or not look for green on/around the head area.

That will only work if it is a Argentina Black and White though. To tell the difference between a Columbian and Argentina feel the skin, if its beaded then it's a Argentina if its smooth like a snake then its a Columbian. You could also check the loreal scale (between the nose and the eye) If there is two it is more then likely a Argentina if there is one then it is more then likely a Columbian. There have been cases of Argentinas with one and Columbians with two though so don't only judge on that. If you get a picture though one of us will be able to tell.

Hope that helps,
Spencer

 

[Gx3]

What type of tegu is he/she? A lot of times people refer to Columbian tegus (smaller and more aggresive) as black and whites. 8" for a juvenile argentine tegu would be very small, they are that size as hatchlings-a couple of weeks old. And like KoreanDeathKid said tegus are very curious and the walking in hands is completely normal and just their way of checking everything out. My tegu is about a month old since he hatched and he is about 14" now (and growing like a weed) and absolutely wonderful. Just make sure you can accommodate a large lizard (needing at least a 6'x4' enclosure by about a year old).

 

[aerodan]

Pictures!

Hi All,

I was able to take a couple of cell phone pictures at the shop last evening - I don't know if these are sufficient to get an idea for sex of the animal, and apologies for the quality - this little guy is hard to keep still... Probably not... but any input appreciated.

Per Bobby, what I want is an Argentinian black and white female, due to the smaller size (female) and nice temperament (argentinian b&w).

Thanks again for any feedback... I'm contacting a local vet to help with sexing as well!

Note: I might just bag the whole idea and wait until Bobby gets a fresh clutch next spring...

-Dan

 

[shabazz]

well that is anargentinian b&w and it is a hatchling not a juvenile. but he/she looks good from the pics

 

[PuffDragon]

I agree with Shabazz. You will not be able to sex it unless probed.

 

[aerodan]

Oh bother...

Well guys, I think I've come to a conclusion. Right now, I live in a roughly 900-1000 square foot, two story cottage. While I would *love* to own that little guy, he will need more than just a 6x4x4 enclosure to be happy when grown. He'd need to roam about in my kitchen, have a bit of run of the place.

I'll be moving in the near future and getting a place of my own... not an easy task here in Northern Cali (it's expensive). When I do, we'll have the space to house and properly manage a creature of 3-4 feet in size.

Not knowing the sex, the origin or outcome - I think the timing of a move will coincide perfectly with an order placed with our gracious proprietor. By Spring, I'll have the right enclosure and space to do it properly.

Sadly, the little guy (or gal) will have to go to a more apt household.

Until then, we'll enjoy our beardie, Skwizgaar, and wait for the right time and the perfect animal.

Thanks for all of the great assistance - back as a lurker until later,
-Dan

I agree with Shabazz. You will not be able to sex it unless probed.

 

[aerodan]

Hi All,

Good news! We worked out our space issue Looks like I can move forward after all... Very psyched! Now, the big question: Bobby, got any Argentine B&W's on hand? Otherwise, it's petstore boy for us.

Best,
-Dan

 

[DaveDragon]

Hi All,

Good news! We worked out our space issue Looks like I can move forward after all... Very psyched! Now, the big question: Bobby, got any Argentine B&W's on hand? Otherwise, it's petstore boy for us.

Best,
-Dan

Bobby's sold out of B&W's. A few Reds & Extremes only.

 

[aerodan]

It's all good

Nuts - it's all good - we're going for our guy locally tomorrow

We'll post pictures tomorrow eve. Man, I'm so excited I won't sleep at all.

-D

 

[DZLife]

Oh boy, getting a new baby is always exciting!

Pics in is new home ASAP!

 

[aerodan]

It's a (boy?)

Ok, he's finally in his temporary viv until the Animal Plastics T25 shows up. What a great little guy - he was so good. He said hi to us, even though we woke him up - then he slept all the way home - investigated a little in his new surroundings and went right back to snoozing. I hope he'll be awake and alert tomorrow!

He's on EcoEarth coconut fiber for now - they housed him on it and for now we just want him to be familiar on his first day (by the way, "he" is an assumption based on his general size but we could easily be surprised here)...

Nathan Explosion, AKA 'Noodle' is finally home!

 

[leoares27]

awww...he is so cute...please post pics as he grows!!
hibernation time is coming soon too...
congrads on the new addition! tegus are pretty awesome. glad u "saved" this guy from a potential bad owner...
(sorry, but, i have a hard time trusting pet shops...they will sell to a 10 yo to make a buck)

 

[aerodan]

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. Breakfast of eggs and worms this morning. It was voracious to watch - we can see the future in the way he tried to rip that thing to shreds!

As suspected, he dug in and has been under the EcoEarth since this morning. We gave him the day alone so he could feel safe in his new surroundings. I've heard that it's uncool to disturb him in their hides, but there's the issue of mandatory handling time... plus, he only ate a little that once... Perhaps in a couple of days... ?

Best,
-Dan

 

[chriz]

be careful with the amount of raw egg u give him think u wud b better off giving him scrambled egg or boilded

 

[aerodan]

Thanks Chris - will do. We microwaved (pretty much same as hard boiling) the quail egg in the above pictures, and that seemed to be ok. I was worried about salmonella etc.

He's still sleeping this morning, but should be up in about half an hour. Hopefully today will be a cuddly day.

-D

 

[Gx3]

Cool!! Mine absolutely loves scrambled eggs! It is by far his favorite!

 

[chriz]

cool mine love eggs 2 but they love lean mince beef even more . your be shocked with how much your little guy will pack away .
my bnw has just packed away 3 large mice n hes looking 4 more hes just gutty tho lol n boy they grow fast