What lizard to get?

[Diesel]

Alright i have a dilemma. I am stuck on four different lizard types to get and can only have one. Either an Argentine B&W tegu, Savannah monitor, blue tongued skink, or a green iguana. I have done my research enough to get any one of them but the one i know least about is probably the iguana; however, i have still read some care sheets and feel i can handle them. I know this is "TEGU talk" and most of you will say get a tegu! But i would like you to try to be as unbiased as you could lol. I know several of you have some of these lizards and i want to know what you think have the best looks, funnest personality, and overall just a great lizard is. I don't mind the challenge of anyone of them so the caring, needs, and temperament is not a problem. If it was i would probably get the skink. One last thing if i get a skink can i have two of them in one cage? It would be a huge cage and i have heard you can but i dont know if its best. Let me know thanks everyone.

 

[reptastic]

would this be your 1st time owning a large lizard? iguanas are the last reptile i would reccomend as a 1st time large reptile pet, i would say go with the skink(btw i know its tegu talk lol)

 

[Dana C]

This isn't biased because I have three Tegus. I like the looks of Savannah's, Black Throats but because of my limited space I went back to Tegu's. I had one years ago and always missed the sense of wonder I would get interacting with my Tegu. They truly incredible intelligence as I am sure you know. I rent a small house and don't have much room so as I said, space was a bit consideration. Also, Idaho has cold winters and very short winter days which makes hibernation very practical and almost unavoidable. I also like varied diet of Tegu's as opposed to some of the other large monitors.
It is just my $ .02 worth.

 

[james.w]

It depends on what you are looking for in a lizard.

 

[Diesel]

i have a Colombian tegu that is a little over 3ft.. and i didnt say "this is tegu talk" i said "i know this is tegu talk" as in most people have tegu's and on this website so tegu's will be the most loved. That is what i meant by that and that's why i asked for an unbiased toward the other reptiles.... As i stated, i want to know what everyone thinks about which one has the best/funnest personality like a cute personality, which one looks the best with color and design, and what lizard everyone would prefer over the other. Again care, temperment, size of cage, food, ect is not an issue in the decision. I have full capability to handling these.

 

[reptastic]

what i meant was i know this is tegutalk and we all love tegus but i wouldnt say they would make the best pets just because i love them, i dint mean it to say we all know its tegu talk

 

[james.w]

I've kept all except the skink, and I would say Tegus have the best personality by far. Savs and iguanas take a lot of work both to keep and to tame down and some never do.

 

[Diesel]

well thanks for your input! Say if i bought a savvy or iguana that was already fairly trained and was tame. Would you still say the tegu?

 

[james.w]

I really like iguanas, so if you got one that was "tame" and had a proper enclosure I would say go for it. Savannahs are rarely taken care of properly and a lot of times a tame Sav, means a sick or too cold Sav.

 

[Diesel]

haha "tame" yeah i know they are lizards so as "tame" as they come. But most definitely would have the proper enclosure. thanks for both of your inputs. that's sad to hear about savannah monitors. I always thought they were next to tegu's on being tamed down. Obviously i was wrong. I have seen videos on youtube of nice savannah monitors and they look healthy. maybe they are the few who actually put all the work in that is needed for these animals.

 

[BillieJeAn]

i would go with either the tegu or skink
iggy's are moooooooooooody
i've never had a sav so i can't say anything about them haha

 

[Diesel]

its too bad tegu's and skinks are a lot harder to find haha those two are the ones i'm leaning towards most!

 

[reptastic]

I love iguanas and have had a few that tamed down after a few years of constant interaction, the thing with iguanas is as stated above they will get moody, a male will turn from a sweet best buddy to the worst enemy in the world at the drop of a dime during breeding season(this never bothered me I had a 4.5' male that was in breeding. Season 367 days a year it seemed lol) it moreso if you can handle that, I hd a savvy once, the only thing I didn't like about them is their diet which most people don't realize has to be majority insects, and at 2.5' he ate a lot of them, he was no were near tame although he never bit me he did snap at the air when ever I was near his enclosure and would huff and puff up, as james stated before its really all about what you want out of a reptile, and what you can handle,

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Another thing to keep in mind with iguanas is they are like a person with ocd, they prefer thing be in repitition,they are creatures of habit and they don't like change, that tame iguana may not be tame with you because his world has change, he will most likely respond with aggression

 

[Jason]

I have all of the above. I Love my Iggy he's as sweet as they get, but during breeding season even he has his moods. My sav is a little stinker, pretty calm as far as they go, but i still don't take an eye off him during handling. Skinks are pretty cool, but i prefer larger lizards.. By far my tegus are the most rewarding. If you have the time to interact with them on a daily basis they get puppy tame

 

[Diesel]

yeah no matter what i get i plan on working with as much as possible and i agree i rather have larger lizards thats why if i get a skink i want 2 if it can happen. but sounds like tegu? hopefully i can find one. it would be nice to get a tegu that actually would mind being held! thank you for helping my decision everyone!! if i get one i will let everyone know even though it may be a while.

 

[Deac77]

id avoid the skinks ive had them and they seem not to really hae personalities the iguannas as stated above can be moody i had a male for 13years he was 5.5foot and a sweet heart till that time of the year then you were lucky to walk past him unscaved i love the color and have heard rhino or cubans are a little sweeter but not a pretty personally id go with tegu the sav's ive been around all seem mean as fire once the temps have been fixed to the right spot also just my 2 cents personality wise the best ive had are a beadie or a frilled dragon they are awesome that being said im getting a tegu this summer =P

 

[Diesel]

yeah i love my bearded dragon! he is pretty awesome with great color!.. but thats strange i have heard skinks have great personality? but yeah me too i am hoping i find a tegu. If not i am gonna have to get one from varnyard. Which is perfectly fine, i just rather not wait that long.

 

[Dana C]

well thanks for your input! Say if i bought a savvy or iguana that was already fairly trained and was tame. Would you still say the tegu?

If the Savannah was tame, I would be tempted. They are trainable or so I have heard and I have seen some You Tube flicks that bare that out.