Who breeds and who keeps a tegu?

[aa_ezra]

Looking to get one, how do you people like youres. Do you have a morph or hybrid or whatever you call these crazy colors they have.

im leaning reorder an Argentine black and white as it is more likely to be less agresssive. But I do like the whiter looking tegus. I just haven’t gotten to the point in finding info and researching how they are bred into these colors and what temperament they will have.

[Spicey]

You might try looking on Facebook. They have quite a few tegu groups.

[Hugsplox]

Looking to get one, how do you people like youres. Do you have a morph or hybrid or whatever you call these crazy colors they have.

im leaning reorder an Argentine black and white as it is more likely to be less agresssive. But I do like the whiter looking tegus. I just haven’t gotten to the point in finding info and researching how they are bred into these colors and what temperament they will have.

Full disclosure, I don't keep tegus myself, I just have a little experience helping some friends out with theirs, so this is a below amateur's opinion. Black and Whites are smaller than say a red would be, but I think both are great options you just have to consider housing and dietary needs as reds get a bit bigger. As far as the "whiter looking tegus" if you're referring to albino black and whites, their temperament is going to be the same as a black and white, it's just an albino. Like an albino ball python isn't a different animal than a normal, if that makes sense.

I've handled several black and whites that were like big puppies. I've also met one or two that I wouldn't have put my hands on if you paid me. It depends a lot on the animal and the time you invest in it. Frequent handling can "tame" them down, but most tegus are still a little food aggressive regardless of how much time you spend with them. I really enjoy them, I just don't have room for one, and that's something you need to consider heavily before bringing one home. These are large animals that need a good bit of space, a minimum of I'd say a 6 foot by 4 foot enclosure.

Funny to think about, because most reptile stores sell them when they're less than a foot long, people don't realize they'll get upwards of 5 feet. These are big strong animals, and while I'd never discourage you from getting one because I think they're awesome, I would encourage you to do a ton of research and plan ahead for absolutely everything.

[aa_ezra]

Ah social media, not my favorite but I gues this is the way of things.

[aa_ezra]

By white I didn’t mean albino, they have these morphs I guess and they tend to have a lot more white then black. Like a regular argentine black and white is mostly black with let’s say white spots/patches. The high white tegus are almost the opposite, lots more white and less black.

The room inside my home is no biggie, got a spare 40gallon Breeder that is already to go. Sooner then later a larger enclosure around that 6-8”x 3-4”, and also an outside enclosure when the weather is nice. The size and intelligence is what’s drawing me towards a tegu, always caught and released fence lizards as a kid. Loved those little eyes staring at you knowing full well it seems they are masterminding some plan to escape or just wonder why the heck did you catch and release me lol

[Spicey]

Ah social media, not my favorite but I gues this is the way of things.

I agree. But you have to take knowledge where you can get it.