Quote Originally Posted by purplemuffin View Post
I know about 30 people who have had argentines and had a blast with them. Babies started out a little hissy, but never tail whipped--well, one guy got whipped, but he was being dumb, wanting to play with it when it first got shipped to his house. They've all grown up well and are looking gorgeous.

I also know some people with reds who say they adore them.


I would email or call a few breeders who work with more than one species and ask them specifically! If they have been working with them for years and have raised multiple breeders, they'll likely be able to answer that question with experience.

A lot of the time, the people who say colombians or reds are evil have ONLY had experience with argentines, if even that. Or like you had only a negative experience.


I know one girl who has raised three colombians, two reds, and two argentines. She got two colombians as babies, and one as a yearling/juvenile. The juvenile was a devil and still is a monster. One of her colombians is the sweetest little girl you could imagine, while her male she got as a baby is docile, but clearly skittish and easily frightened. She got a red as a yearling and another as a hatchling, and similarly, the one raised as a hatchling responded better than the adult, though he was also fairly tame--just skittish. She actually has an EVIL argentine with a nasty bite. Think iguana male in breeding season who already doesn't like you. The other argentine she got as an adult...but he is another perfect angel. She thinks it has a lot to do with how they are treated as hatchlings, but also just individuals. It's interesting to see her colombian and argentine--both are just as docile.

But I don't have that kind of experience, so I'm not the one to tell you anything. Hopefully experienced people will be here! Or, seek them out individually!
I am now aiming towards a b/w or a red at the moment. I have had bad experiences from a colombian and I do not want to get one. It's like having a pet dog that hated/attacked you. You would be a cat person after that! I'm not saying colombians are terrible reptiles, they just have a bad reputation and I have had a bad experience now. Thanks for the info!