theTegu.com - Tegu information, photo gallery, forums, caresheets, diet & nutritional info, taming tips and more for the argentine black and white tegu, argentine red tegu, blue tegu, colombian black tegu and the colombian gold-phased black tegu. Tupinambis merianea, teguixin & rufescens.
Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 4:22 pm Post subject: Another passionate defense of the Colombian Tegu
Dear Forum Members:
I'm writing to everyone as a person who, many years ago, had an awful experience with a so-called 'Golden Tegu' (i.e. the gold phase of the Common Tegu, Tupinambis teguixin). At that time, I was without the benefit of sites such as TheTegu.com, or even of good books on the subject. Hence, some of the proper taming techniques were probably not employed. However, I did exercise a great deal of patience with the individual lizard in question. I raised it to an adult, but had to sell it to a person who was content with merely a "display animal", because it was so vicious.
But recently I have had a very good reason to change my attitude on Colombian tegus. I purchased a young Colombian (approx. 18 inches long, snout to tail tip) from a respectable private party. This party has owned the animal - itself a rescue from a "dead box" in a pet store - for over three months. During that period of time, which saw the animal nursed back to health and "plumped up", the tegu never exhibited the least sign of aggression. In fact, except for some natural squirminess when handled, it seemed perfectly tame. I bought the animal knowing this past history.
I remained skeptical about the possibility of a genuinely tame Colombian (this one is a Black and White phase) even after receiving the animal and confirming that its demeanor was remarkably calm. I've now had the animal (his name - for it seems to be a male? - is Jagua) for several weeks and he still shows absolutely no signs of aggressive behavior. In fact, he is remarkably tame.
Now, I cannot account for the tameness of this individual Colombian. Perhaps his being "nursed" back from the brink of death and handled subsequently every day thereafter has altered what would otherwise be a vicious personality. Or perhaps this individual lizard simply has a slightly different genetic makeup than other Colombians. Nature or nurture? I have no idea! But for now he is an absolute prince.
I was wondering... and this is sort of a general question to forum members. Has anyone thought to breed Colombians specifically for good disposition? I mean, if one calm Colombian was bred to another calm Colombian, would their offspring share this trait? It seems that there has been a lot of selective breeding for the Argentines, but little or none for the Colombians. Most of the Colombians I run into online are imports, and those that are captive bred and born are not done so with disposition in mind.
Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 5:05 pm Post subject: Re: Another passionate defense of the Colombian Tegu
Oghmius wrote:
Dear Forum Members:
I'm writing to everyone as a person who, many years ago, had an awful experience with a so-called 'Golden Tegu' (i.e. the gold phase of the Common Tegu, Tupinambis teguixin). At that time, I was without the benefit of sites such as TheTegu.com, or even of good books on the subject. Hence, some of the proper taming techniques were probably not employed. However, I did exercise a great deal of patience with the individual lizard in question. I raised it to an adult, but had to sell it to a person who was content with merely a "display animal", because it was so vicious.
But recently I have had a very good reason to change my attitude on Colombian tegus. I purchased a young Colombian (approx. 18 inches long, snout to tail tip) from a respectable private party. This party has owned the animal - itself a rescue from a "dead box" in a pet store - for over three months. During that period of time, which saw the animal nursed back to health and "plumped up", the tegu never exhibited the least sign of aggression. In fact, except for some natural squirminess when handled, it seemed perfectly tame. I bought the animal knowing this past history.
I remained skeptical about the possibility of a genuinely tame Colombian (this one is a Black and White phase) even after receiving the animal and confirming that its demeanor was remarkably calm. I've now had the animal (his name - for it seems to be a male? - is Jagua) for several weeks and he still shows absolutely no signs of aggressive behavior. In fact, he is remarkably tame.
Now, I cannot account for the tameness of this individual Colombian. Perhaps his being "nursed" back from the brink of death and handled subsequently every day thereafter has altered what would otherwise be a vicious personality. Or perhaps this individual lizard simply has a slightly different genetic makeup than other Colombians. Nature or nurture? I have no idea! But for now he is an absolute prince.
I was wondering... and this is sort of a general question to forum members. Has anyone thought to breed Colombians specifically for good disposition? I mean, if one calm Colombian was bred to another calm Colombian, would their offspring share this trait? It seems that there has been a lot of selective breeding for the Argentines, but little or none for the Colombians. Most of the Colombians I run into online are imports, and those that are captive bred and born are not done so with disposition in mind.
Anyway, my very limited two cents' worth.
Dan
I would add that this brings to mind my experience as a boy, when capturing garter snakes on and around my parents' rural property. I was always amazed by the diversity of personalities among these snakes - even among those belonging to the same subspecies or to intergrades. For example, one "red-sided" might be extremely docile, while another would be aggressive. There did seem to be a correlation between gender and personality also, as I recall, with most of the female red-sided garters being of a mild temperament, and the males being rather nasty. But there were also exceptions across gender lines.
Anyway, it would seem the same can be true of Colombian tegus...
Talking generalizations with lizards, yes, males tend to be more aggresive/less passive than females... and a good "breeder" pair are not usually a good "pet" pair. The wild ones are more prone to mating behaviors. I have a group of bearded dragons and the totally docile "pet" male doesnt show any interest in the female when she is in cycle. The other males are all over her and head bob/display violently. The males are separated and not in view of one another, so it isnt that the docile male is submissive due to that. He has always been that way since 6 weeks old.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Forum FAQ
Search
Usergroups
Profile
Login
