Do Tegus' have hair....

bubblz · Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 5:38 pm Post subject: Do Tegus' have hair....

.....this may sound like a dumb question but its not (and if you haven't already noticed, it'll probably have you checking your tegu to make sure

).

K....so....I got a new 07 baby tegu a couple of weeks a go from Exotic pets in Vegas (its suppose to be a male but we'll find out soon enough). As my niece was checking him over and comparing him to my columbian Spaz (R.I.P

luv u,...miss u) she noticed one line of fine hair like follicles on each side under his back legs. Which obviously raised the question Do tegus have hair and if not, what's that and what's it there for? It took me a min for my eyes to actually focus and see what she was talking about but there it was and I had no clue what to tell her. Because I still wasn't sure if it was actually hair and not like very fine spurs or something. So I explained to her what they could be (hair/spurs) and possible used for using other species as an example. Such as how hair follicles can help with sensing vibrations and spurs for more reproductive (enticing the female) reasons.

Then I followed up with I will check with the tegu community to find out, make sure and get back to you on that.

(I was thinking if any one knows, it should be someone on this site)

She was very pleased with that response so here I am;....and what do you think....

Do Tegus have hair?

tupinambis · Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 1:01 pm Post subject:

Not in the sense you are talking, no they don't. What you are likely looking at is the femoral and pre-anal pores.

Cowher · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 3:11 pm Post subject:

and for us rookies what does that do?
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rekn · Member Joined: Jun 05, 2007 Posts: 31

im not sure scientists know yet, but i think its for pheromone production

tupinambis · Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 12:41 am Post subject:

Femoral and pre-anal pores are some of the rare examples of an exocrine gland in a reptile. In some taxa (particularly Iguanids) they exude a waxy substance and are substantially larger in males than in females. In tegus, however, their function is debatable. There appears to be no differences between the sexes, and no one has recorded any specific activity from them (they don't produce the waxy combs often seen in Iguanids, for instance). Some theorize that they produce either pheromones or scent marking substances, however no one has really looked at them closely to say for sure. Internally they are clearly structured for some sort of secretion, but the glands are not that well developed and so whatever substance is produced at them is in small quantities. Each pore appears to be it's own gland, there are no connecting ducts, and no large storage diverticula appear present.

bubblz · Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 11:08 am Post subject:

I finally got him to sit still long enough to get a good pic. Check out the first, third and fourth pores on the left. Those look like hairs or something to me.

<img

worldeater · Honored Member Joined: Mar 06, 2008 Posts: 163

dude, what kind of camera is that? i need a camera, and that one must be badass to take a pic like that!
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bubblz · Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 2:14 pm Post subject:

Its a Pentax Optio 750z they stopped production in 04' (the same year I purchased it) so I don't know how much it costs now or where you could find one.

tupinambis · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 4:53 am Post subject:

Those aren't hairs, just some other product of the femoral glands.

From the Oxford Concise Science Dictionary:
"hair: a multicellular threadlike structure, consisting of many dead keratinized cells, that is produced by the epidermis in mammalian skin"

It may look like hair, but it certainly isn't hair.

First, your tegu is clearly not a mammal.

Second, here's a photo of the same structures from the other side of the integument (ie. inside the leg). You should be able to plainly see the glands are not within the epidermis, but are fully seperate on the other side and project through the epidermis to excrete their product to the external environment.:
<img

txrepgirl · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 5:02 am Post subject:

You should be a teacher

.Are you ? thanks for the info.I don't want to be rude but could you maybe take some more pictures because those ones are to close up for me.It is hard for me to tell what is what

.Thanks.

tupinambis · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 5:37 am Post subject:

I'm a herpetologist (my latest research/degree was on tegus) and am currently teaching comparative anatomy at a university.

I would take more pictures but the problem is that, really, my camera sucks (and I didn't mount it on a tripod when taking those photos). I'm not a shutterbug and so I blow my money on other equipment and literature. However, a colleague of mine I think did buy a really good camera specifically for her research, so I'll see if I can get something better. Plus, that tegu has been sitting in the fridge for some time so there is some tissue degeneration.

txrepgirl · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 5:51 am Post subject:

wow.It didn't look dead to me

.Don't worry about taking some more pictures.But thank you any way.I couldn't have your job because the school wouldn't have a big enough bucket for me to get s.... in

.I have a very weak stomach.I thought you were a teacher because you use all those fancy words

.Poor Tegus

( that are being use for research ).Let me know when ( if ) you come out with a book.We all sure could use one,but with out the graphic pictures

.

tupinambis · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 6:15 am Post subject:

That would have been a nasty picture to take if it weren't dead. Still, fresher would have been better. I think that particular tegu has now been dead for several weeks. As for graphic, I guess I have a different scale than most. When you've been up to the armpits in the guts of a dead whale, a picture like the inside of a patch of integument of a lizard is pretty tame.

As for the research, I don't condone torturing animals, but the simple fact of the matter is is that to answer certain questions, you have to do certain things which some people may be uncomfortable with. We do have animal care protocols we have to follow, and anything along the lines of surgery or euthanization has to meet accepted regulations and use anaesthetics to minimize/abolish pain. My own particular research I did perform surgeries, but my animals weren't terminated.

When it comes to publishing a book...depending on what you are talking about, that's either a long way in the future (if ever) or very, very shortly. I'm currently in the process of publishing my thesis, but that is probably not of interest to the average hobbyist. Something more interesting to hobbyists I'd like to do much more research on before writing it up. I'd like to more fully document geographic variation in the various species, backed up with genetic analysis. First, I think there's good potential that what we currently recognize as one species may actually be made up of several. Secondly, there are a lot of hobbyists in the industry that make up names and geographic references for them at whimsy, and as someone who looks for fact and opposes conjecture, I think we seriously need documented reference material in that area. That would be a much bigger undertaking than my current finances would allow.

txrepgirl · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 6:27 am Post subject:

If you don't mind me asking, what is the focus of your thesis ? I'm sorry for being so nosey but where are you studying ? I'm also happy to hear that your animals will live.How did the one Tegu die ? thanks again for all your infos.

Ben3233 · Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 9:48 am Post subject:

Wow, if one day you published a book tupinambis, I would like to hear the named and they author (your real name) of it.

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