Questions about blue and gold tegus

[LowerGround]

Ok, I am looking into taking another step into the monitor world after owning a pair of timors awhile back, that I ended up selling because I couldn't tame them down.

I have a chance to get a gold tegu for a good price, but have noticed some people say blues are better.

Has anyone owned either? Have any hints as to care, habitat setup, and temperament?

[crocadilekid]

the golds have alittle more mean side to them but if you handle tham 1 or 2 a day after a month they will be babaies . if you are getting small ones a perect housing would be a 40 gal breeder.the begest they can get is about 4 to 4 and a half feet.the temperature should be about 80 degrees or so.

[PadraigC]

No such thing as a blue and gold.

There are gold's which are usually all WC and have quite the nasty temperment usually getting around 3ft for a good size

Then there are blues which max out around 3.5ft, the most carnivorous of all the tegus that eat a diet of substantially more meat(mice) then Argentine B&w and the reds. Both would require atleast a 6' by 3 cage

My questioin is if you sold timors because you couldnt calm them down then why be in to monitors in the first place. I have a Red Acantharus that relishes the chance to tag me on the finger but, I realize monitors and all herps are first and foremost at hear wild. If your really looking for something tame tame tame I suggest a Bearded Dragon

[LowerGround]

I meant *and* as two different critters.

I really didn't ask a question to get questioned about it. I was just curious about them. The Timors never calmed down, and were very flighty. I could not get them to switch from crickets to meat like I was told they were.

Maybe I just won't bother, if I'm going to be a bad owner because one species doesn't "click"?

[KLG]

You know...I think this is one of those topics that just got lost in the translation a bit. :?

I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that the parties in this thread all know that there's no such thing as a blue & gold tegu. Blue & gold usually refers to macaws (and if you want to see the ultimate B&G mac, look here! (http://www.newenglandreptile.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=50)). But as we all know, it's very easy to lose tone & connotation via webspeak sometimes, and equally easy to misinterpret what someone is saying.

Padraig is a knowledgeable*keeper w/some good input to share, and it's generally a pleasure to read his passionate posts.

I also personally know that "Cat" (aka Ms. Lowerground herself ;) ) is a very conscientious keeper who puts an animal's well-being first, 100% of the time.

Timors can be flighty...they may not be the right fit for every keeper's situation. I think that tegus, especially nice CB specimens raised from babies may make a more reliable bigger lizard than the sometimes unpredictable nature of a Timor.

This is just my $.02...I'd love to see our resident varanid guru (Chris - he RULES) pop in & give his opinion. He is an accomplished keeper of a large variety of lizard species, and my #1 go-to guy when it comes to scaley things with legs. ;)

Anyway...I just didn't want to see this topic go in a negative direction. We have a lot of great folks here with good ideas & input to share...let's keep going in that direction.

Ok...thanks for listening to me babble!

K~

[LowerGround]

Thanks Kara. Sorry about the venom-filled reply, today has been a very short-fuse day.

I think I'll stay away from Macaws, although they are beautiful birds!

I'm really curious to know how big is the biggest blue and the biggest gold tegus anyone has owned/seen. I may or may not get one, I prefer to get as much information as I can on a species before I even think of purchasing one. :)

[KLG]

I'll tell you this - although tegus are not my strongest point (lol...I am such a non-legged-pets person)...

In my limited experience with blue tegus & gold tegus...the golds seem to be quite a bit schitzy & unpredictable, compared to blues which (once again IMLE) are more laid-back & easygoing once they get to know you - more like a black & white.

The few golds I've had contact with have just been out there - squirmy, uneasy critters that wanted nothing to do with human contact. I'm not saying that they can't be tamed...just that a blue seems to be the better choice for this purpose.

We have an albino blue right now that is just a luv. Such a cute, wonderful lizard!

Just my $.02

K

P.S. If you'd like, I'd be happy to put you in touch with the aforementioned Chris. He is chock-full of great perspective & first-hand information on working with these species.

[varanusshack]

:?: How about we start over and ask what are you looking for in a monitor or lizard? Do you want something that stays small or gets large? Obviously everybody would prefer a "friendly" lizard(except maybe me :twisted: ) Some lizards can become quite calm and trusting of their keepers, others rarely will. If you want a small sized lizard that tends to become "tame", then a Bearded Dragon is hands down the best choice or a Frilled Dragon. If you want something bigger then an Argentine black and white tegu is a great choice, as are most of the Tegus except the golds. We have some 9-10 year old Argentines that are extremely "tame" and huge. How big is your caging? If it's not big enough for what they'll need, are you prepared to provide that when the time comes. Bigger is always better except with some babies. These are the questions you need to think about when selecting a species.
Moving into monitors, Savannahs are a great choice, Black-Throats are probably the best choice for the 5-6' club. Other than their feeding response, they're mostly all bluff and don't often bite. There are so many choices today compared to 10-15 years ago that I could ramble on forever. Monitors are major predators, so many of them are naturally quite skidish and defensive when handled. Some will tolerate us longer than others, finding the one that interests you and fits to what your willing to commit to it should always be your first priority over a "good deal".

Chris

[PadraigC]

sorry if my post can be seen as anything as negative. If anything first and foremost i like to encourage not discourage. Some foot work needs to be done on LwrGrnds part but, your in the right direction and taking Kara's word as u being a caring keeper I think you'll find what works for you. I suggest acessing what you want and can take care of reasonably setting up those parameters then looking at what can fit. Maybe a BT or Maybe a tegu or maybe the best of them all Ozzie Dwarfs :D :D :D :D (I know im a little bias but a great choice with all the monitor spunk in a nice size)

[LowerGround]

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure whether or not to get a gold now, or wait for one of bluetegu.com's blues to hatch in August. I've been reading that site and a few others. I'm looking more for a smaller monitor-thought about an ackie, but they are so overpriced! Savs and blackthroats get a little too large :) 4' is fine, 5'-6' is a bit much.

Someone with a black & white mentioned that I should look into blues or golds. The guy who has the golds says his are pretty tame and will require daily handling to keep them so. (which isn't a problem for me!)

As for caging, I was planning on buying the caging, UVB/A light, and other supplies BEFORE I bring any tegu home. I was curious how other people have their tegus set up.

[JERICO]

I have a cb black and gold tegu, nice lizard but if you dont handle them for a while they go straight back to not trusting you, mine seem's to spend most of the time in his box, unless theres food about :lol:
I find mine would rather run away or whip than bite

Bosc's are great lizard, allways being nosey, as long as you treat them right and dont let them think every time you open the viv theres food comming, otherwise they are nutts, i'v been bitten by one of mine on the palm on my hand, i managed to grab him behind the head and he realised he had made a mistake after about 3 seconds, no blood but a nice bruise and a clean pair of pants needed.
Young ones can take a bit of work to tame down though, and will to stand thier ground.

Ackies are brill lizards, i was lucky enough to spot a red in a pet shop for £75 (about $130) i still managed to get him for £70 with bark hide and magazine with a dwalf monitor article thrown in :twisted:
Mine has never attempted to bite or whip me, but damn they are fast :o

Ok waffle over, i'd say bosc or ackie as they are more forgiving and dont require the humidity like tegu's 8)

[LowerGround]

I'm looking into a gold tegu right now. Asking lots of questions :) Should I start off with a small enclosure or just get a big one right off the bat?

[JLExotics]

Lowerground I recommend you check out my site as you'll find out pretty much anything you could ever want to know about blues: http://www.jlexotics.com I have no experience is golds but I have noted them to be much like nile monitors (lol). My blues are awesome, nice calm beasts. I have heard of 4ft blues but I have never seen one. A friend of mine has an albino that is 6 months old and already 32 inches, he's going to be huge! Here are some pics of my tegus:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/JLExotics/Blue%20Tegus/female4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/JLExotics/Blue%20Tegus/female5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/JLExotics/Albino%20Blue%20Tegus/feeding3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/JLExotics/Albino%20Blue%20Tegus/albino1.jpg

[LowerGround]

Wow, those albinos are amazing! I decided I'm going to wait for a blue., I prefer the calmer ones.

[JLExotics]

I couldn't live without my tegus!!! I'm still looking to pick up MORE!!! If I can find a male I will have babies this season!!!

[LowerGround]

I bet that will be fun! I'm keeping my eye out for a blue, all I've seen are ridiculously overpriced ones so far.

[JLExotics]

What's overpriced? You will spend alot more on a blue then any other tegu. Baby male het albinos sold for 200 this year so my guess is normals are down to 150. If I find a male I'd be more then happy to let you in on a good price. I'll be at the tampa show....I can only pray I find an adult male!

[LowerGround]

I've seen some normals for $400 for babies! Now that's over priced.

[JLExotics]

WOW, Where are you looking?! Those prices I quoted were on kingsnake this past season.

[LowerGround]

I've seen ads up on all sorts of places. $125-$175 for a normal I can handle, but $400 is ridiculous.