Which Tegu? Gold,Blue, Arg. B&W, Col. B&W???

Discussion in 'Monitors & Tegus' started by yesITis, Jan 25, 2005.

  1. yesITis

    yesITis New Member

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    alright about a week ago i bought a Timor and tonight I ordered a Peach Throat and Now i have my eyes on a Tegu. Problem is I dont know any were to buy them or what kind. I am willing to spend 120$ on the lizard than of course the 35$ shipping. So for 120$ what is the right Tegu for me. I like the blues but i dont know if i can get 1 for 120$ the golds are alright. the argentine black and whites are cool too. So just help me out here and try and give me a few sites to look at for purchasing tegus and try and help me pick 1.
    Thanks.
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. KaMiKaZeE

    KaMiKaZeE Member

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    Get an Argentine B&W from Agama International. You won't be sorry.:( Blues are going to be WAY over your stated price range, and true Argentine B&W's are the most docile and people-friendly of all the tegs available. If you decide to get an Argentine B&W but you decide to get it some other place than Agama, then make sure you research the differences between the argentines and the coloumbians. Its a common shady herp dealer scam to sell cheap coloumbians as argentines, and they are two different animals. Coloumbians don't get as big, are far more aggressive, and generally would sooner attack you then let you pet them.
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. JLExotics

    JLExotics New Member

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    I hope you have a very nice big cage for that peach throat as they will use all of the room.

    As for the Blue comment this is false. I know people with both as well as reds and they will always say: "They are all calm when worked with, but none of them will ever be as calm as my blues!". Then again this is all going to be opinion based so no one is right or wrong. I will say that when comparing babies/juvies it is fact that blues are calmer (lol again in my opinion and my experience - fact in my mind)! I only keep blues and therefor will side with them 100%. They are the perfect size, still manageable!
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. KLiK

    KLiK Well-Known Member

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    yesITis, : i would take it easy. i would wait until you have your peach throat and make sure everything is good. you seem to be going for a lot of the big guys, not including the timor
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. yesITis

    yesITis New Member

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    thats because i sold all my big monitors and have the open cages to add a little more to my collection. But I know the peach throat will be fine because im buying it off the same guy as i bought my Timor off of. i want a tegu that only gets 3-3.5 feet. So would that be colubian or argentine. i was thinking about a gold but i think the black and whites look way cooler
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. Danac

    Danac New Member

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    I have a Arg. Black and White and will recieve another from Ron St. Pierre tomorrow. I could not be happier with the animals and the species. I don't usually attribute reptiles with the ability to learn much or to bond but my Arg. B&W is incredible. He begs to be let out and held, stroked and otherwise be the center of attention. He is a very easy keeper and is the most intelligent herp I have ever owned. He is content to watch the world go by on my shoulder and holds his head up to be stroked. When I move towards his cage he moves towards me and when I put my hand in, believe it or not, he comes to it and waits to be picked up.
    I have become a believer! Go with the Arg. B&W but be prepared to spend $150 + shipping. Both Agama and St. Pierre are good sources.
    Dana
     
  12. lacerta

    lacerta Member

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    My vote is for the Argentine B&W. Go right to the source (agamainternational.com) and read Bert's account on the differences among tegu species. I have two B&W's. Both purchased directly from Bert Langerwerf. I paid $70 apiece for them as hatchlings at the Daytona NRB last summer. Agamainternational is the original source of Argentine B&W's because Bert actually worked with the Argentine government and was able to procure the only export permits (none have been issued since). He works with 11 bloodlines so his lizards are genetically robust. He cracked the code on captive breeding of tegus and has worked with several zoos in jumpstarting their captive breeding programs. Judging from all the buyers at that show he seems to be the primary source (if not only) of B&W's for the other big herp peddlers (LLL Reptile for one) . All tegus, when hatchlings and small juveniles are flighty. My B&W's are "dog" tame. I have never been bitten by either one. The only display of aggression I have ever experienced was that one of them used to hiss at me during the first two weeks I had him. Back then he was 75 grams so I wasn't much concerned. He is well over 700 grams now but is tame as a kitten. He ate his first full-grown live mice today (two of them).
    George
     
  13. JLExotics

    JLExotics New Member

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    B & W's get over the 3-3 1/2ft mark. You'll be looking at a much larger animal then a blue. Anyways good luck with whatever you decide!
     
  14. yesITis

    yesITis New Member

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    yeah size really doesnt concern me because ive got the room/cage for him. I was looking at LLL reptiles and they have some great B&W juvi's for 65$ I also Emailed Bert from Agama for a price list and stuff and his are 70$ But from what Ive been hearing Bert has about the best quality. So now its up to you guys because im stuck between the 2 of them. Should i go with LLL reptiles or Agama?
     
  15. varanus_rex

    varanus_rex Embryo

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    id go with the b& w also but just keep in mind that any type of tegu can be overaggressive depends on nature of animal. also watch for the wild caught ones as they r the ones with the attitudes. captive bred is best for these types of reptiles. b& w has better chance at being docile than any other and get to be 4 feet at the most depending on how long they live.
     
  16. JLExotics

    JLExotics New Member

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    Again that is an opinion. Everyone I know with B & W's, Reds, And blues say blues are the easiest to calm down and even when not handled are MUCH easier to work with then the others. My personal experience is blues are much calmer. I've never had a blue try to bite me, I can't say that about the others.
     
  17. KLiK

    KLiK Well-Known Member

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    Arg. B&W and Blues are the easiest tegus to tame. Blues are a good deal smaller then an Arg, but each make great pets and can be tamed with regular handling.
     
  18. JLExotics

    JLExotics New Member

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    I'd have to say the size difference aids in blues being easier to calm. Obviously a smaller animal is easier to work with.
     
  19. yesITis

    yesITis New Member

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    well this tegu isnt goin into a breeding project. the animals that i breed are almost never handled Im buying this one for me as a pet. it going in my house so its gunna be handled daily i just hope when he gets around 2 feet he will be calm enough for my 2 year old son to be around. Right now i dont let non of monitors go near him because i just dont know how a 4 foot mangrove monitor react around my son even tho it is really tame and never shows any aggresion toward me my wife or my dog. Plus my son knows to respect them and be very gentle with animals. I bought him a blue tongue skink a few months ago and he loves the little thing. So I guess im going with the argentine b&w from LLL reptiles even tho i like the guy from agama alot more because when i email him i talk in dutch to him because he can also speak dutch and thats real cool. Plus the guy from agama only has a few argentine's left and there way beneath the ground in their burrows.
     
  20. JLExotics

    JLExotics New Member

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    It would be well worth it going directly with the breeder rather then LLL. Just my opinion, plus bert will always be there! They specialize in the B & W's and don't have tons of other species to work with. Good luck with whatever you decide!
     
  21. yesITis

    yesITis New Member

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    yeah you have a point but i donmt know i guess if bert doesnt have any i kind of dont want to wait for them to come out of their burrows and he said they will probably come out late march or even later so i dotn know what im gunna do but LLL does have nice looking babies that why i thought i would just go with them. but bert at agama has some awesome bloodlines and his tegus are like the highest quality. but thanx ill let you guys know who i go with when i order them.
     
  22. JLExotics

    JLExotics New Member

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    I find this funny in a way. It's like Ron, he says his lines are the best. Did you know ALL blues came from Ron? They are ALL his line LOL. So really it doesn't matter much where they come. Although a Breeder generally knows the animals much better. A breeder also cares more-so (IMHO) about his or her animals and they aren't just losses when an animal dies. Not only that but a breeder will feed top quality foods, high quality large enclosures and so on. Those are just a few reasons I personally would rather buy from a breeder.
     
  23. yesITis

    yesITis New Member

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    yeah i would love to own a blue but i just dont want to spend that much money on a tegu right now
     
  24. JLExotics

    JLExotics New Member

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    LOL thats a pretty funny comment. Blues are MUCH cheaper in the long run. You know the bigger the animal the more it eats and so on, not only that but they need a bigger cage....it adds up fast. Good luck with whatever you decide.
     
  25. KaMiKaZeE

    KaMiKaZeE Member

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    Go with Bert over LLL. LLL is just a reseller, and Bert is a real breeder, and one of the best of the best. Even if you have to wait for Bert's next season, you cannot put a price on having a personal rapport with your animal's breeder. He will help you out when no one else will. He's been doing this for a long time and he's already had to deal with every possible problem you might encounter, and he knows how to fix it.
     

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