columbian tegu advice

[HPIZZLE]

well, ive been trying to convince my parents to let me have an argentine B&W tegu for a long time. well, i moved my room down stairs and finally convinced them. however, the catch is i will have to go to college in a few years and they flat out told me they will not take care of a lizard of that calibur even with me home on the weekends. So, im talking to another member on here about taking it once ive moved on to college, but then i thought what about a columbian? i want an animal thats fairly tame though.

im looking for advice from any kind of tegu owner on realistically how easy these animals are to "tame." (when i say tame i mean be handeled without wanting to eat and poop out my soul.) because a columbian is much smaller so it could be easily managable. also ive recently heard a theory that most of the aggressive ones were imported and pissed off but the CB ones do much better at adapting to being handeled.

also if you have expierence id like to know what cage size you recommend. i personally figured with a columbian coming out daily to excersise in his own basement, id do around 6x3x2(?) ive heard they climb so not sure on height.

really though, i would like a B&W, but id want a female just because of the smaller size and i think my mom would bond with her more and she'd want to keep her.

any and all helpful advice or "constuctive" critism is encouraged. please offer some feedback.

 

[SimonL]

I don't really get the difference between the care of the two. If anything, I'd think they'd be more keen on caring for a nice, big calm BW rather than a vicious beast like a Columbian. I owned one when I was 17 that leaped almost the whole length of a 6' tank and bit me on the hand lol. I've had aggressive feeder BWs too, but they are much nicer out of the cage.

 

[HPIZZLE]

I don't really get the difference between the care of the two. If anything, I'd think they'd be more keen on caring for a nice, big calm BW rather than a vicious beast like a Columbian. I owned one when I was 17 that leaped almost the whole length of a 6' tank and bit me on the hand lol. I've had aggressive feeder BWs too, but they are much nicer out of the cage.

well i was hoping to avoid the evil nasty columbian stereo type. ill be able to work with him every day, and if for some reason not at least 6 days a week. i think the difference to them is the food bill and the size of the enclosure, however i believe there logic is flawed. i just dont tell them because im tired of my dad wooping my smart ass with a text book.

 

[jewbo]

As long as its captive bred it should be easy to tame.

Ive had mine for 2 years she just reached 1.5ft and im about to upgrade her cage from a 90 gallon to a 180 gallon. I love craigslist always big tanks for dirt cheap. My tegu is b/w columbian but weirdly she has a gold head with black spots unlike the others who have black heads with gold spots in their youth... She was the only one like that in her litter. And yes she is b/w columbian not columbian gold.

Anyway, My tegu has never bit me nor has she ever tried, she doesn't jump unless its to do her trick which is me letting her jump out of her cage and go onto my bed. Becareful letting them sit on your shoulders if your not careful when they are babies they can easily break a bone if they fall. Most suffer from calcium defiency so make sure you get him either calcium powder without vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 makes them absorb the calcium too fast leading to hypercalcemia.

Cod liver oil is very high in protein so give food with it in in their. Im assuming you know the diet since you wanted an argentine, its basically the same thing.

Your going to need a UVB bulb and thats a must! My tegu is constantly soaking under the bulb everyday, she loves it.

Handling is very easy. I usually let mine watch tv with me or go for a walk on my shoulder with my dog. I sometimes even let her sleep on my bed. They are also hunters, if you leave my tegu alone next to a 30 gallon tank full of fish she will literally jump in and eat half the fish, she ate my red belly pacus, and my bait fish. Basically give them something to hunt down like live mice, put some fish in a small tank in the cage and let him at it. I've found that natrual sunlight does make them a little more aggressive. You let mine lose in the backyard in the sun she goes nuts, kind of like a wild tegu when they see a human.

My tegu still freaked out my mom though and niether one of my parents would let me leave her in their care. My mom used to play with her when she was little but once she reached a foot my mom hated her. So good luck convincing them.

Overall the only thing I hate about my tegu is that she isnt potty trained yet and never goes in her cage. See my dilemma. But i love my tegu very much and wouldnt even trade her for an argentine. You can actually see mine in my pictures.

Good Luck!

 

[rrcoolj]

Im not experienced with columbians but i will say this. Unlike the omnivorous Argentine black and white tegu, columians are strictly carniverous. They do not eat any fruit or vegetable matter. Also, I do not believe columbians will hibernate like the argentines will. Based on what I have read, columbians are harder to tame and don't get as tame as the argentines.

^To the above poster, your tegu is 2 years old and only 1.5ft? I was sure they grew much faster than that. At two years old your should be full grown at 3ft long.

 

[Citrinellus]

If size is the issue why not opt for a blue tegu? They have a similar disposition and tameness of a black and white, but stay at a smaller size. I personally think this would be your best option. Good luck convincing your parents, it took awhile, but my parents came around to the idea of letting me get one. It is definitely worth it, they make great pets and she is easily the best reptile I've ever had.

 

[Citrinellus]

Cod liver oil is very high in protein so give food with it in in their. Im assuming you know the diet since you wanted an argentine, its basically the same thing.Good Luck!

While cod liver oil is a very good suppliment to feed to your tegu, it doesn't contain any protein itself. Cod liver oil is very high in vitamin A, vitamin D, and rich in omega-3's.

 

[silvertip0]

I was going to say Blue Tegu to because they stay small, but they also cost more than a B+W. They don't eat veggies like the others tegus. Also Blue Tegus are classified as the same species as B+W's.

 

[HPIZZLE]

well thanks for the responses guys. ive looked for a blue for around 13 months and cant find "the" one. ive found some but i want an okay price, good size, and good genes.

so it looks like no one else has colombians? to the guy that posted about his columbian, it should be bigger than 18" at her age. is the size including the tail?

any one know how much smaller female B&Ws tend to stay than males?

 

[HPIZZLE]

As long as its captive bred it should be easy to tame.

Ive had mine for 2 years she just reached 1.5ft and im about to upgrade her cage from a 90 gallon to a 180 gallon. I love craigslist always big tanks for dirt cheap. My tegu is b/w columbian but weirdly she has a gold head with black spots unlike the others who have black heads with gold spots in their youth... She was the only one like that in her litter. And yes she is b/w columbian not columbian gold.

Anyway, My tegu has never bit me nor has she ever tried, she doesn't jump unless its to do her trick which is me letting her jump out of her cage and go onto my bed. Becareful letting them sit on your shoulders if your not careful when they are babies they can easily break a bone if they fall. Most suffer from calcium defiency so make sure you get him either calcium powder without vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 makes them absorb the calcium too fast leading to hypercalcemia.

Cod liver oil is very high in protein so give food with it in in their. Im assuming you know the diet since you wanted an argentine, its basically the same thing.

Your going to need a UVB bulb and thats a must! My tegu is constantly soaking under the bulb everyday, she loves it.

Handling is very easy. I usually let mine watch tv with me or go for a walk on my shoulder with my dog. I sometimes even let her sleep on my bed. They are also hunters, if you leave my tegu alone next to a 30 gallon tank full of fish she will literally jump in and eat half the fish, she ate my red belly pacus, and my bait fish. Basically give them something to hunt down like live mice, put some fish in a small tank in the cage and let him at it. I've found that natrual sunlight does make them a little more aggressive. You let mine lose in the backyard in the sun she goes nuts, kind of like a wild tegu when they see a human.

My tegu still freaked out my mom though and niether one of my parents would let me leave her in their care. My mom used to play with her when she was little but once she reached a foot my mom hated her. So good luck convincing them.

Overall the only thing I hate about my tegu is that she isnt potty trained yet and never goes in her cage. See my dilemma. But i love my tegu very much and wouldnt even trade her for an argentine. You can actually see mine in my pictures.

Good Luck!

well thanks for the responses guys. ive looked for a blue for around 13 months and cant find "the" one. ive found some but i want an okay price, good size, and good genes.

so it looks like no one else has colombians? to the guy that posted about his columbian, it should be bigger than 18" at her age. is the size including the tail?

any one know how much smaller female B&Ws tend to stay than males?

oh i seen the pics of your profile. she looks pretty damn good to me. shes prolly around 18" without the tail. cute gator too.