Gold Tegus?

Discussion in 'Monitors & Tegus' started by Virginia, Feb 4, 2005.

  1. Virginia

    Virginia New Member

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    Lately I've been doing a lot of reading up on Tegus and I've noticed Gold tegus seem to have a horrible reputation. I've heard golds are the worst of the colombians. Do they really have that bad of a temperment? Can't that be changed with regular handling? I know colombians are more skittish than args. and blues simply by nature, but are golds THAT bad? I know of few of you have golds, care to dispute the rumors for me? Thanks.
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. KLiK

    KLiK Well-Known Member

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    it all depends on the lizard. some golds can be made tame with regular handling, while others just hate humans. Blues and Argentinians are the tamest of the tegus. i have never owned a tegu, what i am basing this on is what i have read and the experience ive had with friends tegus. maybe someone that owns a gold can reply to this
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. JustMe

    JustMe Embryo

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    i have a gold, but only have had it for a couple weeks now.....it's safe to say that right now he's a little on the aggresive side...lol...i try to handle him but every time he seems to just go crazy when my hand gets in the enclosure...may just be like klik said, he may just hate humans alltogether...i'm hoping after some time he starts to calm down, if not it's going to be real interesting after he gets to 3+ feet in length...
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. yesITis

    yesITis New Member

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    yeah i have a friend right now who just got a gold tegu but he saved it from a pet store hes had it for a few weeks when brought the tegu home it had cloudy eyes ,a dirty vent, mucus comin out of its nostrils, mouth rot of some kind and it had a slight case of that melatic bone desease(thats not how you spell it but you know what i mean) and mites..the pet store owner at first was saying it was a savannah monitor and me and my friend were like uhh no and they said they never fed it a pinky mouse just crickets and romaine lettuce i was like wtf!?! romaine lettuce are you kidding me so he bought it and saved its life. well anyways its not very active because its still pretty sick and on alot of meds and he can pick him up with not even a hiss. i dont know if its cuz tthis animal is sick or if its just the lizard's temperment.
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. Advent

    Advent Member

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    The one at my local pet store flips out when someones hand is in the cage.
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. Mr.Stuff71

    Mr.Stuff71 Embryo

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    What all can live with a B&W tegu? im trying to put a few things in one cage.....
     
  12. KLiK

    KLiK Well-Known Member

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    what do you mean can live? as in another animal? the only other animal that can live with a B&W is another B&W. if you're talking live plants, then forget it. they will destroy any plant in there unless it is a tree.
     
  13. ryzard

    ryzard New Member

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    I have a gold (same thing as col. b&w) and I think it is more based on the personality. Yes, he is a little bit skiddish when my dog is around it, but he runs right to me. I never have a problem picking him up, he's very healthy and friendly. Never once opened his mouth to me or hissed (which was actually unhelpfull this weekend because I had to give him meds orally and he wouldn't open his mouth because it's almost impossible to anger him, so he ended up just being scared of me and pouting the rest of the day.) So to be completely honest if you were debating betweent the col. & the arg., go with the arg. just to be on the safe side. But I really do think it's a little bit more about the personality of each animal and how it's handled, and I can only say that because of how mine has such a good temperment and likes to be handled, more so than my savs ever have.
    And klik's right, they will DESTROY plants.
     
  14. reazorhead8569

    reazorhead8569 Embryo

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    It is crucial to get a gold tegu or any tegu as a hatchling or atleast within the first few monthes. Handling for not less 30 mins. a day will definatly make a difference in how your tegu regards handling. I have at least one of every common tegu species (12 in total) and only my blue is aggressive. I recieved him when he was atleast a few years old and obviously neglected. The first day I handled him he bit my hand. A year later he is just a baby so i believe it depends on the owner and how much time you are willing to sacrifice.
     
  15. JeniG68

    JeniG68 Embryo

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    It's probably easy to handle because it's sick. They are known for their aggressive temperaments.
     
  16. Adambomb

    Adambomb Embryo

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    I have a gold tegu named Rita when they are raised up young with plenty of interaction with you they can be as sweet as any argentine tegu. It depends on your patience level
     
  17. wren152

    wren152 Member

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    Since there are a lot of experienced tegu owners here, I was wondering, do any of you have experience with owning tegus and ferrets at the same time?
    See, someday (as in 10 years from now someday) my boyfriend and I want a tegu and a ferret. We were thinking that most likely, the ferret would be a danger to the tegu until they were both adults, and then the tegu would be a danger to the ferret, but does anyone know if these two animals can get along (assuming that all time they spend together would be supervised, and both would be well handled and pampered their entire lives growing up) with each other without causing serious damage?

    EDIT: Species-wise, I'm a huge fan of the arg. B&W tegus, and I plan on frequent handling as well as most likely thawed frozen mice when it's an adult, with live mice only as the occasional treats, so..maybe since the ferret would be so much bigger than mice, it wouldn't see it as food?

    EDIT EDIT: If they can't at all interact with each other, that's not a problem, because we'll plan long in advance to make sure all their needs are met-if that includes safe-proofing them from each other we'll research the best ways to do that. We've got a long time to do research and make sure we can give them the best when we eventually have them!
     
  18. Karlee

    Karlee Member

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    I cant tell you since all animals are different. Try putting them in a cage with a glass divider to where they cant climb over to eachother. If they get excited, remove them to avoid future stress since it will obviously not work. If they show no interest in eachother, remove the divider but stay close. If one gets close to the other, remove them. They should show no interest for them to not attack eachother. Later, the bond may harden and you can allow them to get close to eachother, but only after you are 100% sure neither will hurt eachother.
     
  19. wren152

    wren152 Member

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    Good thinking for how to first introduce them. I'll definitely keep that in mind! I know it'll be a long time in the future, but I can't wait until I'm all set up and can get them both! Do you think it might be easier to introduce them when they're both young, and have them grow up interacting with each other? That way they're hopefully easier to train into getting along...
     
  20. Karlee

    Karlee Member

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    403
    That is what you SHOULD do. And I am not saying they should be with eachother 24/7, maybe a few times a week is all. I have known tegus to have a small tolerance for active animals, so just watch them closely in case the ferret gets excited and starts pestering the tegu. Also, try to have food or toys for the animals so they just get used to eachothers presense.
     
  21. wren152

    wren152 Member

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    110
    Oh yeah, I'll definitely start out with them having separate homes-the ferret will have a spacious cage in a room separate from the tegu enclosure. I'm planning for the tegu to be at least partially free-roaming when it's big enough, and the ferret will frequently have time out to play too, and that's the time when I'm hoping they'll get along. But for day-to-day living, they'll have separate homes. (and if I can, I'll build the tegu an outdoor enclosure too, for good weather!) Distractions-good idea. I had Baby and Auzzie (my 2 beardies) meet each other the other day, and Baby was pretty dominant, so besides closely supervising them, we distracted him with worms. XD Then Auzzie just ignored him and went exploring, while he watched her closely, while I watched HIM closely. XD
     

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