Just curious, what is the difference between a Colombian vs. an Argentine tegu? Is there any difference in anatomy, or is the distinction strictly behavior/region/color variety?
I'm not sure of exact scientific anatomy, but they are classified as distinct species, though the taxonomy seems to be constantly under revision. I'll list the species names add I understand them, but depending on who's papers you want to go with, they could be debatable.
The argentine black and white tegu, (Tupinambis merianae), is larger with some males reaching 5', and generally heavier bodied, with the larger, bulkier jowls, especially the males. They are also more omnivorous. As well as generally being calmer animals, a bit more dog like if you will.
The columbian tegu, Tupinambis teguixin, can be either black and white, or more golden. They are smaller rarely exceeding 3', and are almost strictly carnivores. They are much more active critters, and the best way to describe them would be more monitor like. Though they can be very tame. My girl Nereida has a thread or two on here, she's very sweet. They stay leaner, and seem more of a tropical type lizard to me. I keep a large water dish in with the one I have, and she swims quite a bit.
There's also the red tegu, Tupinambis rufescens, which are very cool, and really the only larger lizard I want. They are similar to the argentines.
Are you thinking of getting one? And how's the little beardie?
Hi Fishbone! I haven't been around on the forums in a long time....school's in session, got things to do!
Thanks! That helps. I was mostly just curious, the school has two juvenile tegus in our collection and we're always debating as to whether they're Colombian or Argentine; hard to tell since they're not adults, but right now they look pretty much exactly like Nereida. Good little dudes, usually, just recently large enough to start getting mice on a regular basis.
I'm not considering getting one any time soon, but they're definitely on my list of pets I wouldn't mind having someday when I don't live in a dorm room
Beardie is doing well! Getting big, she's about 5" longer than she was in May when I first got her. She just recently started figuring out how to fully puff out her beard, she's been pretty cute trying to test it out! I still need UVB and need to play with the lighting, now that it's starting to get cold here in Ohio I think her enclosure's no longer warm enough, annnnd she seems to be getting a cold (has bursts of exceptionally "huffy" breathing).
Actually anatomically there is a difference and a way to tell them apart. It has to do with the scales between their nostril area. They also do have different attitudes and one handles a lot easier than the other. I am actually an owner of an Argentine B&W tegu and do have experience with them.
As far as red tegus go, they are similar to the B&W but they tend to be nicer than the B&W tegus.
I can tell you that these lizards are awesome to own but they are incredibly smart and can out wit you. They are also dangerous eaters when they get older, trust me.
There are anatomical differences, as mentioned. Once you get to see the difference between the two you can tell almost right away what species the tegu you're looking at is. Not only are the scales different, but Argentines have a different facial structure compared to Columbians (Columbians have a more "pointy" snout) and Argies tend to get larger than Colos.
Personality differences depend entirely on the individual animal. While most claim the Columbian is less tame and more difficult to handle, that is not entirely true. Most Columbians are a little more flighty than Argentines, due to the size difference, and they can take a little more time to tame down because some people are afraid of handling something that squirms so much or seems so eager to run away.
Same goes for reds or blues, personality fully depends on the individual animal and how much time you're willing to spend with it.
I've seen plenty of dog-tame Columbians and Argentines, as well as Reds, who are totally unable to be handled because they were never or rarely touched.
Thanks, guys! Sorry I'm kind of late to reply. I originally asked this question (a long time ago) because at my university (where I work) we have two tegus in our animal collection, and have labelled them as "Colombian." People who know more about these lizards than I do did this. So, I was wondering what the differences were, for future reference.
Ours are fairly young, they're less than 2 years old. We have two males housed separately. They're both happy and healthy and for the time being I am their primary handler, and the more I work with them the more I wish I had the space and money to keep one! I can tell if it's been a while since the last time they were handled, and they're not extremely fond of me picking them up (yet), but they're not aggressive and they enjoy riding around on shoulders. I think there's hope that I'll convince all the other student workers to love them, too, and hopefully they'll be among the nicer Colombians.
