I don't know how old she its, I'm guessing she is probably two this year. I basically took her in as a rescue. The argentine black & whites, Tupinambis merianae, & the reds, Tupinambis rufescens, get bigger, and tend to be calmer, so they are said to make better pets. The columbians, like this girl, stay smaller, and are definitely more active, a bit more monitor like in personality, so people say they aren't as good as pets. I don't necessarily agree with that, they are different though. She is tame as can be, gets along with the cats, kids, etc... But she is active. Not aggressive, just very active and higher energy. But I would say it really depends what you are looking for in a pet.