[barneysmom2510]

I thought this was a cote story. I have a 4 foot argentine tegu he is about 15 pounds. He loves roaming around the house and is great with my dogs. Barney saw him for the first time yesterday he ran and hid behind my legs. Barney's confidence grew a it and he started barking at my tegu Tonka who just looked up at him like whats the big deal. Barney ran over to tonka and tonka to try and sniff his bum. Tonka promptly lifted his tail and let Barney take a sniff. Barney was so excited he was running around my tegu barking and trying to get him to play. Tonka is the big one in the picture. Next time
I am going to try to get pics of this.I just thought it was funny that
Barney was trying to play with him like he was a dog and that tonka was so calm and patient with barney.

 

[mhvonalmen8908]

That's awesome! I think it's neat when animals from other species get along so well! Beautiful tegues by the way.

 

[Wworm]

Holy moly! looks like a 'gator to me!!
--Worm

 

[barneysmom2510]

Thanks. Yes they are a bit intimidating looking but Tonka is very gentle and sweet he just slowly lumbers around the house. He even sneaks into my little dogs kennel and hides under the blankets.

 

[jaleely]

is he potty trained? LOL My husband wants to get a monitor. he said it would be funny to have it be with the dogs. i agree...but do you put it up at night in a big cage? does it try to eat things it shouldn't? lol

 

[bubbad]

Unfortunately, there are tegues running loose in Florida now.Just like the snakes that have been turned loose.These are not so tame any longer and are going after people and pets. I got to hold one once he was huge but so sweet.

 

[MollyMcFrecklesMom]

is he potty trained? LOL My husband wants to get a monitor. he said it would be funny to have it be with the dogs. i agree...but do you put it up at night in a big cage? does it try to eat things it shouldn't? lol

If you get a monitor, I can't wait to read Bowser's blog post about that one!

 

[barneysmom2510]

My monitor does not like my dogs they monitors are a different all game than tegus. Lilo my savannah would never hurt my dogs she is just afraid of them. They do not tame down the same at all. I have a savannah and she regularly gives me welts on my legs from whipping me when she is in a mood. I was warned about having a lackthroat monitor with small animals since they are 100% whole prey diet in the wild plus monitors are not a sure thing as far as training I wish I had never gotten my savannah she is 36" 8 pounds of moody lizard.
The tegus that are running loose are from irresponsible people who let them loose sometimes when they are very young Tonka really mellowed when he hit 2 . That animal planet show was shameful with how they potrayed them it was a way over blown. As far as snakes more dogs attack people so much more often. Even a cat or dog who lives in the wild will become feral and can be aggressive towards pets and people. Tegus are not even from this country so it must be very stressful for them.
Tonka is like a 1 year old everything goes in his mouth I have caught him trying to swallow rocks. As far as potty training this does not happen you have to put them in a tub before you let them out if you live in a warm client many people have them live outdoors..

 

[Mikey T]

Tegus are not even from this country so it must be very stressful for them

In the wild evnironment it is often just the oposite because the have no natural enemies when they are displaced from their natural environment so they tend to reek havoc on the natural eco system of the local environment That is the problem with all the exotics in folrida nat that the attact people but the devestation they reek on the eco system.

 

[barneysmom2510]

I have to disagree a bit being set loose from captivity into a populated place like florida would be stressful one of their main predators would be alligators, crocodiles, big snakes dogs my dogs will try and atack and kill any of my lizards that are not the same size as them. The the tegus breed in the wild so the babies are wild so they do nothave the smae traits as a caotive born and bred tegu. All of my reptiles have been born and bred in the us so their temperments are quite a bit different than a wild caught one. I have been bitten extremely hard by a tegu the damage is minimal. Their teeth are very small you can barely see them. They are like a serated knife. The factstill remains that you are more likely to be attacked and seriously harmed by a dog than a tegu. I need to loook up the stats of how many people are actually injured by large snakes it is a hundred times that for dog bites. There is alot of debate right now about making big snakes and exotics illegal to have so much of the stories are propaganda to support this. I personally wouldnever own a large snake I think it is sad they are so large and are stuffed into little cages plus my dogs would be the perfect size dinner for them. When they had that show deadly predators and that guy was killed y his large snake it was because he had been staring the snake and barely feeding it. Owners are the problem just like people who dump cats and dogs they can actually become quite dangerous.

 

[bubbad]

I agree the owners are the problems just as in unwanted dogs,but now that the problem is there they have to do something to stop them from ,like MikeyT said,taking over the natural environment that they have been let loose in. Tegus are very cool if they are cared for properly by their owners. I don't think it is fair to compare dog bites to exotic animal bites, because obviously,you don't even need statistics to know which happens more often.

 

[barneysmom2510]

When I was referring to dog bites I was saying you should not fear getting it by a tegu because you have a much larger chance of getting bitten by a dog. I did not mean that dogs are on the same biting level as tegus I was saying the odds you will be attacked by one in Florida is very rare. They are very nervous of people if they have not been a pet. I am reacting more because of that ridiculous show animal planet put out I have alot of people who have reacted badly knowing I own one. People have a big
creep factor when It comes to reptiles and that is unfortunate. Florida is the only place they can survive besides south texas they need to figure out regulations for places like that. Florida also has a huge My tegus would be dead up here in December I live in mass so it gets very cold here so there should not be a concern that I would release mine into the wild.Plus if it goes under 50 degrees for them they will get a respirtory infections that will kill them if untreated. I just think the same can be said about all the animals people own if they start dumping them outside to fend for themselves.