# Tegu smarts



## SERRAPYGO (Feb 4, 2003)

So, this is only my second week with this guy. Maybe 13" from nose to tail, and within this time he now, recognizes his food bowl and the fact that he eats from one.

I now bring him out of his tank and he cruises around on the coffee table and on the sofa and doesn't try to leap to the floor. He looks below...but doesn't jump. In fact, he doesn't like heights. If I grasp him from the top (leaving his legs to dangle) he gets very frantic. If I go from underneath, supporting all his legs, he's perfectly calm.

Tonight, for the first time, he ate hardboiled eggs from his bowl while on the coffee table while my cats were giving him the major stink eye! Now that's feeling secure!

After eating, he dozed off on my chest while getting his back rubbed. I even left the air conditioning off just for him, and it's humid as sh*t here!! LOL


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Ahaha. Too funny. I love the part with the cats... It reminds me of the video with the big tegu and the dogs all trying to eat at once and the owner having to hold back the puppy especially.

Man oh man, this sounds like a really personable reptile. Every time you talk about him I just want one even more.


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## SERRAPYGO (Feb 4, 2003)

Mettle said:


> Ahaha. Too funny. I love the part with the cats... It reminds me of the video with the big tegu and the dogs all trying to eat at once and the owner having to hold back the puppy especially.
> 
> Man oh man, this sounds like a really personable reptile. Every time you talk about him I just want one even more.


Yeah, it reminds me of that too. He's been nose to nose with the cats and he doesn't aknowledge them in behavior at all. Meanwhile, the cats aren't digging the fact that he's honing in on they're space! LOL.. 
What impresses me is, all the previous juvi monitors I've had in the past were skittish as hell until they grew up. They were pretty smart...but they were total spazzes as juvis. Yeah, as a first time owner, I'm surprised at how personable they are at such a small size. Normally, I'd expect this from a frequently handled lizard from baby to adult.

If you do get one, make sure it's the Argentine. One easy way to tell... check the loreal scale between the nostril and the eye. If it's one big scale, it's a Columbian. If that scale is divided, it's an Argentine. Handling before buying is another indicator. The Columbians will almost always try to bite.

Here's a link to identifying the two. CLICK


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