What is a tegu???????????

All of this information will be based on my knowledge, as well as other information gathered through the years. I will give as much information on the Argentine, as well as the Colombians tegus as I can. If you need any more information on these, feel free to ask. I will also be making a care sheet for these as well. I will post it as soon as I have it completed.

Tupinambis merianea (T.merianea) also known as the giant tegu. Or better known as the Argentine Black and White. They are the largest of all tegus. Reaching lengths of five feet. (Do not confuse this tegu with the Colombian Black and White (Tupinambis teguixin (T.teguixin) They are two totally different species in every way. To say they would be close, would be the same as saying ball pythons and rattle snakes are the same. Both are snakes, but different species. The same with the Argentine tegus, and the Colombian tegus. Both are tegus, but are not at all close to being the same species. There are only two known species of Argentine tegus. The Argentine red tegu (Tupinambis rufescens (T.rufescens), and The Argentine Black and White (Tupinambis merianea (T.merianea) . All others fall into the Colombian family. The Colombians consist of these: Colombian Black tegu, Colombian Black and white, the Yellow tegu, the Gold tegu and the Blue tegu.
Both of the Argentine tegus are omnivores ( meaning they eat vegetable matter as well as meat). Colombian tegus are carnivores ( they prefer only meat).
All tegus are terrestrial (ground dwelling), They do not like to climb, they would rather stay on the ground. All of these species come from South America. But from different parts. They all prefer different climates as well. The Reds prefer a colder dryer climate.
The Argentine Black and Whites prefer a cooler woodland as well as more moisture.
The Argentines are more cold tolerant then the Colombians.
Colombians cannot take the cold, they prefer to live in the warmer sections of South America ( closer to the equator) where the temperatures stay warmer year around.
The Argentine tegus hibernate up to seven months of the year. They start hibernating around August, and do not come out of hibernation until around March.
To my knowledge Colombian tegus do not hibernate at all.
The Argentine tegus are well known for their tameness as well as being very intelligent.
These are the only lizards in the world known for making a nest to incubate their eggs.
The females build a nest, consisting of a two part chamber. The lower chamber is where she lays her eggs. The upper one is for her to guard her clutch. The Argentine females will guard their nest with their life. They will also attack any other tegu that comes to close. The females are said to consume water in great amounts when their nest gets dry.
They carry water back to the nest to moisten their clutch.
The Colombians are known for being very hard to tame. They also do not show the intelligence that the Argentines have.
Argentine tegus are said to be the smartest of all lizards, from my experience, I would also agree.

If you would like to add to this thread, or ask questions, feel free to do so.

Well, I now know more about a tegu than I ever thought I would. They sound like fascinating creatures, Bobby.

Thanks for all the great information

Thanks Mike! I am trying to give as much information as possable. The fact of the matter is, there are very few books about tegus at all. There is only one that I know of, and it written in German. I don't speak or know how to read German, most other people in these forums do not either. The Information that we do have, is found in the back of a very few monitor books. I will also say the information on them in these are very limited.

this is definately something worth while . i think lack of info is one of the better reasons i have never tried to keep tegu's . i like to study up on care and handling of any critter i plan to keep so that when i do get one i atleast know all the basic needs of said critter . i do have a question for you . you say the argintine tegus hibernate up to 7 months out of the year . do they do this in captivity as well ? as i said in another post i love the looks of tegu's and they definately fit my prefrences for the larger critters , but i dont know if i want a critter that is going to be in hibernation half the year .

Mark, they do not need to hibernate. You can keep them without hibernating them at all. I will say that based on my experience with these species, it has no ill effect. I would recommend hibernating them if you are intending to breed them. They must go through this cycle to breed. But the answer is no, they do not have to be hibernated.