Tegusonly is your source for these unique tegus. Some of the tegus I rescue from the organized Eradication and Euthanasia effort here in south Florida have this trait.
24 hour express shipping is only 50.00. I guarantee your tegu will be healthy and happy when it arrives.
Firebelly has no meaning beyond the need to identify them as something different. I had to name them something. I chose Firebelly.
They do exist. They do keep their color. It is genetic.
My only involvement is that of capture. This variant occurred naturally with no help from me.
Trust your eyes. Should you choose to purchase a Firebelly tegu, do so because you wish to help the Florida Tegus and like the idea of owning a reptile that falls outside the most common version.
Great price, Great tegu. More in stock.
If you love tegus and would like to assist the balance of nature in a way that protects the very special ecosystem that is the Everglades, this is a purchase you can feel good about.
Your purchase rescues Florida tegus from a major euthanasia and eradication plan currently in progress by the state. In addition, the native species will thank you for your help in removing these nonnatives from their habitat. You will receive a healthy grade A tegu from a gene pool of over thirty thousand animals mating in the wild.
MORE THAN JUST BREEDING
CALL 305 772 8140 or
irwinisland@gmail.com Please contact by email ONLY
Rodney Irwin
Professional Opinion on Firebelly’s
The following is based off of current scientific data from peer reviewed papers and the combined professional opinion of several experts in the field, including Florida FWS officers, University of Florida researchers and professors, several well-known hobbyists and tegu breeders of Florida, and Rachel Pikstein (Biologist with an M.S. degree in ecology, 25 years of reptile experience and husbandry, 10 years working with and owning tegus, and currently finishing a 3-year genetic ecological assessment comparing wild import to invasive to captive bred tegus with a sample size over 600).
The experts here and available literature to date support that the red coloration coined ‘fire belly’ by Rodney Irwin is greatly believed to be a genetic trait, and not from environmental factors (or limited on the extent of influence from them) for the following reasons:
1) The thick hide of a tegu has not been documented to absorb pigments from soil or leaf liter
2) Lizards with thick hides such as teiids and varanids are not known to be able to influence their body coloration by diet; few have chromatophores, but genus Tupinambis does not have any color change ability that is documented in literature or by hobbyists.
What is documented; juvenile characteristics do fade away (green head/blue tail) as seen in many teiids and skinks, and their natural colors brighten and or darken during sexual maturity.
3) Firebellys appear in <30% of the Homestead invasive Florida population at a wide range of ages and sizes, however, they have also been seen in captive bred collections with a lesser intensity of color. <5% of animals showed red coloration recorded across 4 breeding facilities; documented by Pikstein.
4) Red and blue coloration marking ‘blue tegus’ and ‘firebelly’ tegus are not unique species, but an example of genetic variation in one species (to date), due to coloration appearing in many populations of captive bred and invasive, and that some animals even display both colorations
5) Blue and red coloration has been documented by Rachel Pikstein, 4 breeders, and many hobbyists to fade in captivity and or winter (hibernation at breeding facilities) when intense natural sunlight is removed, color fades and returns, but does not disappear.
Although diet and other environmental factors can influence the appearance of a variety of squamates, this is undocumented in genus Tupinambis. From combined observations of over 3,000 tegus from the above mentioned experts, what is known is that:
Tegus develop red and or blue coloration during sexual maturity, and this is seen in tegus from a variety of habitats (natural and captive), experiencing a variety of water sources, eating a variety of diets, and receiving a ranging amount of natural light and or UVB bulb exposure. Coloration has been seen to be passed on through populations, intensifies with natural sunlight, and is seen with animals across many examples of varying environmental factors.
The high percentage of firebellys in the South Florida invasive population is mostly likely a genetic bottleneck from the genetic pool of the original animals that were released, because this invasive population is restricted to a 6 mile radius and undergoing constant removal and management (by UofF, FWC, and Alligator Associates) it restricts their breeding potential. The genetic variation will have a higher percentage of these red coloration traits due to the population being cut off from other breeding populations of tegus, who could have more prominent black or white traits. Compare this to how Eastern European humans have a higher frequency of blue eyes historically than other regions of the world.
• Alligator Associates is a corporation owned by Rodney Irwin
It is also important to understand terms like ‘blue tegu’ (Ron St. Pierre),’Chacoan tegu’ (Bobby Hill), ‘Bruiser’ and ‘Purple’ tegus (Rian Gitman of Underground Reptiles) have all come about by the same means as Rodneys Irwins labelling of ‘firebelly’. Hobbyists/breeders identify a unique trait and confirm it to be inheritable through husbandry practices, and then coin the term to produce sales of a unique morph within a species. For all these reasons, it is believed that the ‘firebelly’ look is most likely the result of genetic inheritance with little or no environmental influence to the creation of the colors, only their varying intensity.
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