• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Tegu or Savannah monitor

birdman123

birdman123

New member
Joined
Feb 25, 2008
Messages
124
Reaction score
1
Points
0
Location
Armonk, New York
I hear one is nicer than the other but keep seeing that this is untrue and hear from time to time. I think Savannah monitors are more interesting looking but maybe Tegus are smarter and nicer? It really depends on those factors as I'm pretty sure they need the same size enclosure and even if one is smaller than the other I think may tegu if anything from what I hear they will still be kept in a 8 x 4 x 4 or 2. I need your opinions but not saying I shouldn't get one because for some reason I get that far too much on other forums and reasons why one is better than the other. This will be a poll.
 
Tegus make better pets, and are a nicer overall animal IMHO.
They do hibernate half the danged year, but during hibernation you don't do anything for them, just leave them alone.

Both eat a lot of food, but I've seen far fewer people with adult savs, than with adult tegus. People with adult tegus seem quite pleased with their pets, and I love my tegus. My other monitors are blackthroats, which while similar to savs, are sufficiently different that I don't want to compare the two outright.

Both need large space, and lots of food, and lots of basking. Make sure you are prepared and ready for a large commitment on either one.
 
I mean can a savannah monitor ever be somewhat tame like not bite you when they see you stuff like that. I mean I know what goes into this and I'm willing to try it but just want to know, which one should I get. I mean I hear different things. I just want something that will be fun to take out once in a while and your able to pet it I'm not looking for something to be handled often.
 
"Can" it happen? Yeah. Is it probable? No, not from every adult sav I've met. I've seen a few(FEW) cases online where people talk about how tame their sav is, but online you can't tell if it's kept at a proper temp for the species, etc.

Tegus(argentine) are much more likely to be tame and enjoy petting. My Groo will climb out of her cage and into my arms. She will approach to get scratches, even if it means moving away from her bowl of fruit. Most monitors (at best) tolerate handling if necasary. Monitors should be appreciated for what they are, instead of trying to turn them into what you want out of them.

I know.. people will pop up saying their sav is Lassie in scaled form, and saves timmy from the well on a weekly basis. I'm saying in person, I have yet to see a Sav in person that was kept at proper temps for their health be friendly and want petting etc. Most of the ones I see are young, not fully grown, and not kept at proper temps. A cold monitor is easy to call tame. Just saying.

Good luck with whatever lizard you end up with.
 
Back
Top