I didn't include my username in the email, should I resend it?

i'm from europe.... So i can't win... I wanted that tegu 2.

Varnyard Tegu Contest Entry
Paul (46) and Laura (47) Burton - we share the same TeguTalk account.
What you said you wanted us to do:
Part 1:
I want you to tell me all about tegus. None of this information can be copied and pasted
or used from any outside sources, including TeguTalk.com or Varnyard Herps, Inc. I do
not want to see altered care sheet or info with a few words changed. This must be in
your own words.
Part 2:
I also want you to tell me why you want to own one of the tamest lizards in the world, as
well as why you deserve one.
Winner must pay shipping for the overnight package through USPS.
Send them to: Varnyard@yahoo.com


Part 1:


“Argentine Tegus”
Written by Laura (in her own words), Reviewed by Paul (because he isnʼt a writer)


Tegus (pronounced Teh-Goos) are very intelligent lizards that are native to Argentina,
Brazil and Uruguay. They come in a variety of colors; black and white, red, blue, and
black. One breeder, Bobby Hill of Varnyard Herps, has cross bred black and white, red
and blue tegus. There are also black and white extreme giant tegus known as Chacoan
tegus, that grow to be larger and more stockier in body shape and have more white in
them than a normal black and white tegu. Columbian tegus are not tamed as easily as
Argentine tegus and they are smaller. If youʼre into technical names, tegus belong to the
teiid family.


The males are typically bigger than the females. Different colored tegus also vary in
size. The black and whites are the largest and the blues are typically smaller. From what
Iʼve read about tegus in the wild, they can be very shy around people, although some
black and whites have been known to seek food from people in outdoor places much
like squirrels will do when they are fed in parks. Their diet in the wild consists of insects,
fruits, vegetables, small animals, birds and raw eggs when they can find them. They
also can submerge themselves in water for impressive lengths of time.


There are a few tegu breeders in the United States. However, wild tegus are sometimes
imported for the pet trade. Tegus skins are imported to manufacture leather goods and
are used for faux “crocodile” boots, purses, belts,and other products. According to one
website, tegusʼ tails and legs are a source of food for people in their native land. As a
tegu lover, I was a bit disturbed learning about that, but they also eat parrots in South
America which are beautiful, intelligent birds. It also made me happy that our tegus are
kept safe at home where they are loved, cared for and treated as part of our family.


Weʼve found that each tegu has their own personality and preferences. In addition to
having their own personality and being smart, they are also aware of how they are being
treated and the tone in which they are being viewed. When treated well, they become
very tame and are wonderful companions. Ours seek out affection and enjoy being
handled. They can be indifferent to those who do not acknowledge their presence or
donʼt really love them (they can tell). Tame tegus are tolerant of strangers being
introduced to them and being held by someone new.


Tegus know when they are being loved. When they are being spoken of in a respectful
and complimentary way they respond very affectionately to kindness. They are
appreciative when their needs are being provided for by a loving person and are very
sweet in how they interact with the people who care for them most. Their personalities
really come through when they are in their element and know they are with people who
love them dearly. They let you know what they want as well. Our tegus shake their
heads “no” when they donʼt want to be pet and come to the glass door of their cage
when they want to come out. Many times they just want to be rubbed and like to walk
around a bit.


For people thinking about getting a tegu, there are some basic things they need to think
about before they can make an educated decision on whether or not a tegu is the right
choice of reptile for them. You need to have adequate space for them to be housed and
to move around in. They can get big; 3ft. - 6ft., depending on the tegu. You need to be
able to afford the right supplies and proper food. UVB mercury light bulbs are a lot more
expensive than a normal light bulb. Frozen dead mice and rats can run $1.00 - $2.00 a
piece (when you count shipping costs in) and can take up a lot of freezer space. And
most of all, you need to have time to take care of these amazing creatures.


So letʼs start with housing. Argentine tegus come from a hot, humid climate. If you live in
a hot, humid climate like Florida you will not have to be concerned with providing
airborne moisture for your tegu. If you live in California, like we do, then you need to
have a method of providing moisture and humidity for them and their enclosure. If you
live in a cold climate, you will need to make sure you can keep their living space warm
enough during the winter and on cool summer nights. We spray our tegus with filtered
water in their homes everyday and soak them in our bath tub 2-3 times a week to give
them enough moisture so their skin wonʼt get dry.


People living in Florida and the humid south can keep their tegus outside year round. If
you have a property where you can build an outdoor enclosure, it is recommended that
it be 8 ft. by 8 ft.. Tegus that live outdoors will hibernate roughly 7 months out of the
year, so youʼll need to build a place for them to go underground as part of their
enclosure. Youʼll need to use wire mesh under the enclosure floor and around the
underground space so they donʼt dig somewhere you donʼt want them to go. We donʼt
house our tegus outside so we havenʼt had to build an enclosure for them. We also
arenʼt breeding our tegus.


Tegus usually will go underground late summer to early fall and come out in the spring.
They will usually stop eating a week or two before they are ready to hibernate. And
during their hibernation, they will sometimes come out to bask in the sun. Breeders
have said that tegus need to hibernate in order for them to mate and lay eggs. You need
to have adequate space to set up tegu breeding and have enough space and time to
care for tegu babies when they hatch. (A baby is ready to be shipped about 3 weeks
after hatching.) A female tegu can lay up to 36 eggs. When black and white tegus hatch
their heads are bright green which starts to fade after their first shed.


If youʼre going to keep your tegus indoors, then itʼs best to plan on creating plenty of
space for them to roam around outside of their cage in your home so they can get
exercise and not be bored. Youʼll need at least a 6 ft. x 2 ft. cage with appropriate
bedding, (cypress mulch is great although shredded coconut bark, eucalyptus bark or
repti-bark are also used by tegu owners), a water bowl and a UVB light. ZooMed sells
cyprus mulch that you can buy at PetCo. If you use a spray bottle with filtered water,
you can keep the cypress mulch semi-moist, (but not wet), by spraying it down a little
each day.


We have Critter Condos for our tegus that are made of wood, have air vents on the
back wall, light fixtures on the ceiling, and have large glass panel doors in front. We also
keep the glass doors open a little on each side to let extra air inside the cage. Power
Sun 100 watt bulbs work best. Higher wattage will make the cages too hot for a tegu in
an enclosed 6 ft. x 2 ft. cage. Youʼll want to have a water bowl big enough so they can
step into it and get their feet wet. We use 3 - 4 quart bags of cypress mulch for a 6 ft. x
2 ft. enclosure. The cypress mulch is soft and when itʼs semi-moist they love to burrow
in it. The Critter Condos give them enough space to relax, turn around and feel at home.


We have 3 tegus. Golliath is our large male. Heʼs about 5 ft. long. His sister, Giavanni, is
a smaller female about 3 ft. long. We got them from a guy who could no longer care for
them. We arenʼt sure how old they are but they werenʼt quite full grown when we got
them. Our baby tegu, Rocko, is about 1 year now (July, 2010). We bought Rocko from
Varnyard in November, 2009. Rocko is about 3 ft., at the time of this writing. All our
tegus do very well in their Critter Condos and enjoy the time when we take them out for
feeding, bathing, and recreation.


Our 2 males ,Golliath and Rocko, both love being in their cages so much that they go
home by themselves after they have been out for awhile. Itʼs a place where they can
bask under the UVB light, get a drink of water and relax. Our males also will push the
cyprus mulch with their bodies around their cage to arrange it more to their liking. Our
female doesnʼt do that. She likes to bury herself in the mulch or lay with or on top of her
brother. Golliath and Giavanni grew up together so we keep them in the same condo.
They are very attached to each other and we wouldnʼt want to separate them. They
sleep together all the time and are very loving with each other.


We also have locks on all our tegusʼ cage glass doors. As I said before, tegus are very
smart. They can figure out how to open their cage doors within a short period of time
after watching you open them up. When they get out on their own they will seek out a
dark small space to curl up in. One time, Golliath and Giavanni opened their cage door
while we were gone and, when we came home, we found them sleeping behind their
Critter Condo sandwiched against the wall. We had to move a row of cages to get them
out. Golliath had pushed the cages out enough so he could squeeze back there and
was kind of laying sideways asleep.


Other favorite spots of theirs are to go into a closet and bury themselves under a
blanket or inside of any clothes that happen to be on the floor, and behind our desk.
Golliath likes to walk around our living room and goes into the kitchen. Sometimes he
does laps around the living room and kitchen. He looks really cool walking around on
the wood floors, which we keep really clean for him. Our tegus also match our decor.
We have 2 cats that enjoy watching our tegus from afar. Tegus have an odor that our
cats donʼt care for very much and itʼs funny when they wince and squint their eyes after
catching a wiff of them. The tegus donʼt concern themselves with the cats and will walk
by them without much more than a passing glance.


Our tegus also like to go under furniture. We have a wood cabinet piece in our living
room and one night when we had all our tegus out, one by one they all went under the
cabinet, curled up together and went to sleep. Rocko and Giavanni were both on top of
Golliath. Heʼs so big, sometimes Giavanni will lay on top of him like heʼs a big pillow. Itʼs
nice that they all get along so well. We are careful not to let them go under our couch,
under other furniture that they could climb into, or around wires, electronic and
computer equipment. We donʼt want to them to get into somewhere that would be
difficult to get them out of and itʼs also for their own safety.


Tegus also can get into places that donʼt seem like places to us. The day after we
brought Golliath and Giavanni home, I had let Giavanni out to roam around our office
while I was working. I didnʼt keep an eye on what she was doing because the office door
was closed. When I went to see where she was after some time I couldnʼt find her. We
tore the house apart. How does a 3 ft. tegu just disappear? We eventually found her
underneath a closed desk drawer she had crawled into through a small opening in the
back of the desk. It was a really tight space and eventually she outgrew being able to
get in there. We used to keep the drawer out on the floor for her so she could get inside
the desk more easily.


When you first meet a tegu or are going to take a tegu out of their cage, itʼs important to
be gentle with them. I find that saying, “Hello” and talking to them first gives them a
chance to get comfortable. Then after talking to them for a few minutes, you can slowly
move your hand into their cage. Gently petting the top of their heads and on top of their
noses gets them to close their eyes. When they get used to that you can start petting
their backs and rub their shoulders a little. That will help them relax. Then theyʼre more
likely to know that theyʼre safe with you. I put one hand under their chest at their fore
arms and my other hand by their tail under their back legs to pick them up. Itʼs important
not to grab their tails or squeeze a baby tegu. Our tegus also like being held close to
someoneʼs body rather than with out stretched arms. I give our tegus lots of hugs and
kisses but thatʼs just me.


Because where we live in Southern California is a pretty dry climate, we give our tegus
a bath 2-3 times a week in addition to spraying them in their cages with water everyday.
They like luke warm to cool room temperature water to soak in. We fill the tub with 2-4
inches of water depending on who is getting their bath and how big they are. If the water
is too hot, it will bother their skin and they will try to get out of the tub as soon as you put
them in. When the water temperature is right, they like having handfuls of water poured
over their backs and having the top of their noses rubbed softly. Many times they will
close their eyes and fall asleep for awhile. Our tegus also like being spoken to a lot.


Our big male, Golliath, doesnʼt like being left in the tub alone, so someone always stays
and talks to him, rubs his nose, and pours water on his back when itʼs his bath time. He
once climbed out of the tub when I left him in the tub alone, so now we stay with him.
Heʼs a gentle giant and one of the sweetest animals Iʼve ever been around. His sister,
Giavanni, prefers company when she is in the tub as well, but sheʼll fall asleep and
wonʼt notice if you leave the room for awhile. Sometimes our tegus will go to sleep in the
tub and other times they donʼt want to be in the water at all and want out soon after
theyʼre put in. Thatʼs one of the reasons we spray them in their cages each day when
their lights are on. We want them to have enough moisture.


When Rocko was a little baby, he seemed nervous in the bathtub so I gave him a bath
in our sink and gently held him in the water while I poured water over his back with my
hand. When Rocko got bigger, he started loving his baths in the tub and likes being in
the water now. He can still be squirmy when he is being put in the tub, but once heʼs in
there, heʼs a happy boy. Heʼll even close his eyes and rest in the water now. Our tegus
donʼt really swim in the tub, although sometimes they will walk from one side of the tub
to the other. it just depends on their mood.


Letting tegus soak in the water is really good for their skin and helps them when they
need to shed. When I take them out of the tub, I put them on a small towel in my lap on
the edge of the tub, massage their necks and talk to them. I sing to them, too. They all
like being massaged after their bath. Itʼs very cute when they close their eyes and get
cozy while theyʼre being rubbed. After a few minutes, Iʼll carry them back to their condo
and put them inside to sit under the light to get warm. Golliath has taken to walking back
to his cage by himself and sometimes prefers that to being carried. Itʼs a fun routine and
they seem to enjoy the massage as much as soaking.


Sometimes our tegus ʻdo their businessʼ in the tub so bath time gets cut short. They are
taken out right away and get their massage. Then the tub is drained, cleaned and
refilled for the next tegu. Golliath wonʼt ʻdo his businessʼ in his cage because he doesnʼt
like to have any mess in his cage. Heʼs so big that a lot comes out of him sometimes. If
he hasnʼt gone in the bath, heʼll knock on the glass of his cage with his nose or scratch
at the door with his feet to let us know that he needs to come out. Sometimes he does
that when he wants to be rubbed or just walk around but most of the time he needs “to
go”.


Golliath has certain spots he likes to go potty and will go on newspaper when itʼs put
down for him. We have wood floors, so if Golliath doesnʼt make it all on the paper we
can clean up after him right away without a problem. You can tell when a tegu is about
to go because they will position their back legs wide apart and use them to lift their tail
up off the ground. After theyʼre finished, tegus will lift their tales up over to one side and
walk away from the mess as best they can. I wipe off Golliathʼs bottom and back feet
with a moist paper towel and then a dry one after he walks away so he is clean. He
doesnʼt mind being helped with certain things. Our tegus like to be clean and all our
tegus lift their tails in the bath tub when theyʼre done, too.


Giavanni and Rocko will go potty in their cages if they havenʼt gone when they take a
bath. Theyʼre a lot smaller than Goliath. We look to see where they go and clean out
any mess from their cage on a daily basis. If their cages arenʼt cleaned out, tegus will
eat whatever they donʼt want in their cage. Itʼs best for their health, if theyʼre going to
live in an enclosure indoors, that their home is kept very clean and they are given fresh
water on a regular basis. They appreciate having their living space taken care of and
show their gratitude in how they respond to the person they see doing things for them.
Tegus are very aware of their surroundings and what is going on.


Golliath sometimes gets cypress mulch stuck on his bottom lip on the right side of his
face. He sleeps with his mouth open a little bit, kind of a lazy lip thing, and when his
head is buried in mulch the cypress can get stuck on there. If it gets hard and dry, I put
a little neosporin on a cotton swab and rub it on the mulch. I put that on a few times over
the course of a couple of days until the mulch softens up so when I take it off his lip the
mulch comes off easily and doesnʼt hurt him or injure his mouth. The neosporin also
keeps him from getting an infection but it canʼt be used inside the mouth. I saw on a
tegu chat site that Listerine can be used for infections inside their mouths.


Golliath also has gotten small mulch fibers stuck in his eyelid after having his head
buried in the cypress when he was sleeping. He let me carefully and slowly pull the
mulch from his eye. I did this by gently rubbing around his eyelid first to get him to close
his eye. Then I was able to pull the mulch from the lid as I was softly rubbing over his
eyelid. Then I put filtered water on a cotton swab and rubbed it over his eyelid so there
wasnʼt any irritation after the mulch fibers were removed. He was very happy to have
the mulch out of his eyelid. I always give him lots of rubs, kisses and talk to him when I
have to give him first aid. He likes it when mommy takes care of what he needs.


Tegus are really quiet animals. Giavanni and Rocko donʼt make any noises. There have
only been a few times when Iʼve heard Golliath make noise. When Golliath has an itch
he makes kind of a soft squeeky, honking noise when he scratches it. I try to help him
by lightly scratching the area I see him go after and then rub it a little. That seems to
help. The other time was when my friend was over helping me give our lizards a bath
before I was scheduled for surgery. After Golliath was out of the bath my friend was
holding him in her lap in a chair and we were talking. I stepped out of the room for a
moment and as I left Golliath whimpered and tried to follow after me. My friend put him
in his cage to make him feel better. When I got back, I gave him a massage in his cage
and consoled him. He was concerned about being left in her lap without me there. He is
so sensitive.


Feeding tegus is something that has to be done a certain way to keep a tegu tame. Itʼs
very important that you donʼt ever feed a tegu while itʼs in its cage or hand feed a tegu
no matter how loving and cute you think your tegu is. They can become cage
aggressive if they associate you with food. We went to a pet store once where they had
a large tegu in a cage. We asked if it was tame. The girl tapped on the glass and the
tegu charged the glass with its mouth open ready to bite. It was very mean. Many pet
stores feed their large lizards in their cages so the reptile can think that itʼs being fed
when it sees a hand and will bite. Itʼs their natural instinct, nothing personal.


To avoid that, tegus need to be brought to their food outside of their cages. Bowl feeding
is highly recommended. We also donʼt feed our tegus live rodents for a number of
reasons. We donʼt want to activate their hunting behavior, which is aggressive. A live
mouse or rat could try to defend itself and could bite or scratch a tegu. And itʼs not
necessary. We buy frozen mice and rats from Layne Laboratories online. They produce
healthy, frozen feeder animals and our tegus love them when theyʼre defrosted. Many
pet stores feed live rodents to their lizards in their cages when people pay a dollar or
two. Some do take the lizard out of their cage to feed them the live prey. Itʼs an awful
show that doesnʼt benefit the lizard, in my opinion. Once a lizard becomes cage
aggressive, itʼs very hard to handle them.


So letʼs talk about diet. We feed our tegus raw ground turkey, mice or rats (depending
on which tegu weʼre feeding), scrambled eggs, beef liver and sometimes fruit, although
our tegus donʼt care much for fruit so we donʼt feed it to them in their regular diet. Cod
liver oil and calcium powder with vitamin D3 are good supplements we also put in their
food. Sometimes we cut beef liver into very small cubes and mix it into raw ground
turkey. Then we make bite size turkey balls out of the mixture. We put a little cod liver oil
and sometimes calcium powder on the balls and give them to our tegus. They really like
cod liver oil a lot, especially on scrambled eggs. Itʼs got a lot of vitamins in it and is very
good for them.


Our tegus like eating turkey balls and scrambled eggs off of a chopstick. The guy we got
Golliath and Giavanni from had done that with them so they were used to it. Theyʼre
very gentle when they take a turkey ball or a piece of scrambled egg off the chop stick
and itʼs easier for them to eat that way. Weʼve put the turkey balls in a bowl for them and
itʼs harder for them to get the food in their mouths. They also get a lot of turkey on their
faces when they eat out of a bowl so using the chop stick saves us from having to clean
their faces after they eat. Same thing with the scrambled eggs. Weʼre not feeding a lot
of animals so itʼs feasible for us to feed our tegus with a chopstick. Itʼs a personal choice
of ours and is not necessary. We also put their food on the chopstick before we put it in
front of their mouths. They wait very patiently for us to get their food ready for them.


Another thing I can mention about feeding tegus. We do our best to give them a
balanced diet of mice or rats 1-2 days a week and ground turkey (sometimes with beef
liver) and cod liver oil 2-3 days each week, and scrambled eggs with cod liver oil and
calcium powder on them once every other week. With Rocko, our baby, we offer him
food everyday to make sure he gets enough nutrition. Most of the time, he is hungry
everyday. After a growth spurt, he doesnʼt seem to need to eat as much. We havenʼt
tried hard boiled eggs with our tegus, although Iʼm sure that Golliath could get a whole
one down his throat. They enjoy the scrambled eggs a lot.


When Rocko was a baby, in addition to ground turkey and scrambled eggs, we did feed
him crickets dusted with calcium powder and gut-loaded superworms (gut-loaded with
carrots). At first he wasnʼt too sure what to do with an insect but then really liked them a
lot. He would grab a worm and shake his head with the worm sticking out of his mouth.
It was pretty funny to see him do that the first time. When he got bigger, we did get him
some pinky mice which he enjoyed. Now he can eat 3 large mice when heʼs really
hungry but usually heʼs full after 2. He has a big appetite when heʼs growing.
Sometimes Rocko will try to bring a mouse back to his cage to eat once he has it in his
mouth, but we donʼt let our tegus bring food into their cage.


There is also a product called Bone Aid (that is liquid calcium) you can use if you donʼt
like the using calcium powder. Weʼve used Bone Aid on Rockoʼs food when he was
growing a lot. When baby tegus bones are growing fast they need lots of calcium. The
UVB lights give tegus vitamin D3 but they need extra calcium in their diet. When tegus
eat mice or rats, they get calcium from the bones, too. Youʼll know if your tegu isnʼt
getting enough UVB rays or calcium because it will start to get arm shakes when it tries
to walk and wonʼt be able to lift itʼs head or walk very strongly on its feet. If that
happens, keep their lights on a few more hours during the day and increase the amount
of calcium you add to their food. After awhile, if youʼve caught the problem early
enough, your tegu will be back to normal within a month or two.


You need to gauge how long to keep the lights on for your tegus and make sure they
donʼt get too hot in their cage based on the climate where you live when your tegus are
housed indoors. In the summer time, we turn their lights on in the morning and for a few
hours at night. During the hottest parts of the day, we keep the lights off. We also keep
the windows open and a fan running in the room so there is a breeze if the air
conditioning isnʼt on. In the winter time, we keep the lights on most of the day and at
night we keep a room heater on so the temperature doesnʼt drop below 65 degrees. My
husband tells me that they can tolerate cooler temperatures, which is true, but if they
donʼt have to then why not keep their room warm for them at night?


Tegus are cold blooded animals and need sunlight to digest their food. After our tegus
eat, we put them under their lights for awhile. They wonʼt usually eat if theyʼre cold and
havenʼt been under the light to get warm. After their baths, we also put our tegus under
their lights. In the winter itʼs important to make sure that your tegu doesnʼt get cold or
catch a draft after a bath. If a tegu gets chilled it can get congested and start sneezing.
They will sneeze a clear liquid out of their noses and need to be given more time under
their lights to keep warm. We also turn the heat up in our home so the rooms are warm
when weʼre taking them to and from the bathroom in the winter. I wrap them in a towel
to carry them. Their nails can be really sharp, especially when theyʼre babies, so having
the towel protects our skin when theyʼre holding on to us.


Tegus also like slightly warmer bath water temperatures in the winter. Itʼs best to give
tegus their bath during the day whenever possible. In the winter time, just make sure
that the room theyʼre in is warm enough for them. In the summer, itʼs best to bathe them
in the morning or later in the day so they can sleep under their light when itʼs not the
hottest part of a summer day. In Southern California, we can have many days over 100
degrees of dry heat. That isnʼt so wonderful for a tegu that does best in a humid climate
so weʼre also spraying more water in their cages in the summer months.


Something else that can be important for tegus that live indoors is that they can use
some help with their shed most of the time. Outside they have rough surfaces they can
rub up against to help them get their shed off of their bodies when itʼs ready to come off.
Not so in a cage with smooth surfaces. When a tegu starts to show signs of shedding,
(darker skin tone, parts of their skin start peeling off), itʼs good to give them extra bath
time and spray them with water more. When the shed is already starting to come off,
you can help peel the shed off of their feet and toes, and their tails particularly. After a
bath you can rub their tail and the skin will usually start to peel. If youʼre really gentle
and patient in helping a tegu with their shed, theyʼll be happy for the assistance.


Be very careful not to try to take off a piece of skin prematurely, because that could
really hurt your tegu and create a trust problem for you in the future. Also, itʼs good to
help them get the shed off of their toes and tail because otherwise they could lose a toe
nail or part of their tail from a lack of circulation that dead skin can cause if itʼs left on too
long. Our tegus like being helped with their shed, especially on their feet, although I will
say that the first time Rocko shed after we got him he didnʼt want help at all; that is until
his couldnʼt get the shed off of his feet by himself. The next time he shed, he was more
than happy to have me take off all of his shed for him. And now itʼs a regular thing for
us. His shed comes off in big sheets sometimes and looks cool. The skin on our tegus
eyelids has also shed and when itʼs taken off it looks like the eye of a mask.


Our tegus do like interaction and are able to communicate what they want. Like any
relationship, the more time you spend with a tegu, the better you get to know them and
the closer the relationship will be. All three of our tegus let us know when they want to
be rubbed and will come to the glass doors of their cages and look for us. When we
open the door they put their heads on the side of the cage and close their eyes so we
can rub their faces and massage their necks. Sometimes Golliath will want to come out
of his cage just so he can get some affection and spend time with us. Giavanni will want
to come out so she can get cuddles and sleep in a blanket with me. Rocko likes being
pet in his cage and likes to cuddle in my lap when I take him out. As I said in the
beginning, they have their preferences.


One thing to remember though, while a lot of people will share your delight in how
magnificent these lizards are, there are people who are very afraid of reptiles in general
and seeing a large tegu will bring about a very negative reaction. Tegus are sensitive to
their surroundings and need to be in a supportive environment. If someone reacts badly
to them that is going to affect them and make them feel bad. Itʼs best to avoid situations
where your tegu will be exposed to something or someone that will not be kind, loving
and gentle to your tegu. Tegus need to be safe in their home and itʼs not good to put
them under any kind of stress. When they get nervous they can be unpredictable and
need a lot of reassurance.


For that reason, we donʼt take our tegus out to public places. We donʼt bring them to
reptile shows because that can stress out a tegu thatʼs used to being home in itʼs cage
in a quiet, loving environment. We also donʼt take them to parks where fertilizers are
used on grass which could expose them to poisons that could adversely affect their
health. We are careful about who we bring into the room where their cages are so there
isnʼt any kind of negative commotion around them. They do enjoy meeting new people
and are great about having their picture taken with someone. They donʼt care for loud
noises, like when the gardeners use leaf blowers outside where we live, but I donʼt like
that noise either, so I can relate. Our tegus get a lot of tender loving care.


I had to have surgery in May so a couple of friends volunteered to help me with our
reptilesʼ bath time for the duration when I wasnʼt going to be able to lift them up. They
spent about a month giving our tegus their baths with me so when I got home from the
hospital they were able to take care of our babiesʼ bath time on their own. When I got
home from the hospital, our tegus knew that I couldnʼt handle them and they didnʼt
come to their glass doors to come out when I was alone with them in their room. All of
our tegus have grown to love their other bath attendants and itʼs very cute to see how
they cuddle with our friends. One of them is now our official babysitter when we go out
of town and itʼs nice that our tegus have someone they know coming to take care of
them while weʼre away. Iʼm fully recovered from surgery so weʼre back to our normal
routine and weʼre all much happier.
______________________________________________________________________
Part 2:


Why we want to own another tegu and why we deserve one....


My husband and I have many reasons for wanting to own another tegu, one of the
tamest lizards in the world. I had never heard of tegus until September, 2009 when Paul
announced to me that he wanted to get a baby tegu from Varnyard. I had just gotten a
dog tame Savannah monitor at a reptile show which was new for me as well. It turned
out that the guy we got our monitor from is the same guy we got our other two tegus
from. My husband found his ad on fauna for the tegus after we got our baby tegu in
November, and they realized, when they were talking, that we had gotten our monitor
from him. That was kind of remarkable.


Paul used to breed reptiles and rescued tortoises before he and I met. He had owned a
few tegus and thought they were really cool. The more he read about them on
Varnyardʼs website and other breederʼs websites the more he wanted to have them
again. Paul loves the species and how intelligent they are. He loves that we can interact
with them and that they let us know what they want. He enjoys being with them and
watching what they do. Mostly I think he is amazed at how much I love our tegus and
our monitor and the relationship I have with our reptiles. For me, theyʼre my babies. I
probably spoil them a lot and dote on them more than people would think someone
would, but thatʼs the kind of mommy I am to our animals. Tegus are pretty magical to
me.


I really adore being with our tegus and our friends and family love them, too. When my
parents came in town to visit us for Christmas last year, my mother fell in love with
Golliath. Rocko was still very little and was curled up in a ball under his cypress mulch a
lot so she didnʼt get to interact with him much. Also, Rockoʼs personality has come out
more as heʼs gotten older and more confident. Giavanni is a bit more shy around people
until she gets to know someone. My mom was amazed at how our monitor, Georgee,
can sit in my lap for hours at a time and is so cuddly. Itʼs really sweet how my mom is
always asking about our lizards when we talk on the phone. She even tells her friends
about them.


A lot of people came to visit and brought meals to us when I was sick and they were
impressed with how beautiful and peaceful our tegus are. Many people who had never
seen a tegu got to learn about them. Our friends who helped with their bath time adore
them, too. My husband even bought us a camera surveillance system for our home so
we can check on how our lizards and cats are doing when weʼre out of town. He got it
because I was always wondering how they were and missed them so much when weʼre
away from them for long periods of time. He thought this would be great so I can see
them when weʼre away. Itʼs nice to be able to look at them on our iphones. Now if they
could make the system so I could talk to them too, that would be perfect.


Weʼre really excited about the new baby extreme giant we have coming from you soon.
We bought itʼs cage and have had it set up for a couple of months now. Paul didnʼt tell
me when he ordered our baby a few months ago that he had ordered two of them. I
asked that he talk with you to see if we could only get one, mainly because Iʼm not sure
how big the extreme giant is really going to get and having 2 tegus that could be over 6
ft., 25 lbs., could be hard for me to handle, even though Paul is around to help out.
Golliath is a big boy at 5 ft. now that he is filling out more and Iʼve just gotten back to
where I can pick him up after my surgery. I need to be able to pick up our tegus and
handle them when Iʼm home alone with them. If they need something I want to be able
to take care of it right away.


I also was in the middle of writing this essay for your contest when Paul let me know
that he had ordered 2 extreme giants from you. We donʼt have room for more than 5
tegus in our home with our Savannah monitor and I would really like to win your contest.
Winning a tegu from you would be so awesome. We respect the quality of work that you
do breeding these animals and really appreciated how great you were about talking with
Paul when we got Rocko last year. You helped us feel very comfortable about ordering a
baby from you and having him shipped across the country. We like your Tegu Talk forum
and enjoy watching the videos you have on your site. Weʼve showed our friends your
site so they can learn more about tegus and see your videos. Weʼre sort of Bobby Hill
fans, but not in a weird way.


Which brings me to the last section of this essay; telling you why we deserve to get the
tegu youʼre giving away. The truth is, I donʼt really know what we deserve, (God is more
than kind to us), but winning this contest and getting a free tegu from you would be the
coolest thing ever!!! It would be one of those things weʼd never forget in our life that
weʼll tell our grandkids about. So hereʼs my pitch...We love our tegus very much and
your tegu will become a part of our family. Your tegu will be given a beautiful enclosure
with everything it needs to live a healthy, happy life and be fed the best quality food and
supplements. It will also receive a lot of attention. It will be spoken to, sung to, rubbed
and massaged everyday. It will have other very happy, healthy tegus to spend time with.
It will get bath time and regular misting.


Your tegu will be very loved. We will tend to its needs and make sure that it feels
comfortable with how itʼs being handled. It will be kept very safe and will only be
exposed to our friends and family members who respect animals and are mature
enough to be around them. It will also get to meet 2 really great cats. Your tegu will get
to live the good life in Southern California and we will send you pictures and updates
about how your tegu is doing as often as youʼd like. Weʼll also post its picture on our
facebook pages (because we do that with our animals) and let people know that we won
our new tegu from Varnyard Herps, the best breeder of tegus in the world. And finally,
and maybe most importantly, I spent a really long time checking out websites, writing
and editing this essay so it would be fun for you to read.


So thanks for your time and considering our home for your tegu!


Blessings!
Laura and Paul Burton