iguana vs. tegu... ?!?!

[nivek5225]

For anyone that has owned both an iguana species and a tegu... Which seems easier to tame? Some places i read that iguanas can get nasty and mean, other places i read they are nice and sweet. I would like to know from actual owners what they think...

Thanks in advance! Kevin

 

[rrcoolj]

I have very lmited experience with iguanas but I have done a ton of research on them. Iguanas are one of those lizards that really only intermediate or advanced herp keepers should tackle. They get big and yes especially the males can get a temper. It's not unheard of for males during the breeding season to charge at thier owners. They are great animals but they definatly require more work to tame. They remind me more of a nile monitor. You can handle and spend time with them and they will be very calm with you most of the time but they know thier big. Of coarse igunas take much longer to reach adult size.

Long story short if your judging based on temenes(not sure that's a word) than tegu all the way.

 

[Adam87]

well i do own both ive had my iguana for almost a year now and she can get pretty brutal but once i take her out of her cage shes fine shes just more scared than aggressive and i just got my tegu and hes still getting to know me but hes taming down really nicely to get an iguana u have to get it from the right place and spend alot of time with it every single day for hours and sometimes it all just depends on the iguana as well cause not all iguanas are nasty cause they do make great pets but i would say tegus are easier but to be more specific The Argentine b/w tegus are the tamest

 

[Toby_H]

When I was about 12 years old I got an Iguana and it lived for around 8 yearsÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ I got a hatchling Tegu (female B & W from Bobby) in June Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?Å?08...

In short, My Tegu has been much easier to tame than my Iguana wasÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦

As Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?â??babiesÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?Â:
My Tegu has never run from me the way my Iguana didÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ The Iguana would spastically run crashing into walls. I was always nervous it would hurt itself. The Tegu only ran from me that way a few times and generally didnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t show fear to casual movementsÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦

As young adults:
Both were quite tame and could easily be handled. The Iguana would recognize my father and I and would let only us pick him up out of the cage. I would commonly place him on my bed and he would stay on the bed or climb into the Window to bask. My father or I could enter the room and easily handle him, but when anyone else entered the room the Iguana took a defensive posture and would whip anyone within tails reach.

The Tegu is a big sweety and when I (or anyone) else opens the cage she just tries to crawl to me. While free roaming indoors anyone can casually walk up and pick her up. She may try to crawl back to the floor if she in an adventurous mood but will not run or fight. When free roaming outdoors she doesnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t mind being followed/observed, but she will avoid being picked up. She has yet to Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?â??run offÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã? but she will talk quick steps to get a few feet ahead of me. Her outdoor free roaming experience is very limited as she has only recently gotten large enough to keep track of outdoors.

There is no way I would have ever even considered allowing the Iguana to free roam outdoors.

As mature adults:
The Iguana kept the above behavior of being tame towards my father and I but never warmed up to anyone else. He really appreciated a routine and did not like breaking it. His routine was being fed in the morning and his cage3 left open. After eating he would hop onto the bed then bask in the window. After school/work I would handle him then put him back in his closed cage. I could handle him in my room just fine but when I walked around the house holding him he would freak out.

My Tegu is not a mature adult yetÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦



In the IguanaÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s defense, I was a kid when I was raising him. That was also in the days before the internet so I was limited to a few books and my local pet shop for guidance.

But based on my experience, I believe Tegus are much easier to tame and can become much more tame than an Iguana ever willÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦.

 

[chelvis]

I've had a green iguana who never became tame dispite me trying to handle him everyday. On the other hand i had a rhino iggy who was a dog. I got him as a hatchling when i was 16 and when i had to get him a new home at 21 he was just like a dog. He was shy at first but with daily handling at one year old he was cool with chillin with my on our deck and wasn't flighty. He nipped at first but like i said he really calmed down with time. I had him leashed trained and he would eat out of my hand no problem. After one year old i made sure i handled him once a week and he still was the calmest iggy i ever had.

My tegu is my new puppy lizard. I have to admit it took alot less work to tame him. I have a blue tegu and he loves to climb on my bed and sleep under the covers or go out on the balcony and sun bath. He never bit and even tail whipped at me. However my new little blue has taken awhile to warm up to me but i'll give her some time.

 

[isdrake]

I haven't had any iguana myself but I knew a couple of people who have green iguanas. They aren't that nice and they can become very aggressive. However I was told that one iguana was really sweet.

One thing to consider is that green iguanas (they are the most common I think) live in a much more extreme climate then Tegus. They require high humidity. I know that many people seems to enjoy taking their reptiles out of the enclosure. But if you don't live in a place that has high humidity and take it out it will hurt the iggy. So in that way the Tegus are better too.

However this shouldn't be that much of a problem since iggys aren't social animals so if you just leave it alone in the enclosure it should be a healthy and happy lizard. ;P

 

[Toby_H]

A point to add...

I talked to my father today and asked what he remembered about the Iguana I had as a kid. He confirmed what I shared above but had one additional detail...

I remembered the Iguana being a little less patient with people as it got older. My father remembered the Iguana becoming less considerably less patient with people when we started feeding it meat.

Along with a calcium & vitamin supplement, it ate a vegetarian diet only for about the first 6 years. After that we began feeding it "Lang's Puppy Diet" along with itÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s vegetables.

It remained handle able by me after this point, but would rather free roam than be held, and would rather Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?Å?chillÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ by itself as opposed to on my body. At that same point it began biting/whipping my father and at 5Ã?¢ââ??‰â??¢ long that was enough to make him stop touching the Iguana.


For reference my Tegu eats thawed/frozen hairless mice, ground Turkey and life fish (out of water) with occasional fruits and/or veggies.

 

[Adam87]

just one thing to add is that iguanas yea are the most common but sadly there owners end up either giving them away or realeasing it outside it takes alot of paitents to deal with an iguana and some people just can't handle that

 

[reptastic]

as a owner of both a large iguana and a large tegu i would have to agree with what everyone is saying (especially above^^^^) a tegu is a lot less flighty even some hatchlings. most male iguanas get very aggressive during breeding season even an otherwise tame one. so yeah a tegus temperment is a whole lot bettter overall than an iguanas!

 

[MMRR - jif]

I will agree with most of the pro tegu posts here but I have to make an exception when it comes to the Cyclura iguanas. My Cyclura, especially the Rhinos, are way more social with humans than any tegu I've ever had. The Rhinos will actually search the house to find me for some attention. If raised in a social environment they will get along with dogs, cats, most people, including strangers. They are, undoubtedly, the smartest and most social reptile that I have ever kept. I've always said that my most favorites lizards are tegus and Cyclura iguanas but if I had to choose to keep only one species it would have to be the Cyclura.

If you look closely at the 2nd photo you can see a small albino tegu on the far left, chilling with the iguanas.

 

[DaveDragon]

We have 4 Tegus (all adults) and 4 Cuban Rock Iguanas; (1) 6 year old male, (2) 3 year old females and a 1 year old possible male. We don't handle them much.

Only the 1 year old Cuban have we had since it was very young, the rest we got as adults. The 1 year old Cuban has always been flighty, I've read it takes 18 months for them to start calming down (move up the food chain). Cyclura grow very slowly so it can take a long time for them for them to feel safe. The 2 female Cubans aren't bad, a little jumpy at times, but not aggressive at all. The 6 year old male Cuban is the tamest of the 4 but he's also by far the biggest (top of the food chain), he's fairly mellow, we've seen no aggression during breeding season. We bring them outside on leashes, otherwise they'd run away.

The Tegu's vary in personality, but the male Red is the most mellow, he's also the biggest by far (top of the food chain). We bring them all outside without leashes. The Blues will only breed outside while free roaming.

I guess overall the Tegu's are the tamest but it varies by the individual. In our experience the largest animal is the tamest/mellowest because of it's position on the food chain. Our animals don't get a lot of physical interaction with us but the see us often and understand we're not going to hurt them (except for the 1 year old Cuban, he's nuts!! But he'll calm down in time). That's probably the most important thing in taming an animal. Trust. It's a 2 way street, you need to trust them and they need to trust you. Without that fear takes over and the animal can be very unpredictable.