tegu misconception

[SterlingAce]

Just to add something quick,a few weeks ago I was out with my red tegu at a pet shop and I overheard this guy telling his girlfriend that his bearded dragon is why bigger than my bearded dragon.
:huh:

 

[chelvis]

I was going to agree with James, however this is really not limited to reptiles. I have worked in zoo facilities for a while now and man the things you hear. I can understand the reptiles, after all most people have phobias of them so if they in the reptile house that is a big step for them. I can understand the strange island animals things like the Fossa, Aye Aye and Kodkod, those animals tend to be animals only keepers and biologist are really known for. But having to tell someone that a Lion and a Tiger are different speices is hard. I honestly had a man that argued with me for 10 mins on it. He was saying that all the ones with strips where females, while standing in front of a ver obvious male tiger, and the tawny colored ones were males, the ones with manes are the alphas. It only ended when the wife came up and said the the ones with manes are the stupid ones, look that one can't find its food and the no maned on found it first, so the maned one is the male and the no maned on is the female. Although not scientific it seemed to work for him.

Sometimes you just got to smile and nod, I get so many questions in my inbox at work that are myth and legend all I can do is try and educate.

 

[Dana C]

I have found that many people are too lazy to read or do the science. Sadly that goes to many topics beyond Tegus. I was asked to post some reference material sources on V. ionidesi. Every response after posting what I read and researched indicated that none of the respondents read the entire post much less used the sources I listed. Too many people are getting really bad information from The Discovery Chanel, Animal Planet, and even Nat. Geo. The statistics used in Florida's constrictor and Iguana population are most often not factual yet because it is on TV, it has to be true, right? Far too many people are much to fond of just repeating what someone else has said or done rather than finding out whatever, for themselves. It is the typical "A guy I know told me that............" syndrome. I know that very few people have as an inquiring mind as some of us do. Finding research material, papers, studies etc. is time consuming and very often hard. In my mind, the pursuit is fascinating. For others, it cuts into their various reality tv shows. I try hard to make my life very real and now that I am aging, it is much too real.

When it gets warm enough here in Idaho to take my adult Tegu Gordo out and/or my Black Throat monitor out for walks or to the park and will anxiously look forward to ignorant statements. My line is going to point out my lizards obvious simularities to a Carnosaurus, (made up), and that they are experimental animals, which like those in Jurassic Park will grow to be fearsome beasts. After I have my laugh, I will tell them the truth about my animals and the crap they see on television.

 

[monstruo-the-tegu]

o geez but yesterday i was in off the ark exotic pets and some lady with her dog walked in she started scaring the iguanas my tegu snakes the beardies and the argus monitor while she was scaring them she started saying i want a gecko then vinny said what kind she said the geico gecko then she said nevermind then she said i want a turtle and so on with other animals eventually it got to the point were her dog pooped on the floor at that point i got so mad at her i said "you really need to know the actual animals before you say you want a fictional character or just a turtle" she left and then i bought crickets and mice

 

[james.w]

o geez but yesterday i was in off the ark exotic pets and some lady with her dog walked in she started scaring the iguanas my tegu snakes the beardies and the argus monitor while she was scaring them she started saying i want a gecko then vinny said what kind she said the geico gecko then she said nevermind then she said i want a turtle and so on with other animals eventually it got to the point were her dog pooped on the floor at that point i got so mad at her i said "you really need to know the actual animals before you say you want a fictional character or just a turtle" she left and then i bought crickets and mice

Way to speak out of turn. If that was my store you would have been told, not asked to leave.

 

[monstruo-the-tegu]

yeah after she left everybody laughed

 

[dragonmetalhead]

I was going to agree with James, however this is really not limited to reptiles. I have worked in zoo facilities for a while now and man the things you hear. I can understand the reptiles, after all most people have phobias of them so if they in the reptile house that is a big step for them. I can understand the strange island animals things like the Fossa, Aye Aye and Kodkod, those animals tend to be animals only keepers and biologist are really known for. But having to tell someone that a Lion and a Tiger are different speices is hard. I honestly had a man that argued with me for 10 mins on it. He was saying that all the ones with strips where females, while standing in front of a ver obvious male tiger, and the tawny colored ones were males, the ones with manes are the alphas. It only ended when the wife came up and said the the ones with manes are the stupid ones, look that one can't find its food and the no maned on found it first, so the maned one is the male and the no maned on is the female. Although not scientific it seemed to work for him.

Sometimes you just got to smile and nod, I get so many questions in my inbox at work that are myth and legend all I can do is try and educate.

You had someone who didn't know lions and tigers are different species?! My cousin's two-year-old son knows they're two different animals. Damn, that's pretty bad. It's like when people ask if Kodo is a snake, even though he has very obvious and well-muscled legs. I hate to sound like a snob/*******, but some people really are just morons. There is just no excuse for that when it is so easy to access information via the internet.

 

[james.w]

Why do the majority of people here expect everyone to know about reptiles?? Reptiles are a hobby that not everyone is interested in, why should they research them? That is like saying because you can't tune an engine you are a moron, or because you can't play the piano you are ignorant. Not everyone has the same interests in the world, and some of you are making them out to be morons, stupid, ignorant, etc because of that. This thread is full of ignorant people, some of you should look in the mirror and you will see just what a moron looks like.

 

[monstruo-the-tegu]

Why do the majority of people here expect everyone to know about reptiles?? Reptiles are a hobby that not everyone is interested in, why should they research them? That is like saying because you can't tune an engine you are a moron, or because you can't play the piano you are ignorant. Not everyone has the same interests in the world, and some of you are making them out to be morons, stupid, ignorant, etc because of that. This thread is full of ignorant people, some of you should look in the mirror and you will see just what a moron looks like.

yes but mainly its people acting like they know more than a keeper of that animal ive had people say that my tegu was an iguana and i said no its a tegu and they said he saw that it was an iguana on animal planet and he said the person i bought him from was an idiot and i was an idiot

 

[grimz]

Well let me tell it to you this way humans and animals have lived on earth together forever so i think more people should know about animals then what does.

 

[TegusRawsome80]

Why do the majority of people here expect everyone to know about reptiles?? Reptiles are a hobby that not everyone is interested in, why should they research them? That is like saying because you can't tune an engine you are a moron, or because you can't play the piano you are ignorant. Not everyone has the same interests in the world, and some of you are making them out to be morons, stupid, ignorant, etc because of that. This thread is full of ignorant people, some of you should look in the mirror and you will see just what a moron looks like.

yes but mainly its people acting like they know more than a keeper of that animal ive had people say that my tegu was an iguana and i said no its a tegu and they said he saw that it was an iguana on animal planet and he said the person i bought him from was an idiot and i was an idiot

You do realize that when you insult people in public in a business location it's considered extremely disrespectful right? You insult someone for not knowing the difference between reptile species, which many don't, yet you think it's alright to not exercise basic manners in public? By insulting a woman who simply didn't know what she was talking about because of a lack of education, you simply proved that you, not she, was the stupid one in the scenario. If you had calmly held your tongue and let the store employees explain to her what she was looking at, you would've come off as a much more mature person. Maybe in the future you should consider how your actions make you look before you act...

 

[james.w]

Well let me tell it to you this way humans and animals have lived on earth together forever so i think more people should know about animals then what does.

How many members of this forum know specific information about the planets, stars, other species of animals, the world's waterways, etc?? These things have been around forever as well, but I'm sure there area many members here including me that know very little information about these things. Does that make us ignorant or stupid??

 

[chelvis]

I know a lot about the natural world, but asking about the entertainment world or politics and I am clueless. There are things I should remember from highschool government but lets face it that was a long time ago and I have gained more info in other areas.

 

[james.w]

I know a lot about the natural world, but asking about the entertainment world or politics and I am clueless. There are things I should remember from highschool government but lets face it that was a long time ago and I have gained more info in other areas.

Exactly my point, we research and retain knowledge from things that interest us.

 

[reptastic]

Why do the majority of people here expect everyone to know about reptiles?? Reptiles are a hobby that not everyone is interested in, why should they research them? That is like saying because you can't tune an engine you are a moron, or because you can't play the piano you are ignorant. Not everyone has the same interests in the world, and some of you are making them out to be morons, stupid, ignorant, etc because of that. This thread is full of ignorant people, some of you should look in the mirror and you will see just what a moron looks like.

That's a rude statement and highly uncalled for, no one here expects everyone to be able to identify reptiles, we just find it funny sometimes what they (tegus)get confused at being, they are infact ignorant which simply means they just don't know!

 

[frost]

i have to agree with reptastic.

 

[HeatherN]

I have to agree with monstruo, it's not that they don't know about reptiles, it's that they haven't a clue but insist they know what they're talking about to the person who owns the animal. I have no problem with people asking about my pets, I actually enjoy it. What bugs me is when people will come up intending to show off info about your animal and school you about it, when if they had actual read or heard anything about it, they would have more accurate things to say. It's like going into a mechanics shop and insisting you tune up the engine for them, even though you have no idea how it works. What makes people arrogant and moronic, in my mind, is the insistence that they know everything about anything, including the animals you care for.

---

And I research everything I can get my grubby little hands on, I know how to care for most exotics, I know how stars are formed and why our planets are the way they are, I spend hours debating economics and political issues, enjoy playing with gins and electronics (am a pretty good shot if I do say so myself ), I often read articles and studies from anything to botany to psychology, blah blah blah / toot my own horn... Forgive me if I don't understand how someone can not be fascinated by they world we live in!

 

[grimz]

I am not talking about stars and other planets i am talking about things here on this earth things we have been around forever things we have walked right beside of everyday. Actually i know a lot of people that know about the stars and planets but as for me i dont worry about things out of this world that is out of my control.

 

[dragonmetalhead]

It's one thing when somebody comes up to you and asks you, "Is that an iguana?" and then you can politely correct and educate them a bit. But when people come up to you insisting what type of animal it is and refuse to listen to you, it's a totally separate ballgame. I always take the time to talk to anyone who asks about Kodo and tegus in general, and I typically end my schpiel with "Would you like to pet him?" That being said, walking into a Petsmart with an exotic reptile most people haven't heard of perched on your shoulder people tend to assume you're some sort of reptile expert (or at least that's what I've experienced).

 

[monstruo-the-tegu]

ive had people scream because people thought i was a terrorist with a pet dragon