Hello everyone!

[Rita C]

My name is Rita, I do not have a Tegu at the moment and not even sure if or when I’ll be getting one. I’m here to research and learn as much as I can before I decide if a Tegu is right for us. So I’ll be doing a lot of reading and asking lots of questions. So bear with me.

I have one child. He’s 7. For pets we have a dog, bearded dragon, and fish.

I’m looking forward to learning all about tegus!

 

[Debita]

Hi Rita! I think the world of my 2 Tegus that I got from Rodney Irwin - "Tegusonly.com" . He rescues them from an area in Florida where they are being eradicated because they are damaging natural habitats, and detrimental to ecosystems there. He has unbelievably beautiful animals - and is priced much lower than any pet store I've seen.

This is not a pet for a 7 or even a 10 yr old. Just my opinion - as long as there is parent supervision, and an extreme amount of caution taken - I'm sure it could work. They have an intense strength, and can be very difficult to handle. Accidents can happen even with a lot of caution. I'd say stick with the Beardies for your son for now. So much depends on "his" personality.

Good luck!!

 

[Rita C]

Hi Rita! I think the world of my 2 Tegus that I got from Rodney Irwin - "Tegusonly.com" . He rescues them from an area in Florida where they are being eradicated because they are damaging natural habitats, and detrimental to ecosystems there. He has unbelievably beautiful animals - and is priced much lower than any pet store I've seen.

This is not a pet for a 7 or even a 10 yr old. Just my opinion - as long as there is parent supervision, and an extreme amount of caution taken - I'm sure it could work. They have an intense strength, and can be very difficult to handle. Accidents can happen even with a lot of caution. I'd say stick with the Beardies for your son for now. So much depends on "his" personality.

Good luck!!

Thanks for the info! If I decide to get one I'll definitely check out Tegusonly.com. And for the record, none of our pets are for my son. They are really all mine.

I have heard that they are strong and have a powerful bite so my son would not be left with him unsupervised. But it is a concern of mine because I do know that accidents happen. So I'm hoping to maybe hear from other parents that keep Tegus. How safe is it really, to keep them in a home with children?

 

[Walter1]

Hi Rita and welcome. This is superb site for useful information by conscientious keepers.

 

[AlphaAlpha]

Hi Rita.... Welcome to the site .... I agree with you both on what you're saying with children but as parent, 11 when I got Alpha which is a Colombian tegu so not quite as big I have never had any problems with injury. You just know as a parent and owner if both are in the mood to tolerate each other and to how big of part they should take part in each other's life\care.