Hey everyone, what's up? My name's Travis, and I'm fairly new to the board. I've been flipping through it now for a few weeks, but this is my first post. I'm new to tegus, but I've been keeping reptiles, and have been fascinated by them almost since I could walk lol. Between my girlfriend and I, we currently have 2 bearded dragons (Josie and Zero), and a veiled chameleon (Merlin...But I call him Creepy). I've had iguanas and turtles in the past, and I don't like playing favorites, but so far, the beardies have to be the best I've kept. There are many species out there I may not see myself keeping, but I enjoy learning about them all equally. I travel between Illinois and Missouri quite a bit, and the good ol' thick green "Audobahn Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians" book (yeah, you know the one!) never seems to get too far from reach. Awhile back, I was online looking at random lizard pictures, and come acrossed one of an Argentine black and white tegu. I think most people on here will agree when I say it was love at first sight lol. I wanted to learn more, so here I am! This may seem like a silly question, but from what I understand so far; tegus are not monitors? I thought the stout body, scale pattern, forked tongue, and Jacobson's organ was part of what made a monitor a monitor. Reason why I ask, is I'm strongly considering a tegu as the next addition to the family, and I'd like to learn as much as I can before making any major decisions. That, and I just plain find them fascinating. So are they in a class all by themselves outside of the monitor family? I am very interested in learning more of what makes a tegu different than a monitor. I do know varanids have a longer neck, and most seem to come from a different region than tegus, but I know there's more to it. If anyone has more info on the differences, please feel free to chime in, I love to learn! Thanks for reading my massive first post!
-Travis
-Travis
