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Thread: ID help please check this out

  1. #1
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    Apr 2011
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    Question ID help please check this out

    I went to the Hamburg, PA reptile show last saturday and picked up this little guy. He was sold to me as a Colombian Gold, but looks really different from the other 5 I have. He's a pale yellow to bright peach on the underside. His thighs have a leopard print type of pattern, not the typical gold speckles on black. His body is also more thinner with a longer limb proportion. Is this a lighter color phase, cross, or something else? I appreciate your thoughts on him and will try to get better pics soon. Here are some decent ones of him next to an equally sized typical gold.
    IMG_0569..jpgIMG_0568..jpgIMG_0566..jpgIMG_0563..jpgIMG_0565..jpg

  2. #2
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    Oct 2006
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    He's a gorgeous tegu. My not very expert opinion would say it is a T. teguixin and just a regional difference. Tegus in European seem to be wild caught from different locales and show more variation than what we see in the US. I also wonder if there is a possibility it is an intergrade with another species or subspecies.
    Laura R (FL)
    1.0.0 Colombian Tegu
    1.4.0 Argentine B&W Tegu
    1.2.0 Red Tegu
    1.2.0 B/WxRed Tegu
    1.0.0 Green Ameiva (yet another teiid)
    7 other lizards
    1 little gator
    3 FL box turtle
    1 Sulcata tortoise
    16 snakes
    5 fuzzy pets
    4 little frogs
    a bunch of creepy bugs
    and a partridge in a pear tree

  3. #3
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    Sep 2007
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    Very interesting looking. I know nothing about the different species and races. Maybe our member tupinambis, who has studied tegus from different geographical areas, will recognize it. It seems like its scales are more beady than the "regular" gold in the picture.

    BTW, laurarfl, I think PA is still in the US

  4. #4
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    Apr 2011
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    Westfield, NJ
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    Thanks Laura! He's even more amazing in person! I'd like to see pics of your adult pair if possible? He's definitely interesting HernandosMom. His scales are more beady by comparison, but not significantly so even by touch. I don't know much either about any of the other non-pet trade species. I've done some googling which has led me to believe that he's possibly (like Laura said) an intergrade with a Paraguayan Yellow. The reasoning behind it is the obvious pale yellow coloring and intensely peach/orange belly, and the leopard like markings on its' legs. He doesn't have the black nose tho. But if it were possible the 2 species could meet in the wild, I'm thinking a Colombian cross. I'm no expert but either way I'm really looking forward into what he grows into. Who doesn't like surprises?

  5. #5
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    Central FL
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    Oops, lol, I was think of Germany. In that case, I'm thinking teguixin. I would definitely be interested in what tupinambis has to say.
    Laura R (FL)
    1.0.0 Colombian Tegu
    1.4.0 Argentine B&W Tegu
    1.2.0 Red Tegu
    1.2.0 B/WxRed Tegu
    1.0.0 Green Ameiva (yet another teiid)
    7 other lizards
    1 little gator
    3 FL box turtle
    1 Sulcata tortoise
    16 snakes
    5 fuzzy pets
    4 little frogs
    a bunch of creepy bugs
    and a partridge in a pear tree

  6. #6
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    Sep 2007
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    I doubt they would interbreed in the wild, but very possibly a breeder put two together who would otherwise never meet.

  7. #7
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    Dec 2004
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    Earth
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    Tupinambis teguixin, without a doubt.

  8. #8
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    Central FL
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    El Cadejo, I don't know if some of those other Tupinambis species would readily breed. I was thinking of species that are more closely related to teguixin and occupy the same area. There are rat snakes that have overlapping territory here in the South and will breed. Something more like this:

    http://www.checklist.org.br/getpdf?NGD115-08

    But since I have not studied them nor seen them in person...it's just an opinion based on random thoughts.
    Laura R (FL)
    1.0.0 Colombian Tegu
    1.4.0 Argentine B&W Tegu
    1.2.0 Red Tegu
    1.2.0 B/WxRed Tegu
    1.0.0 Green Ameiva (yet another teiid)
    7 other lizards
    1 little gator
    3 FL box turtle
    1 Sulcata tortoise
    16 snakes
    5 fuzzy pets
    4 little frogs
    a bunch of creepy bugs
    and a partridge in a pear tree

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Las Vegas, NV
    Posts
    746

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    It's a Golden which is under the same category as Colombian. I think they're different but could be wrong,.. maybe one is a sub species of the other but who knows. You have one of each so you can clearly see the differences in the two first hand.

    For me Goldens tend to be more streamline and skink like compared to Colombians for the ones that I've seen. Their legs are a little longer and their pattern is usually more digital and Colombians are usually stripes and spots or lines and blotches.

    Goldens colors are usually more vibrant then Colombians. Colombians being on the darker side of the scale with usually more black than any other color. But I know just as well as most that patterns and colors change.

    Most Colombians colors are just black and yellow some may even have a little white on their belly and creeping up the sides a little. Or kind of a faded yellow to where it looks washed out and almost white. But Goldens are bright yellow, to kind of a golden yellow like they have a tan or something,.. and their tones are pretty even.

    When the tone changes it looks like they're getting ready to shed more than anything else.

    But that's just how I see it,.. I don't see them the same so I don't call them the same thing. For me a Golden is a Golden and a Colombian is a Colombian.
    0.1.0 BP (Spiral) aka Rita Wayward
    2.1. Dogs (White Boys "Powder", Paw Paws "Achilles" & Panini)

    " 14 July 2010,..Always Remembered"

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Westfield, NJ
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    Thanks for all the info everyone! All great things to read and think about. Regardless of what he is, he'll be super spoiled!

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