Tegus are native to the Central and South America. They are considered as large lizards and although they resemble monitor lizards, they are only distantly related to them.

There are a few species of Tegus and the most famous species that are kept as exotic pets are the Argentine Black and White Tegu, Blue Tegu and the Red Tegu. I have both Blue and Red Tegus. Blue Tegus are considered “dwarf tegus” because they have smaller sized bodies compared to other Tegus.

Male Tegus tend to have big jowls. There is a debate saying that the Red Tegu has the biggest “jowl” out of all the Tegus!

Tegus are carnivourous, so basically they will eat anything from fruit to small mammals.