Markasaurus

As a new feature on Markasaurus, I will be finding the best pet available for adoption or sale on Craigslist. Today’s pet is a giant lizard that is currently being offered by its owner in San Jose.

Black and White Tegu, available for adoption on Criagslist

The text of the ad reads (I’m sure it will be pulled from the site soon):

Columbian B&W Tegu 3+ feet
This guy is an AMAZING lizard.
Beautiful, unbelievably strong, and has an attitude! I like how his tongue is always flicking out.. and it’s really long! Looking for an experienced home for him. He eats mice/small rats, ground turkey, chicken, and fingers if your not careful….
I was going to tame him.. but I just don’t have the time. His cage has a heat pad, heat light, florescent light, and all the fixins.
$150 for everything.

Okay, lets see here… you are offering a carnivorous lizard that is over 3 feet long, that may eat your fingers, and you didn’t have time to “tame” him? The cage shown above looks larger than some studio apartments.

Reptileallsorts.com recommends very young tegus if you are planning to tame them, and it clearly steers people towards the more docile Argentine Tegu, not the more aggressive Columbian version as they are “jumpy and frequently slam their tails on the glass or into the water.” My favorite line comes from Wikipedia: “Tegus are prone to food aggression; they will quickly learn to associate human presence with food, and may turn their enthusiastic feeding response upon their caretakers if certain precautions are not taken.” This is very reassuring while one is considering the purchase of an untamed lizard that will grow to nearly 5′ in length.