Gold tegu

The gold tegu, also known as the golden tegu, common tegu, black tegu, Colombian black and white tegu and tiger lizard (in Trinidad),[3] is a species of tegu. Its old scientific name (synonym) was Tupinambis nigropunctatus, but it has since renamed to Tupinambis teguixin.[2]

Gold tegu
on Trinidad
Conservation status
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Teiidae
Genus:	Tupinambis
Species:	T. teguixin
Binomial name
Tupinambis teguixin (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[2]
Teius teguexim (Linnaeus, 1758) Tupinambis nigropunctatus (Spix, 1825) Lacerta teguexim (Linnaeus, 1758)

Gold tegus grow to be about 2 to 3 ft (60 to 100 cm) long on average, and up to 3.5 to 4.0 kg in weight, with a glossy body, powerful limbs and a thick tail.[4] They have many black and gold stripes down their bodies. Gold tegus live in the tropical forests of northern and central South America, as well as in Panama. They feed on insects, other invertebrates (such as snails),[5] small mammals, other reptiles (such as smaller lizards and small snakes)[5] and birds, as well as fish, nesting eggs of birds, turtles and caimans,[5] and sometimes fruit and honey.[5] They typically do not make as good a pet as their larger southern relatives, the Argentine black and white tegu or the red tegu, but if handled frequently, they can make a good pet.[6]