Argentine black-and-white tegu

Tegus are active by day in warm weather and spend the winter underground in burrows. They eat almost anything, including the eggs of ground-nesting birds, alligators and turtles. They came to Georgia and Florida as released or escaped pets.

In the wild in Georgia a tegu is a serious threat to animals that nest on the ground, including gopher tortoises and quail. None of that is the tegu's doing: it is an animal in the wrong place because people let it go. Recording sightings helps track where it has spread.

Eggs — Usually 20 to 50
Nest — In burrows or leaf litter
Incubation — About 60 days
Hatchlings — Bright green-headed at first
Maturity — Within a few years
Lifespan — Over 15 years

• A tegu seen in the wild in Georgia is worth photographing and recording on iNaturalist; each record helps show where they are.
• Keep a distance: a large tegu can bite and scratch hard when cornered.
• Never release a pet tegu or any other reptile.

• Tegus are native. They come from South America; Georgia's are descended from released and escaped pets.

• Gopher tortoise
• American alligator