July 2001 Domestically captive bred and raised Argentine Red Tegus are quite docile and known for their gentle dispositions . These are the largest of all the tegus .
Males develop large jowls and tend to be the largest and the most brightly colored.
In captivity they do well on a basic tegu diet which also included a large portion of fruit . Kiwi , passion fruit, mango, star fruit , strawberries , grapes , peaches and plums are just some of the fruits relished by these tegus . Stomach contents of red tegus in the wild were found to contain a large amount of fruit and palm seeds . Red tegus which are not fed fruits tend to develop problems shedding their skin . Shed skin should not be allowed to remain on the tegu as it can lead to a loss of digits and painful skin infections .