I've been breeding hybrid lizards called Blue Tegus for almost 6 years now. Upon the decision to move my business online, I googled 'blue tegu' to check out my competition.
I was immediately directed to Drakotegu. Tripod.com/id3.html.
I entered the site. And something between a gasp and shriek involuntarily escaped me as I stared at my favorite picture of my eldest lizard, my baby, on this foreign site.
About 6 years ago I purchased this tegu from the East Bay Vivarium in Berkeley, CA. After he reached maturity, I provided them with a temporary photo for their website-and their's alone. (True Blue tegus are extreemly rare.) However, we agreed the rights to the photo belonged to me and that they would replace the picture with one of their own when they could. And they did, about 3 years ago.
Drako of Drakotegu. Tripod.com/id3.html took this photo from the EBV website without permission from them or myself and built a website around it. Besides supplying made-up information and 'facts' about blue tegus, he claims the tegu in the photo is his own. (Example: while describing how blue tegus can have some orange pigmentation, he says, "Mine does as you can see in the picture below.")
I don't understand his motivation for all this deception, but I don't really think I could. I raised that tegu from a hatchling and in many ways what he is doing is the same as stealing a mother's picture of her child and then telling the whole world, via internet, that the child is his.
I'm Pissed. I have a feeling Drako is just a dumb kid, but that's not stopping me from wanting to sue and shut down that website.
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