I would love to hear input about this taming method!

[Rebecca Stout]

Hey guys. I've had Kaiju since last April. The old Plan A ... gaining their trust, etc, plataued long long ago. I've decided to take a different route. Plan B. I'll let you know how it goes. So far its been great. I see just a tad of improvement. No stress. She just gets stubborn and pissed so far.

I'd really like anyone to chime in that has anything positive to say about it or experience with doing something like this? Another friend is doing the same with her Caimen.

http://wolfystegu.weebly.com/blog/plan-b

 

[marydd]

To be honest, I am probably 50/50 on these two taming ways. If I think she is stressed I will give her space and be patient. But if she is just squirming and not stressed I will ignore it. I think a healthy balance between the 2 extremes is best. As long as you can tell when your gu is stressing.

 

[Skeep]

I used this to some extent. One thing I do that I think works well is not to let her get her way if she's fighting. If I pick her up and she squirms like crazy, then I hold her until she goes still. I may put her down then, or she might decide to climb onto my shoulder, but either way she figured out she doesn't get what she wants by fighting and now doesn't fight much.

I also agree with the part about taking her around with you. I find my gu and I got much more quickly acquainted when I let her come do my morning chores with me. The very first time she crawled onto my shoulder she didn't want to come down! She even stayed up there while I changed shirts, showered, shaved, the whole morning routine. Since then I let her explore the bathroom while I shower or sit under my sweater while I prepare breakfast etc. Last weekend she got to spend the whole weekend free-roaming in the same room as me. I mostly let her be, just showing her places she might like to explore etc. Then she'd go to sleep around noon like always. When I went to bed, she let me pick her up from her hiding spot and was more than happy to sleep under the covers with me until I woke up. This is a huge change from only about a month ago when she hated getting picked up!

One thing to note is my gu is quite a bit smaller than yours, and she is probably getting more comfortable with her environment as she grows and explores. So some of her behavior changes I expect are natural and some are from how I handle her.

 

[Rebecca Stout]

So helpful! Thank you so much

 

[N8bub]

I like where you're going with this. Grab the gu by the horns!

 

[tinouTHEdino]

I like this approach let them know who's boss. Skeep knows whats up

 

[Rebecca Stout]

Update! I see progress! Yup. I was very encouraged early on to not see a regression or any repercussions from doing this to her. But then I saw a real difference after I hadn't the time to handle her over the holidays. I just spent time around her and tended to her. My son however, continued to work with her. What happened was that break from her ... allowed me to "see" if there was a real difference or not. Being with her every day, its hard to follow the progress. That break really smacked me in the face. She allows me to pick her up much better. It still needs improving. She allows us to carry her on our shoulder. Still has a ways to go. And she will cuddle with us up to almost 2 hours one some days on the couch!!!!! An interesting notation. You know how they say never, never "dig them up"? Well as I was on my break I watched my son do that repeatedly. Even at night. I grit my teeth and just watched. I let him. I swear that made a difference for the positive.

 

[marydd]

That is great to hear!

 

[Rebecca Stout]

I gotta chime in about a friend attempting this along side of me. It has resulted in worse behavior so far. BUT, the following are major difference in circumstances. 1) hers is a caimen 2) it is a year old (mine is nearly 2) 3) she was already aggressive... Kai has NEVER been aggressive in any way shape or form. She just would not tame, wanted nothing to do with us, resisted us, and tried like hell to get away from us. She is at a cross roads right now. Should she continue ... is this just an adolescent rebilling ... getting worse before it gets better? Should she stop and go soft on her as she has all along and got no where? Maybe give up? Are there some details she can change that would make this approach successful? She is now going to a very experienced Caimen person to ask these questions. I'll update. I'm SO sad for her. This Caimen will not leap up at her from inside the cage and even chase her biting her feet. Its bad.

 

[marydd]

How close is a caimen to a tegu? Are the temperments very similar? I honestly have no idea. I have never looked into caimen.

 

[Rebecca Stout]

Ah. I'm hoping with a response to that as I am curious as well. I just know the enclosure is completely different and they sure are pretty!

 

[HPIZZLE]

Is it a caiman or a Caiman lizard?

A caiman will never tame down the way a tegu will. It's just not in their nature IMO..

 

[marydd]

I am thinking it's a Caiman lizard... lol. They are cousins. A caiman would be just impossible to tame like you said.

 

[Rebecca Stout]

I hate hearing that. My friend is having a hell of a time with hers.
In any case, update ... she is still improving. So this was def the way to go with her.

 

[jAxTecH]

Wow I started my Tegu off on your plan B Not in a "showing who's boss" approach but to build trust and let her know I am her friend. The "ignoring and waiting" approach seems counter intuitive to me. My attitude is its a new day lets do something together. I leave her alone at night and let her rest but daytime is our time to bond. A lil background my tegu is a Florida wild caught I bought from a trapper at Teguonly. I met him at the Orlando Repticon show last Sunday and my Tegu is a true gentle little "guy/girl". I think of taming like sending a kid to school...they may not wanna get up and go but they will be better adjusted adults for being socialized.
Good luck and here's a couple pics of Enki

 

[Walter1]

Mine's been a natural combination of the two methods with me interacting when I want but with short carries. I pet a lot as he bask and they see me feed them and will rat in front of me.