New Tegu Owner

[Striker814]

Okay, my boyfriend used to have a bearded dragon and I absolutely adored her. I could feed her out of my hand, take her out In public, bathe her, all without an issue. He just got me a black and white Tegu and I am so scared of her but really want to get her to warm up to me. I'm only scared because, every time I pet her she stands up and just seems to get aggresive. She's 8 years old and was handled every so often but you can tell she didn't eat as much as she should have been. I am the only one that give her food or cleans her cage yet, she backs away when I come close as opposed to my boyfriend, whom she let's handle her and pet her. What can I do to get her to be comfortable with me and how do I know when she's upset or angry?

 

[Striker814]

Also! I'm not sure about the substrate. We have her in play sand but I've heard that not too great for her. Can someone please give me a better care guide than what I've been finding?

 

[JimB]

Congratulations on the new Tegu!
I would agree that just Play Sand is not a good thing, too big a risk of impaction. I'm switch to soil or Coir ... at the very least a mixture of all 3 which is what I use now, but when I move PJ into a larger enclosure I'll probably go with all Organic soil if I can't dig up enough in from my back yard.
Send pictures, we all love pictures! Both of your Gu and of it's enclosure.

 

[Striker814]

I keep seeing that cypress mulch might be a good thing for them considering out theyour ikebana to burrow, your opinion? And ours is named Alice ♡

 

[JimB]

A lot of folks use Cypress mulch, personally I don't care much for it because I used it in my Tort pens and couldn't get rid of the tiny bugs that kept cropping up. I also wasn't very successful at keeping Pill Bugs in Cypress Mulch, but that could just be me and my setup. I much prefer Soil or Coir.
Just my opinion and I'm learning something new almost every day.

 

[Striker814]

I can see how it would be much harder to maintain. Any tips on taming? She's 8 yrs old, I just want her to get used to me. How do you know when they're upset?

 

[Striker814]

 

[beardeddragon111]

Have you taken her to a vet? she looks quite skinny.

 

[Striker814]

Have you taken her to a vet? she looks quite skinny.

no, we just got her last weekend and her previous owner was a vet, ironically. He said she has always been tiny but I've noticed she's starting to eat A LOT. I have a feeling she wasn't getting as much food as she should have been before.

 

[Walter1]

no, we just got her last weekend and her previous owner was a vet, ironically. He said she has always been tiny but I've noticed she's starting to eat A LOT. I have a feeling she wasn't getting as much food as she should have been before.

That could be. Make sure she gets whole prey in her diet and addplenty of calcium powder at each feeding while growing.

 

[Striker814]

Thank you so much! Last night I fed her and she devoured her food as soon as I put it in there which is a first since we got her. I'm trying to fatten up my baby! Lol