Skittish and gets nippy

[Jacobhreptiles]

my baby columbian is still very skittish, i can go up and open the cage and talk to him but he'll stand there and brathe heavily and eye me. if i go to pet him or any form of contact he flips out and runs off. i have forced him out of hiding and given him a bath and he would slowly let me hold him and he would just si there(pet under chin then scoop him up) he wpuld jump when he got done and if i did that a few times he has enough and ends up biting me. i do the tshirt trick but anything else on taming him down??? i dont know if anyone can see the body language he is putting off, defensive and nervous, i need help!

 

[Josh]

How old is he? How long have you been working with him? Are you giving him enough time to learn and respond? Keep in mind that it's going to take a lot of time and many months for him to get used to being handled regularly. It's all about routine and patience...

 

[Jacobhreptiles]

he is probably 2.5 months old. and right now i believe he is brumating again so i wasnt messing with him too much.

 

[Jacobhreptiles]

update, he has gotten worse. i can put hand in cage and he huffs and puffs and may bite but sooner or later i can pet under his chin and maybe other spots if i am real lucky. doesnt like being held but i have to for baths and cleaning, should i try tough love? free roaming in a enclosed bathroom?

 

[Jackie & Hellboy]

I would recommend not getting him out of hiding, that's like a predator digging him up to eat, especially at that young age. Best things to do are let him grow up a few weeks or months and learn that you aren't there to touch him constantly and that you're a source of food by tong feeding. I've tried the force handling and the method I just mentioned, force handling only stressed my guys out more, once I stopped holding them altogether and let them come to me by tong feeding I saw so much more improvements than I was seeing by forcing myself upon them on a daily basis. If you want him to come out of hiding try trying to mimic the sound of a prey item on the substrate surface and he may just charge out to explore without the stress of being unearthed. Just take it slow and don't expect too immediate of results it will take some time for such a young guy to fully trust you.

 

[Jacobhreptiles]

oh no he is more than content being out in front of me, tong feeding i havent tried but i have stood there with the cage open and he doesnt care too much especially if there is food, its the contact with him he isnt fond of. i just let him free roam in the bathroom and held him and not long after he wasnt too bad being held.

 

[Jackie & Hellboy]

Hmm, that's strange. So when this is happening are you staring at him or are you just carying on with cage maintenance? If you glare at an animal it is generally taken as a sign of interest (food), threat, or display of dominance, like in shy dogs or gorilla they hate eye contact. So try acting interested in other things besides him and make him realize that you don't really care about him either way and he will come around (to tong feeding as well) just keep trying with baby steps and you'll be fine.

 

[Jackie & Hellboy]

Also I don't think Colombian tegu's brumate, they are from the equator temperatures don't drop drastically there so maintaining summer like cage conditions year round is probably best for him. I say this because yours looks to be a columbian in the picture.

 

[KrisL]

Mines about 8 months. When it comes to petting him in the cage ya gotta be careful where you touch them. Stay away from the tail and the "ears". They do seem to enjoy under the chin and the top of the head is hit and miss. Start from the tip of the snout but not the very tip then go back to where the head plates meet the body scales and stop there but do it slowly and calmly. No sudden movements. See how it warms up to that. Then once its comfy with that contact you should be able to go all the way down to just before the base of the tale. It takes a great deal of patience. But don't give up. It's very rewarding once they warm up to you. Mine lays on his back and let's me pet his belly. Puts him right to sleep hang in there and good luck.

 

[Jacobhreptiles]

he doesn't like being touched, and any reptile will have a brumation period. i love the little guy he is just a pain. he wont even stay out if I'm in the room. he certainly doesnt trust me.

 

[tkurt]

I'm going through the same thing now as well... very annoying but I'm just taking it one day at a time. Although I'm not too worked because he is only a couple months old