# Test biting...



## Savemygrave (May 24, 2016)

So my gorgeous girl Olive has a little habit. She's making so much progress and we're bonding really well... she can be very affectionate but occasionally will bite me. Prime example today, I was stroking her and we were chilling out together, she came up to rest on my arm and she fell asleep for a while. Next thing her little tongue is going and she bites whatever is in front of her! Today... my arm! 

She's coming up a year old so I expect a little change in temper whilst she's maturing. has anyone else had this problem? It's not so bad now but I obviously don't want her taking chunks out of me when she's fully grown! 







This photo was just before the biting incident! 

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## Dee-Dee Idrais (May 24, 2016)

Pretty girl


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## Savemygrave (May 25, 2016)

Dee-Dee Idrais said:


> Pretty girl


She is! Just a little bitey at the moment haha 

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## Katelynn (May 25, 2016)

My male used to do the same thing until I assured my "dominance" to him. When he did that I would pick him up, he would freak out and I would pin him down until he stopped struggling and closed his eyes. She may becoming of age to start testing her boundry. N


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## Justsomedude (May 26, 2016)

Yea my two month old bites at anything when he's hungry


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## Walter1 (May 26, 2016)

A person should talk to their tegu. That means kindly. Therefore, if a test bite occurs, you can harshly say NO!! My experience with three of them is they get it.


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## Savemygrave (May 27, 2016)

Walter1 said:


> A person should talk to their tegu. That means kindly. Therefore, if a test bite occurs, you can harshly say NO!! My experience with three of them is they get it.


I agree Walter. I do this and she seems to back off. It's not an aggressive bite, she's very calm when she does it. It's more of an inquisitive bite!

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## Savemygrave (May 29, 2016)

She's still biting... Today she got my finger after I had cleaned some substrate from her mouth. She's a little terror [emoji29] 

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## Walter1 (May 29, 2016)

Some options- dissacociate food from you by placing food in a particular bowl before she wakes up. 

Another is a squirt bottle of water to shoot if she bites, accompanied with a harsh "no".


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## Savemygrave (May 29, 2016)

Walter1 said:


> Some options- dissacociate food from you by placing food in a particular bowl before she wakes up.
> 
> Another is a squirt bottle of water to shoot if she bites, accompanied with a harsh "no".


She gets fed mostly out of her enclosure using her own dish either that or with tongs. It's very rare I will hand feed her especial as of late! I will certainly try the water squirter and see if that helps to reinforce the "No!" Thanks for your advice walter

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## DreamsOfTegus (Jun 3, 2016)

Totally avoid hand or tong feeding- use a bowl only for now. The same bowl, if it were me- that's how I handle potential food-motivation with my boy, who is full grown and from whom a bite would be extremely unpleasant.

You can most certainly tell her NO- they do understand, very intelligent lizards. If I say no, he will stop what he was doing and go do something else. I'd go so far as to place her on the floor away from you when she does the biting behavior- re-enforce that pets and affection come only when you aren't being rude.


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## Justsomedude (Jun 6, 2016)

Yea I have been getting tagged by my little monster every day now he is so damn fast aggressive! I tried the tongs even just to grab his food dish and just as I was turning he jumped so damn high he was able to latch on to my palm ! He let go and just sat on the edge of the cage looking out at me...adorable lol gonna be a lot of work with this one!


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## Walter1 (Jun 6, 2016)

Justsomedude said:


> Yea I have been getting tagged by my little monster every day now he is so damn fast aggressive! I tried the tongs even just to grab his food dish and just as I was turning he jumped so damn high he was able to latch on to my palm ! He let go and just sat on the edge of the cage looking out at me...adorable lol gonna be a lot of work with this one!


Justsome- stuff him like a veal calf! In a bowl before he wakes up. Handle him after he's eaten. He'll direct his food association with the bowl. Lose the tongs.


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## Dee-Dee Idrais (Jun 6, 2016)

I feel so fortunate, neither one of my tegus ever even tried to bite me. They are so gentle. I'm very grateful for that, since they cuddle constantly with my kiddos too.


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## Justsomedude (Jun 7, 2016)

Walter1 said:


> Justsome- stuff him like a veal calf! In a bowl before he wakes up. Handle him after he's eaten. He'll direct his food association with the bowl. Lose the tongs.


 Yea I think your night I have been waiting to feed him until I get home from work however I am going to start leaving the food in his dish for him to devour when he wakes up instead


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## Justsomedude (Jun 7, 2016)

The only issue I have th that is the ground turkey seems to dry out a little because of the time it takes for him to emerge in the am. However he has been eating more and is growing so fast it's hard to believe!


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## Savemygrave (Jul 2, 2016)

Savemygrave said:


> She gets fed mostly out of her enclosure using her own dish either that or with tongs. It's very rare I will hand feed her especial as of late! I will certainly try the water squirter and see if that helps to reinforce the "No!" Thanks for your advice walter
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk


After today I'm feeling a little disheartened with Olive and our progress. She crawled onto my back and began licking and smelling me. I could hear her breathing getting heavier and then she bit me. Fully latched on to my ear and didn't want to let go. After eventually letting go it wasn't long before she latched onto my foot. 

She's well over 2ft now and coming up to a year old. It's becoming a serious problem as she's causing me some serious harm. I'm refusing to give up on her but as you can imagine, hobbling around the house due to a shredded foot isn't fun and my ear has puncture marks and is split. its as if she has a split personality at the moment. Any advice is welcome, especially any comments of encouragement 

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## Dee-Dee Idrais (Jul 2, 2016)

WOW! I can't even begin to imagine what r u dealing with. Neither one of my tegus ever even tried the bite us. No experience on my end. Sorry!!!!


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## Savemygrave (Jul 2, 2016)

Dee-Dee Idrais said:


> WOW! I can't even begin to imagine what r u dealing with. Neither one of my tegus ever even tried the bite us. No experience on my end. Sorry!!!!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Yeah she's never been this bad. I'm putting it down to stress due to being away from me for two weeks whilst we were on holiday and also her bowel issues. I'm going back to square one with her and taking it slow. I don't think I could deal with another vicious bite from her. I broke down in tears after she bit my ear, she ran away and hid down the side of her vivarium and wouldn't come back out. It broke my heart that she seems to have lost some trust in me.  

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## Savemygrave (Jul 2, 2016)

Savemygrave said:


> Yeah she's never been this bad. I'm putting it down to stress due to being away from me for two weeks whilst we were on holiday and also her bowel issues. I'm going back to square one with her and taking it slow. I don't think I could deal with another vicious bite from her. I broke down in tears after she bit my ear, she ran away and hid down the side of her vivarium and wouldn't come back out. It broke my heart that she seems to have lost some trust in me.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Walter1 (Jul 2, 2016)

I'm reluctant to suggest much else because my tegus only attempted biting briefly when they first arrived. 

To this day, Oscar, the male, infrequently will barrel roll if he wants to go away. I immediately clamp down, say NO, and hold til he gives up. 1/2 a minute? Then he sits calmly, I won as I always must win in this type of encounter. I speak quietly to him and pet him for a bit then release him back to the ground. 

Definitely hold off on placing Olive near your head and neck for a while. Have the squirt bottle with cold water at the ready. Is she bites, my suggestion for you to consider is yelling NO! and repeatedly squirting her with the cold water in the face/eyes. Once she let's go I would be inclined to reatrain her until she gives up. My take is that I am otherwise gentle, and bad behavior can't win. I repeat that I do not know if this will be a help or make worse her issue, but knowing as much as you've told us, I would do it to clarify the boundary.


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## Dee-Dee Idrais (Jul 2, 2016)

As I said, no experience on my end, but what Walter suggested sound good


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## Artemisace (Jul 21, 2016)

I hope everything is going well since it seems to have been a while since you've posted about this. My only experience with repeated bitters is with some of my giant pythons and with them they grab and don't let go. I keep a bottle of strong whiskey around just incase so that when they bite me they get a dash of nasty burning alcohol to the face. It works, they stop and most don't do it again. I don't know that this would work (or be a good idea) with a tegu, but if she associated biting you with something very unpleasant I would imagine she would quit. Just my two cents I am not a lizard expert by any means. My nile bit me once and got hot water to the face (well "hot" water it came out of the sink) hasn't bit me since. Monitors and tegus seem to be leagues smarter than even retics, so I would imagine something like this would work.


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## Savemygrave (Jul 24, 2016)

Artemisace said:


> I hope everything is going well since it seems to have been a while since you've posted about this. My only experience with repeated bitters is with some of my giant pythons and with them they grab and don't let go. I keep a bottle of strong whiskey around just incase so that when they bite me they get a dash of nasty burning alcohol to the face. It works, they stop and most don't do it again. I don't know that this would work (or be a good idea) with a tegu, but if she associated biting you with something very unpleasant I would imagine she would quit. Just my two cents I am not a lizard expert by any means. My nile bit me once and got hot water to the face (well "hot" water it came out of the sink) hasn't bit me since. Monitors and tegus seem to be leagues smarter than even retics, so I would imagine something like this would work.


Thankfully she is doing much better. I took taming techniques back a little and let her settle. I think alot of it was due to stress after been away from us for two weeks then a vet trip due to severe constipation. She's much happier back home and is even settling on my lap once again and enjoying contact. If she looks like she's going to have a little nibble I tell her no and move her away with my hand. She responds to this well and will walk away to cause mischief elsewhere haha. I felt so sorry for the girl, she must have been so stressed. It wasn't a viscous bite, more of a freaked out panic bite. I'm glad to have my little friend back and it's rewarding to see her happy  

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## Lavin45 (Jul 27, 2016)

It sounds like she's reaching sexual maturity. My coworker is dealing with this right now with her female of just over a year. They're known as one of the smartest monitors so some training is going to be required. A firm loud ouch and then NO and look her in the eyes when you do it. Then put her up immediately ! This way being put back in the cage is associated with wrong doing, and it's worked with my girl so far. I also won't handle her if I even think here's something on my that would smell like food. I work at an exotic animal store so I make sure to was up before I start cuddling lol. Just be safe they can get out of control at the age.


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## Savemygrave (Jul 27, 2016)

Lavin45 said:


> It sounds like she's reaching sexual maturity. My coworker is dealing with this right now with her female of just over a year. They're known as one of the smartest monitors so some training is going to be required. A firm loud ouch and then NO and look her in the eyes when you do it. Then put her up immediately ! This way being put back in the cage is associated with wrong doing, and it's worked with my girl so far. I also won't handle her if I even think here's something on my that would smell like food. I work at an exotic animal store so I make sure to was up before I start cuddling lol. Just be safe they can get out of control at the age.


She's been nothing but lovely since she's feeling better. I've tried a few new tactics with her and they seem to be working. She still tries to push boundaries but I am firm. 

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## Artemisace (Jul 27, 2016)

Glad to hear she's doing better for you  I know with my Nile it can be a real struggle to get the little turd to behave, but that's a totally different animal lol. I hope she continues to improve for you and doesn't go back to being a bitey little pain in the you know what.


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## Savemygrave (Jul 27, 2016)

Artemisace said:


> Glad to hear she's doing better for you  I know with my Nile it can be a real struggle to get the little turd to behave, but that's a totally different animal lol. I hope she continues to improve for you and doesn't go back to being a bitey little pain in the you know what.


Me too Artemisace! 

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## Monica Markel (Jul 28, 2016)

Wow. Mine even when we got him from Florida, has never tried to bite me. When he was younger he would slap his tail like a whip.

Always feed first, play later. 

I noticed mine would get aggressive with tongs...so I did not use them. I would leave his meat balls out on his dish and he would eat it over a few hours. Then I would remove the bowl.
I would bath him every day if not every other day. We would let him wander the floor supervised and he is always on the go checking corners for mice (his all time favorite).

I can clean the substraite from his mouth and he does not even open his eyes...

Mind you I do not fully trust him. Now that he is bigger I serve his food one by one on a medium size plastic cutting board. He has to eat his berries and reptilink sausage before he gets his mousie. I tell him this and he rolls his eyes at the berries but will eat a few.

So he partially brumated this winter and ate very little...so when he was done and decided its time to eat again...he charged me. Mouth open wide like an alligator. I flipped the cutting board like a sheild and that stopped him in his tracks. 

If he was to sniff me a few times I know he might be smelling rat or mouse on me, so I would push him away. This help assert I am dominant. 

When I let him roam the yard, I have been watching him watch me. We have free range dog, cat, chicken, and tortoise. All are out at the same time. He will watch me pet the cats and dog. I think he is learning. He has crawled next to me and he gets pets with the cats. He has never tried to bite any of these animals either.

M


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## Savemygrave (Jul 28, 2016)

Monica Markel said:


> Wow. Mine even when we got him from Florida, has never tried to bite me. When he was younger he would slap his tail like a whip.
> 
> Always feed first, play later.
> 
> ...


Yeah she has been very feisty from the word go so extra care was always taken. It was a lapse in my concentration and I misjudged her stress from the vets visit. She's been really good since and I definitely recommend the moving away when she gets that look in her eye like she's going to bit. I push her away and she walks off. Food is always her biggest vice so I always feed her first now and then let her free roam. She's coming on in leaps and bounds again. 

She's never really tail whipped me, the odd snake tail movement to warn me bit she would just go straight in for the bite (and the kill!) I hope she mellows with continuous work and age haha. 

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## Justsomedude (Jul 28, 2016)

Is she still biting?


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## Savemygrave (Jul 28, 2016)

Justsomedude said:


> Is she still biting?


No thankfully! She's grumpy at the moment but she's just started to shed so that's normal for her. She's been a very well behaved affectionate little dragon 

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## Justsomedude (Jul 29, 2016)

Good! Glad to hear it


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## BuffaloBill420herp (Jul 30, 2016)

Savemygrave said:


> After today I'm feeling a little disheartened with Olive and our progress. She crawled onto my back and began licking and smelling me. I could hear her breathing getting heavier and then she bit me. Fully latched on to my ear and didn't want to let go. After eventually letting go it wasn't long before she latched onto my foot.
> 
> She's well over 2ft now and coming up to a year old. It's becoming a serious problem as she's causing me some serious harm. I'm refusing to give up on her but as you can imagine, hobbling around the house due to a shredded foot isn't fun and my ear has puncture marks and is split. its as if she has a split personality at the moment. Any advice is welcome, especially any comments of encouragement
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk


I take mine out and feed him on the floor he g


Savemygrave said:


> Yeah she's never been this bad. I'm putting it down to stress due to being away from me for two weeks whilst we were on holiday and also her bowel issues. I'm going back to square one with her and taking it slow. I don't think I could deal with another vicious bite from her. I broke down in tears after she bit my ear, she ran away and hid down the side of her vivarium and wouldn't come back out. It broke my heart that she seems to have lost some trust in me.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk


I would try feeding in a different enclosurer so she only associates that enclosure with food


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## Savemygrave (Jul 30, 2016)

BuffaloBill420herp said:


> I take mine out and feed him on the floor he g
> 
> I would try feeding in a different enclosurer so she only associates that enclosure with food


Food aggression is not the issue. She is fed out of her enclosure using the same bowl. 

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## wingsman2 (Aug 7, 2016)

Would you guys consider this to be the test bitting? My tegu Gir, just started to do this and tries running up to my feet and doing it randomly. He is about a year and half to two. He doesn't do it all the time. And he especially doesn't do it after he eats. Today was skip day for food.


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## Justsomedude (Aug 7, 2016)

Lol he's checking you out if u want spray em with cold water when he does it


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## Walter1 (Aug 7, 2016)

Looks like food association to me. Yell no, squirt with cold water, and don't hand feed him. Good-looking lizard.


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## Savemygrave (Aug 25, 2016)

I thought I'd give an update on Olive. Over the moon to say she hasn't bitten me in a long time, since we had the issues with her behaviour and slight impaction. 
She's little over a year old now and I can tell she's settled again and is much happier. She comes to sit on my lap and will happily let me give her fuss and strokes (we still need to revisit picking her up as I left it alone whilst she settled) 
Here's a video of her up to no good.  






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## dpjm (Aug 25, 2016)

Nice video. Reminds me of what Ripper did one time, back in 2007. He tried crawling through a jacket and got stuck in the sleeve. No video, but I got a couple pictures. It was quite hilarious, but I had to help him get out.


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## Walter1 (Aug 25, 2016)

dpjm said:


> Nice video. Reminds me of what Ripper did one time, back in 2007. He tried crawling through a jacket and got stuck in the sleeve. No video, but I got a couple pictures. It was quite hilarious, but I had to help him get out. View attachment 11099 View attachment 11100


Amazingly inquisitive creatures.


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## Savemygrave (Aug 26, 2016)

dpjm said:


> Nice video. Reminds me of what Ripper did one time, back in 2007. He tried crawling through a jacket and got stuck in the sleeve. No video, but I got a couple pictures. It was quite hilarious, but I had to help him get out. View attachment 11099 View attachment 11100


They're so funny :')

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