# What should i do?



## the gu roo (Jun 4, 2010)

I got a red from bobby a couple days ago, he looks beautiful and everything but hes really wild!

Theres no way i can pick him up without 'fighting' him yet so i have been cage feeding him. I know i am not suppose to be fighting him to grab him so how do i successfully feed him in another tank if i can't pick him up? 

I have tried a few taming tactics but none of them have really worked yet. 

The tegu is a juvi about 2 feet long including the tail. 

The good news is i could keep my hand in his tank without him running to his hide and he even came up to it and started licking it and checking it out. The bad news is i tried leaving my hand in the tank for a second time and he bit my finger and drew a little blood. 

Next tactic will be leaving my shirt in his tank, ill see how that goes.

Thanks.


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## DMBizeau (Jun 4, 2010)

my all american was like that when he was tiny. No matter how long it took I always made sure I got him out and put him in his tub for feeding. It didn't take long for him to realise I wasn't going to hurt him and things have been great since. I chose to go with this method because tegus are super smart and i didn't want him to think that all he had to do was go crazy and I wouldn't pick him up. Seemed to work great for me.


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## the gu roo (Jun 4, 2010)

You don't think repeatedly trying to get him out while he huffs and puffs and tail whips would stress him? If not, ill try your method. I just figured it might stress him/make him not like me.

Thanks.


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## DMBizeau (Jun 4, 2010)

well be gentle with him, but all the huffing and puffing is him trying to intimidate you because he is scared and isn't sure if you are going to hurt him. Just take it nice and easy with slow movements and once you get him out you shouldn't have any problems.


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## the gu roo (Jun 4, 2010)

Man, he totally freaks out. He doesn't try and bite but even if i already have him in my arms he trys to jump right out and doesn't stop squirming. I Have only help him 3 times and never was he calm about it and never did it last more than a few seconds (holding him)

I am beginning to fear he will never be tame, then again ive only had him for 3 days. 

Has anyone ever heard of a tegu that just wont settle down? Do you think he will stay like this forever regardless of any taming techniques i try?


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## DMBizeau (Jun 4, 2010)

if you have only had him 3 days he needs a bit longer to settle down and get used to his new surroundings. Don't worry he will settle down, plenty of people have had young tegus like yours. Give him some time and just put his food in while he is asleep for now.


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## lazyjr52 (Jun 4, 2010)

My female was worse than that when I got her. She used to charge at me when I put my hand in the cage and tried to bite me (which she succeded once). She also used to deficate when I picked her up. She'd would go in her hide everytime I entered the room. So, I only handled her when I needed to and left her alone the rest time. We have been through some rough times but now she is as tame as kitten and doesn't mind being handeled or petted. The key is trust and that can't happen over night. Just slowy work your gu and it will come around just don't try and force it.


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## txrepgirl (Jun 4, 2010)

First I would like to congrat you to your new Tegu. I'm with DMBizeau. We have six Tegus and I did the same thing as DMBizeau did. Well I didn't do it with our first Tegu when he was a baby and I have learned my lesson. I fed him in his enclosure and he got impacted and got a prolapse ( all turned out well ).

They don't like to be grabed from the top. I have two babies right now and one of them is very skittish ( Shakespeare ). It's good to hear that your Tegu came to you and licked you. That means he is trying to get used to you. If you want to you can try two tricks that I have used on all of my Tegus and it worked very well. Don't worry yours will tame down in time, too,  . 

How to get a Tegu out of the enclosure. 

This is my skittish one. Sometimes he is calm and I have no problem getting him out of the enclosure. 

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/txrepgirl#p/u/8/UscbESzNseg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/user/txrepgirl#p/u/8/UscbESzNseg</a><!-- m --> 


This is his sister ( Venus ) 

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/txrepgirl#p/u/14/kZDb-y1VxiU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/user/txrepgirl#p ... ZDb-y1VxiU</a><!-- m --> 

This is the shirt trick I use to tame them down. I get them ( one by one ) out of the enclosure and then I put them in between my shirts. I recommend using a Hoody. If you wear just T-shirts they can crawl out of your arm or neck part to easily. 

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/txrepgirl#p/u/16/XVyU44yDH4E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/user/txrepgirl#p ... VyU44yDH4E</a><!-- m -->


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## the gu roo (Jun 4, 2010)

Thanks everyone for your help.

I think im gonna give it a few days before i endlessly chase him around his cage while getting tail whipped. I gt a shirt in there now ill see how it goes tomorrow.


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## txrepgirl (Jun 4, 2010)

Your welcome. Please keep us posted and good luck with everything.


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## Toby_H (Jun 4, 2010)

Although I didn't use the tactic personally, many people report success with placing a shirt in the cage that has your scent on it... I'd definitely try it out if I were in your shoes...

My method was I put my hands in the cage often. For the first couple of weeks as often as possible I would clean the cage, change the water, smooth out the mulch, move the decor around a bit... any excuse for me to have my hands in the cage...

This showed my Tegu that I was not a threat. 

I did not chase the Tegu, as like you suggested, this can stress the animal and fuel it's fear...

When I had my hands in the cage, I avoided being jerky at all costs. I also avoided moving so slow I appeared to be stalking. I moved with confidence and for the most part ignored the Tegu. 

Using this approach within a weeks time my Tegu was comfortable with me moving around in the cage and felt comfortable approaching me. At this stage I would often put my open hand near the Tegu and allow him to walk on me.

I have always avoided "holding" my Tegu but have always encouraged him to walk on me. Although now at 44" it's more like we sit together on the couch...


As with most things in life, I feel the middle ground is the best approach... 'forcing' him to deal with me can stress and feed the fear... but being overly bashful will teach the Tegu it can intimidate me which is definitely not the mood you want to create...


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## Herplings (Jun 4, 2010)

the gu roo said:


> I got a red from bobby a couple days ago, he looks beautiful and everything but hes really wild!
> 
> Theres no way i can pick him up without 'fighting' him yet so i have been cage feeding him. I know i am not suppose to be fighting him to grab him so how do i successfully feed him in another tank if i can't pick him up?
> 
> ...



Feeding them out of their cage is a myth, pure and simple. I have also seen this make animals more aggressive. Where would you want your animal to be in feeding mode.... in his cage, or every time you take him out in your house? Personally, I would want my animals to be in feeding mode while still in their cage and a controlled environment. But, it is an age old debate that is never going to go away.
With time and handling your animal will learn when its time to eat and when its time to come out of the cage for things other then food. Feeding outside the cage adds un-needed stress and aggression and possible digestion problems from the handling and moving and trying to get control of the animal while in feeding mode. 

There are ways to make this possible. I like to feed my Monitors and Tegus out of a bowl, the same bowl every time, only changing the bowl when they need a size upgrade and never changing the bowl more then twice in a year. They will learn to see the bowl and know that with the bowl comes food, if the bowl is not there, there is no food. For some, this takes awhile, while other catch on pretty fast.

I also like to let my Monitors and Tegus just hang out around the house. Bring them around with you. If your doing the dishes, put them on the sink, play loud music around them, vacuum, talk on the phone, walk around them, over them. Just go on about your day. Go in their cage and pet them and pick them up a few times a day. You are not going to stress these animals out, they are by no means fragile and have a very very high stress point. Even has hatchlings.

If he bites you, tail whips you, hisses or anything of the sort don't back away. Stay persistent, even if it means chasing him around his cage a bit. If you back off when they do this stuff it will enforce that this will get them what they want, and that is to get you to go away.

Here is a short video of our Tegu that is always feed in the cage and not handled all that much, its just that when she is handled she is handled correctly. Learning how to do that takes practice and enough know how to be able to read the animal.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Snakelings#p/a/u/0/oTr68swpUmM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/user/Snakelings# ... Tr68swpUmM</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Snakelings#p/u/5/3pKX884HLS8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/user/Snakelings# ... pKX884HLS8</a><!-- m --> Samson is at the end of the video.


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## themedic (Jun 5, 2010)

First off, never force yourself on a tegu.

Different people will say different things, yes I agree its all about persistance but you have years to train it, it doesnt have to happen over night.

Forcing a tegu to be held will only stress him more everytime he sees your hand he will remember what happen last time and he will probably not like it.

My advice is if hes scared of you dont force yourself on him, always pet your tegu before you try to pick him up it will show him your not their to hurt him instead only trying to interact. if you go in there all fast trying to pick it up ofcourse he will run away or huff and puff he doesnt want to be bothered, what would you do?

If you can build trust with your tegu it will be a very good animal to take care of. its a bond I know it sounds corney but it really is once that trust is built its really hard to break.


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## the gu roo (Jun 6, 2010)

Again, thanks to all for your help and concern.

I noticed my tegu is a little more shy/aggressive now ever since i repeatedly chased him around his cage to try and pick him up, i didn't necessarily force myself on him or grab him, i just made attempts to pet him and pick him up with the least force i could. Still i guess he hasn't forgotten that yet. for instance 

So for now i am going to try and leave a shirt in his cage often and leave my hand in his cage often to try and rebuild some trust.


Also my tegu seems like hes only awake about 6 hours a day. He wakes up at abut 10 Am, and goes to bed at about 5 Pm, Is this normal?


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## themedic (Jun 6, 2010)

sounds normal first couple of weeks will be kinda boring he wont let you get near him once you get a routine of feeding going he will loosen up


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