# Should Tegus Share The Same Hide?



## carcharios (Jun 1, 2010)

I introduced my female, Frieda to the larger male I just purchased and he didn't seem to mind her and vice versa. At one point in the garden when they were both behind a bush, I heard some snorting when they encountered one another head on. After a brief pause, they both climbed over one another and moved on. They really seemed oblivious to the whole encounter. He wasn't aggressive and neither was she. They seemed to get along fine. For this reason, I housed them both together this evening in her outdoor enclosure. They are presently sharing her hide tonight. Should I be concerned? Is it worth purchasing another hide or can they both share one?


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## DMBizeau (Jun 1, 2010)

mine share and don't seem to have any problems. You might want to move it to a different position in the cage though.


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## Herplings (Jun 1, 2010)

That is a good point. Moving the hide to a new place in the cage will make the hide seem less like its "mine" to the Tegu that has been in there the longest and it will make it more like a "new" hide.

If you have the space for it 2, 3 or even 4 hides is not always a bad idea.

I house my Savvys in the same cage and they share their hides quit a bit.


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## carcharios (Jun 2, 2010)

Ok, well today I came home, went to open up Kimo (his new name) and Frieda's outdoor enclosure to give them water and Kimo scared the crap out of me. I've never seen a Tegu lunge - and when I say lunge, I mean jet towards me with mouth wide open. He lunged so far, he fell out of the cage. Picking him up was fun to say the least. Thank god I had gloves near by. What is strange is that just yesterday, he was super docile and I was picking him up repeatedly. Today, he's turned into T-Rex. Is this because he's protecting Frieda (who was in the hide) or was he just in a bad mood. I should have known better because his posture was telling when I first got near the cage - back arched, throat puffed up, etc. I hope he changes his tune. He was flat-out scary. Frieda and Diego have postured before but they've never lunged like this.


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## themedic (Jun 2, 2010)

hey man if they share the same food, i dont see why they would mind sharing the same bed lol.


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## themedic (Jun 2, 2010)

by the way if hes lunging hes hungry 100% sure, they dont lunge to attack.

if he wanted to attack you even after he landed outside his cage he would have #1 ran away in fear, or #2 attacked your feet, im guessing he did neither.

hes prob just hungry when my gus are hungry they lunge at me, and even climb there wire mesh cage lol.

just keep em fed, feed em in the morning, then once more 4-5 hrs later you will see they will calm down tremendously.


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## themedic (Jun 2, 2010)

also, no tegus like being woke up, i mean who does it sucks! one min your dreaming about flying like a seagul the next your back to reality.


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## DMBizeau (Jun 2, 2010)

How old are your tegus? If they arent sexually mature he was probly just hungry. My Tegus don't even use their hides they prefer to burrow under the 3-4" of cypress mulch in their enclosure and they don't mind being woke up, I just make sure I don't startle them if I have to.

Even though my tegus share an enclosure I never feed them together. I tried it with my blues early on and found out even the best of friends prefer not to share food lol.


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## carcharios (Jun 2, 2010)

My tegus are about 2.5 years old.


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## DMBizeau (Jun 2, 2010)

if they are 2.5 years old he could definitely be trying to protect her because they are both sexually mature and it is still technically breeding season. Hope you have a plan for lots of baby tegus.


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## carcharios (Jun 2, 2010)

It's strange though because yesterday, they barely interacted and now this? They must have gotten better acquainted while I was at work. It's amazing how tame he was yesterday and yet how defensive he was today. I've never seen a Tegu lunge, never mind lunge out of the cage. And for the first time, I really saw their teeth. Pretty scary sight. Some of his teeth were curved though most were rounded. I didn't realize they had two types of teeth - nor did I realize just how wide their mouths open!


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## themedic (Jun 3, 2010)

yeah sometimes ill see the GU's yawn and there mouth is like a black whole. what goes in never comes out!! lol


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## carcharios (Jun 3, 2010)

Ok, so this had to come up at some point. How bad does a tegu bite hurt? I'll be wearing gloves for now when I put my hands in the enclosure but I'd still like some idea of how bad it hurts from someone who's been bitten. I was amazed at how strong these guys are too. It was like trying to wrestle a little alligator. And I also didn't realize just how fearless Kimo is. He literally lunged out of his cage while trying to bite me!


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## Pikey (Jun 3, 2010)

ok @ themedic...... Ummmm. yeah they do to "lunge" when they attack
he wouldn't have ran or attacked again, because from the sounds of it the cage is off the ground so it would have been in shock from the fall


I have 4 tegus (3 B&W 1 Red) that share a 8x16 out door pen they ave 2 large hides & 90% of the time they all sleep in the same hide

all 4 of my tegus are puppies inside, But they go out side and my 9 month old B&W girl will lunge, run, jump, and puff up

my younger male (2 - 2.5yrs) will do the same but worse even when i'm feeding them, after i've feed them, & just looking over the wall

I sit with them atleast an hour a day and they are getting better, it's just the outdoors some times it drives them "Crazy"


The bite does hurt, but most of the time it's just really quick so not to bad but if they "bite and grind" thats when it will hurt the most (they have little teeth, but they are sharp)


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## TanMan57 (Jun 3, 2010)

Their bite hurts but its more of a shock to you then actual pain. My red tegu gets really crazy around food even if he thinks theres going to be food. When I got bit I made the mistake of using there tongs to pull the drain cover off of the shower drain so their poo could go down the drain. As soon as I brought the tongs in he freaked out and ran towards me and grabbed my fingers and then let go. I was more scared then I was hurt. But as soon as i picked him up she was back to normal.


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## carcharios (Jun 4, 2010)

Yeah, I was wondering if the outdoors had something to do with it. I know that they can sometimes get antsy outside. 

I like the idea of a pen. The rabbit hutch with mesh roof is working well for now but a pen seems like it would be ideal - especially if I could dig them an underground hide. My biggest fear of having an open top enclosure are the foxes and hawks in my area. I used to have a pet starling that I had rescued until my wife put in on the front porch for "spring cleaning". Two days later, I found a severed wing on the bottom of the bird cage and a bunch of pin feathers and blood all over the top of the cage. I eventually found the head on the side of the grass when I was cutting the lawn. Seems a red shouldered hawk or screech owl got the starling early one morning and somehow managed to eat it through the cage.

I know an adult tegu is much more equipped to defend itself from predators but we also have great horned owls out here and I've heard they'll eat just about anything - even cats!


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## themedic (Jun 4, 2010)

tegus are smart animals, mine amaze me more and more everyday.

If it really wanted to attack you, it would. they arent aggressive by nature when it lunges at you its probably because its hungry or think its going to be fed i doubt its because it wants to hurt you, unless its been abused in the past I dont see why any tegu would resort to violence assuming you are the only person that interacts, feeds and cleans its cage out.


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## Pikey (Jun 4, 2010)

themedic said:


> If it really wanted to attack you, it would. they aren't aggressive by nature when it lunges at you its probably because its hungry or think its going to be fed i doubt its because it wants to hurt you, unless its been abused in the past I dont see why any Tegu would resort to violence assuming you are the only person that interacts, feeds and cleans its cage out.




I dont know how you can say a animal that hunts and kills prey are not aggressive by nature? So an alligator or snake isn't aggressive either

Tegus may not be offensively aggressive, but they are Defensively Aggressive.
If they feel threatened or cornered they can and will attack

and in the out side there is all new sounds, smells, & they get spooked when you "come out of nowhere" so the basic instincts start to take over


My li'l girl Harley was mine since i few weeks old the nicest one of the 4 & now out side she wants nothing to do with me, so no she was NEVER ABUSED


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## carcharios (Jun 4, 2010)

Pikey said:


> I dont know how you can say a animal that hunts and kills prey are not aggressive by nature? So an alligator or snake isn't aggressive either
> 
> Tegus may not be offensively aggressive, but they are Defensively Aggressive.
> If they feel threatened or cornered they can and will attack
> ...




That's an interesting topic because dogs and cats are also predators and yet they're domesticated (some) and don't have the attack instinct. And I've also seen video footage like most here of a tegu owner stepping into a pen of tegus, only to be greeted by them, so I know they are capable of giving positive attention to those they recognize. The question becomes, how do I build this kind of relationship with Kimo. As long as he's in an enclosure, that I have to reach into to get him, he's probably going to strike at me. Does this mean that the answer is to build a pen type enclosure instead that I can walk into like the one on the video?

I already have a really large garden with a 7' fence that I sometimes let my tegus roam in but I've never left them in there unsupervised because again, I'm afraid the hawks, etc. may get them. Am I being overly cautious?


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## Pikey (Jun 4, 2010)

with a pen I'd have to put the fence/walls under as well as above ground or build one like varnyard has.
they can and will get used to you outside but it takes time

(i knew some1 would bring up the dog & cat topic)
Tegus & all other reptiles have be come popular in the last say 60 years so ALL of the reptiles in homes are wild or CB for only a few generations

unlike cats and dogs Ummm they have been kept as pets for over 2000yrs
so they have been pets their parents, and there parents and so on and so on so they are now bred and have been bred to be pets

but you take a dog/cat and let it run wild it will be wild again.... It just takes time just like taming them....mine are ALL nice & sweet inside but i mean as soon as you cross the door way and step out side the 2 go nuts, BUT they are getting better


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## themedic (Jun 4, 2010)

Well you do have a valid point pikey about the aggressiveness.

and yes being outside definetly doesnt help as they pick up on different scents and sounds.

I mean all I can really say is to build a bench for them, if your afraid of putting your hands in the cage then build a bench that connects to the front of the cage when the door is open.

by doing this you accomplish 2 things, bringing the tegu to the food and allowing the tegu to interact with the "outside" world he will automatically shut off his "home defense insticts" and should calm down, if hes still lunging i'd say you have your hands full but with enough patience and persistance any tegu will eventually realize your not there to hurt them.


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## Pikey (Jun 4, 2010)

i agree it takes time, interaction, & loving patience with them


It's weird my biggest one 3 1/2yrs old is the biggest softy of all 4 of them i can climb in and sit on the log next to him and pet him and he dont care (the other male i could climb in & he would charge me, not any more tho)

Here's their pen












This is the Hide they all share (the grass one only the girls seem to like)


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## mastroj (Jun 4, 2010)

Even with dogs and cats, if you corner them and they know you mean business fight or flight response will kick in. My biggest dog when he has done something bad (like eat an entire loaf of bred we just brought home from the store) when I walk into the room he will come up to me and sit down for me to scold him but if I approach him to yell at him he will turn to get away. If I kept after him (I obviously dont do this) I am sure he would attack if he had to. All animals have instincts, just like humans. In the heat of the moment we just react, throw our hands up when something is coming towards us, (even if it is a foam ball), or jump back when a bang goes off, (even if it is my 2 yr old jumping up and down). We all have instincts regardless of how domesticated we are. And no matter how much our pets trust us if they are scared they will protect themselves however they see fit. Which is why we need to show them respect in order to earn their trust.


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## the enigma (Jun 4, 2010)

Nice pics Pikey. Nice to see ya over here.


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## carcharios (Jun 5, 2010)

Don't you worry about hawks taking your guys? Also, did they dig out the hide on the rock themselves or did you insert a tub under the rock for them? Great pen!


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## Pikey (Jun 5, 2010)

i dug out the hides (under the rock & under the sticks covered in sod) but they have all modified the holes I've dug 

no i dont worry about the lots of hawks we have up here my smallest 1 is still 3ft (I'm pos a hawk couldn't pick them up & they know it)
I'm more worried of a small bird or squirrel getting in & getting eaten (then the Tegus would get some bugs from them)


@enigma
Yeah i was on here for a wile now but took a break from all the stupid kids that thought they "knew everything" but they seem to have been humbled or just got bored with no1 playing with them....so I'm back


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## carcharios (Jun 6, 2010)

Interesting that you bring up squirrels, etc and parasites. I was actually contemplating feeding my guys roadkill at some point. We have tons of squirrels around here that get hit by cars frequently. I was thinking of trying to get a fresh kill for my two larger tegus but was contemplating whether this was risky or not. In terms of nutrition, I would think it would be the way to go but not sure about disease, etc. I saw some photos online of Bert Langerwerf feeding his guys what appeared to be roadkill. Does anyone else do this?

Also, does anyone know how tegus eat when they're eating in groups? Do they fight over prey like some of the larger monitors or do they share? I've yet to see my two bigger tegus eating simultaneously so I'm curious.


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## Pikey (Jun 6, 2010)

they tend to take turns eating babies tend to eat together sometime agressively.... & i personally do not recommend "road kill" as food


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## carcharios (Jun 8, 2010)

I have some really thick leather gloves that I'm thinking of wearing next time I have to put my hand in the cage for cleaning, etc. I was debating leaving the gloves in the cage when I'm finished so Kimo can get accustomed to them and not think of them as a threat. This way, next time I need to get in their or handle him, he hopefully won't see them as a threat.


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