# tegu dropings



## msmith14 (Jan 31, 2012)

Hi, I'm going to get a tegu one of these days and I was planing on letting it free roam my house when ever possible. my only concern is it going to the bath room all over my house. I know its impossible to potty train a lizard but I was just wondering what some of you guys do to deal with this problem (if you can do anything).
Thanks


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## dragonmetalhead (Jan 31, 2012)

Actually, you can potty train lizards. Tegus and iguanas are well known for it and I'm willing to bet anything you can potty train a monitor. There's a photo on Wikipedia of a very large green iggy urinating in a toilet just like he's people, lol. It just takes work and some time. One way to avoid the issue is to soak your tegu immediately when you take them out; warm water stimulates reptiles to void themselves. Some tegus potty rain themselves. If you notice your tegu is deficating only in one spot (as some lizards are wont to do) you could try setting up a litter box and see if that works. I'd also invest in some good pet-stain remover; Kodo has soiled my carpet several times and nothing is worse than having upholstery that reeks like processed carrion.


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## AP27 (Jan 31, 2012)

Some, or perhaps most, tegus tend to have a general schedule when they go as well, much like a dog. So if you come to know your tegu's schedule its fairly easy to prevent them from going where you don't want them to. Mine poops in his cage in the morning immediately after he wakes up, and then always pees right after I've fed him. Still means he pees on the floor...but at least i'm able to confine it to the bathroom, where its much easier to clean up then on the carpet. I tried the put him in the bath to make him go thing, but he refuses to go in water. So its all about what works for your tegu.


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## TeguBuzz (Jan 31, 2012)

My blue tegu only takes shits on a set schedule and if he's freeroaming there's only one corner in the room he likes to stay in that he takes dumps in. So I put newspaper there and its all good now.


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## reptastic (Jan 31, 2012)

TOut of 7 tegus over a course of 6 years I can probably count on one hand how many experiences I have had with tegus pooping in their enclosure o anywere other than grass or the tub, I started all my tegus out by letting them poop.in the tub then let them fre roam eventually they caught on, I even had an iguana that somehow trained himself to go on newspaper in a corner when he free roamed


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## msmith14 (Jan 31, 2012)

so can i train my tegu to go to the bath room only in its cage or the grass? how can i do this?


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## got10 (Feb 1, 2012)

It takes a little work to get them trained to go outside . In the summer time I keep mine free roaming and take them outside to eat and relieve themselves. And for inside the house i have found that they will go to the front door and scratch if it is time they feel to poo and pee.There have been times that I will be away for a period of time ,and someone whom is home and is NOT going to take them out. I leave a shallow pan of water in the corner. 
The only problem i occasionally have is when the males want to mark the area with poop by dragging through it with their tails. Inconvenient at most times .But that occurs mostly outside of the house on the lawn.


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## msmith14 (Feb 1, 2012)

Okay, so here is what i'm getting from this. Tell me if i'm wrong. 

So, if i wanted to train my tegu like a cat by making it go in a pan of cat litter, i would just put my tegu in the pan when i see it starting to go (as if it is a cat) right?


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## got10 (Feb 1, 2012)

In a word yes. They always try to go as far from the food as possible .But, invariably tend to gravitate towards the water bowl. you figure.


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## AP27 (Feb 1, 2012)

It's rather hard to pick a tegu up mid-potty like a cat or dog and move them to where you want them. There's a number of methods you could try, but its eventually going to come down to your individual tegu's habits. Sometimes with exotic species its much easier to work around the animal, rather than trying to make the animal work around you. For instance Odin used to only go to the bathroom on his heat pad, so i got the idea to put a puppy potty pad over a warm spot for him to go on. Unfortunately he changed his potty habits after he got moved to his new enclosure, but there's always a solution, even if you have to get a little creative at times.


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## james.w (Feb 1, 2012)

AP27 said:


> It's rather hard to pick a tegu up mid-potty like a cat or dog and move them to where you want them. There's a number of methods you could try, but its eventually going to come down to your individual tegu's habits. Sometimes with exotic species its much easier to work around the animal, rather than trying to make the animal work around you. For instance Odin used to only go to the bathroom on his heat pad, so i got the idea to put a puppy potty pad over a warm spot for him to go on. Unfortunately he changed his potty habits after he got moved to his new enclosure, but there's always a solution, even if you have to get a little creative at times.



This will be your best bet, in my opinion they aren't trainable, but are creatures of habit. Follow their lead and make it work for you.


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