# Taming Experiences?



## larissalurid (Feb 14, 2012)

I was wondering if people can tell me what they experienced while raising and taming their tegu from when they got them up to a year old (or more if you prefer); what they went through as well as what they noticed about the behavior with their Tegu. 

I have one B&W reserved from Varnyard and have been researching as much as I can, but haven't seen any overall experience discussions with people raising their Tegus.

(I'm not asking the process of how to tame exactly, I understand the basic idea with that, just wondering peoples progress and what to expect.)


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## Non Crimen Jr. (Feb 14, 2012)

Its different for every tegu. My tegu is in the process of being tamed and basically it goes 5 steps forward, 4 steps back. It will take time for the tegu to trust you.


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## larissalurid (Feb 14, 2012)

Non Crimen Jr. said:


> Its different for every tegu. My tegu is in the process of being tamed and basically it goes 5 steps forward, 4 steps back. It will take time for the tegu to trust you.



Yea, I mean I understand it's different for every Tegu and it takes time and patience, but that is why I'm asking for some personal experiences to just see what other people went through raising theirs.


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## Non Crimen Jr. (Feb 14, 2012)

haha ok well mine right now is just getting over not letting me handle him for about 4 days or so.


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## larissalurid (Feb 14, 2012)

Non Crimen Jr. said:


> haha ok well mine right now is just getting over not letting me handle him for about 4 days or so.



what happened? or was it out of nowhere


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## txrepgirl (Feb 15, 2012)

Congrats on getting your new Tegu ( well when he is ready to come home ). We have five Tegu ( used to have six ) and I used the same techniques with all of them and it worked very well. They do have their days where they have some bad moods ( like when they are shedding or going through puperty lol ). Some people wait for a few days until they handle them. I did it from day one. In the links below is what I did from day one and how they turned out to be. Good luck with yours  . 

My shirt trick:

http://www.youtube.com/user/txrepgirl#p/u/34/XVyU44yDH4E 

http://www.youtube.com/user/txrepgirl#p/u/14/w3xADhIa5dw 

http://www.youtube.com/user/txrepgirl#p/u/65/96pCldMmj_I

How I get them out of the enclosure. Sometimes I had to reach in there and just get them out. 

http://www.youtube.com/user/txrepgirl#p/u/26/UscbESzNseg 

How they wanted to come out of the enclousre later on:

http://www.youtube.com/user/txrepgirl#p/u/81/8yVQEI9y8Iw


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## reptastic (Feb 15, 2012)

I agree with sam, I had 6 also, now just 2, I havnt really had to do much in terms of taming, dk if i m a tegu whisperer lol, but out of the 6 I only had to apply the taming techniques to 2, a b/w and a red, the b/w turned into a big baby but the red I only got to work with a few weks before he passed, I have realized tegus are very intelligent and persistant which always isn't a good combination especially when the see something they want, sure all 6 had their days when they didn't want to be bothered but they were few and far inbetween, once you learn your tegus personality you will learn how to deal with them, they are awesome to have around, good luck on your lil guy


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## Draco D Tegu (Feb 15, 2012)

Mine still go through thier testy stages. They are hibernating now (and yes its hibernation, they've not come up in weeks). Should be interesting how many steps back WE have gone now with lost time. I don't view it as nipping. If they wanted to bite, they would. I prefer to call it taste testing, or a "well done" check. LOL


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## Non Crimen Jr. (Feb 15, 2012)

larissalurid said:


> Non Crimen Jr. said:
> 
> 
> > haha ok well mine right now is just getting over not letting me handle him for about 4 days or so.
> ...



Out of no where...


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## larissalurid (Feb 16, 2012)

txrepgirl said:


> Congrats on getting your new Tegu ( well when he is ready to come home ). We have five Tegu ( used to have six ) and I used the same techniques with all of them and it worked very well. They do have their days where they have some bad moods ( like when they are shedding or going through puperty lol ). Some people wait for a few days until they handle them. I did it from day one. In the links below is what I did from day one and how they turned out to be. Good luck with yours  .
> 
> My shirt trick:
> 
> ...




Thank you! What great videos and tegus by the way! I've always used the shirt trick with a lot of my animals, they like the warmth and darkness and it definitely does help calm them. :] 



txrepgirl said:


> Congrats on getting your new Tegu ( well when he is ready to come home ). We have five Tegu ( used to have six ) and I used the same techniques with all of them and it worked very well. They do have their days where they have some bad moods ( like when they are shedding or going through puperty lol ). Some people wait for a few days until they handle them. I did it from day one. In the links below is what I did from day one and how they turned out to be. Good luck with yours  .
> 
> My shirt trick:
> 
> ...




also i had two questions, i was thinking of getting 2 uva/uvb heat basking lamps and one red heat bulb for night with my 6x2x3 foot enclosure. do you think this is the right amount of lighting for that amount of space? 

Also how do i know when to stop feeding them if they start to seem like they want to hibernate and how soon after if they hibernate can you feed them? i heard that if you feed them and they go back to sleep the food can just sit there and not digest.


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## kellen.watkins (Mar 12, 2012)

Out of the two tegus I've had the recent 2 are the only ones I've had taming issues with I've had 5 in total (one for 9 years) my extreme, sweet as can be from day 1 until she escaped had to rip my couch apart to get her back took about another month to start getting her trust back what I would do was when she let me approach the cage I would just put my hand in there for an hour or two a day and eventually she started warming up again and is a sweet tegu again (with an escape mentality lol) my hybrid was a nightmare didn't see him for at least a month he would rather die than be handled (or be even a foot away from my hand) the hand in the cage trick nothing, t-shirt trick nothing, I let him out on his own accord bad idea took me an hour to catch him, huffing biting whipping monster lol after 3 months of this (working with t-shirt trick hand in cage ect) I got sick of it and decided he's gonna be handled whether he likes it or not, id have to crocodile hunter him out of his cage (he's a lil over 2 feet at the moment) id hold him on the couch he would squirm open mouth for almost the whole hour at first, whenever he would start squirming acting out id apply more restraint and less restraint when he calmed down, after 4 days of this he would come watch tv on my lap nothing no bad behavior just a little problems out of his cage, after a week maybe a week in a half no issues out of the cage bathtime easy none no issues when I moved him and my extreme lived in my room til the cages were set up free roaming he is definintly my fav now lol I don't recommend taming tegus in this way at all I was just fed up and felt I had to be a. Lil radical.


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## m3s4 (Mar 12, 2012)

I don't know if there's a generalized method to the madness of taming tegus's. 

They're all so different and like people - view their world, react to their world and adapt to their world very differently. 

Like others have posted, you need to learn your tegu's habits and watch its' body-language very carefully. 

Unlike some, I've held each of my tegu's from day one. For me, this approach has warranted very good results - and this has now been with practiced on 4 columbians and 1 arg. b&w. 

Something I do think is very important and of note: when grabbing your tegu, you have to use _A) common sense B) slow movements C) 
finesse._ 

I also think it's extremely important to let your tegu lick you as much and as often as possible - even if it means putting your fingers near its snout all the time. True, they have extremely good vision, but they absolutely have to lick and sense the air with their tongues. The more familiarized it is with your scent, the easier it is to recognize you, trust you and eventually build a relationship with you.

I'm also a firm believer in talking to them. I've whistled at my 5 year old b&w and had her **** her head to the side or lift her head up and look around for me. So I believe, just like with licking and their incredible sight, they need to hear (you) and your voice in a calm, casual, reassuring manner. 

When they can see you, lick you and hear you on a daily basis, they get to know you - all of you - by using all of the senses that make them so intelligent. 

So, is it hard to tame them? No - as long as you're dedicated, patient, observant, persistent and willing to let common sense be your guide when things get tricky. 

Lastly, the more you see your tegu as a companion more so then a caged animal, the better your experience will be with it - and it with you. 

These animals don't need to be caged after a year or year and a half and if you can devise ways to implement them into your social life as much as possible the better off you will both be. A little creativity goes along way with caging but I _firmly_ believe in letting my tegus roam the house and sleep in hides with blankets and pillows.


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## kellen.watkins (Mar 13, 2012)

I don't know if there's a generalized method to the madness of taming tegus's. 

They're all so different and like people - view their world, react to their world and adapt to their world very differently. 

Like others have posted, you need to learn your tegu's habits and watch its' body-language very carefully. 

Something I do think is very important and of note: when grabbing your tegu, you have to use _A) common sense B) slow movements C) 
finesse._ 

These animals don't need to be caged after a year or year and a half and if you can devise ways to implement them into your social life as much as possible the better off you will both be. A little creativity goes along way with caging but I _firmly_ believe in letting my tegus roam the house and sleep in hides with blankets and pillows. 






[/quote]
all very agreed, I've heard so many taming methods its insane (even one about putting a tegu in the dark for 2 weeks :-l ) mostly i think interaction is the key rewarding good behavior and patience. for those new owners of small tegus don't get discouraged if it seems impossible to handle your tegu after 1,2,3, 4 months 6 months with enough patience and time they will almost always calm down. I've heard some pretty amazing stories on rescues that were tempermental nightmares and fully grown that were still able to be tamed down.


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## Dana C (Mar 13, 2012)

"I also think it's extremely important to let your tegu lick you as much and as often as possible - even if it means putting your fingers near its snout all the time. True, they have extremely good vision, but they absolutely have to lick and sense the air with their tongues. The more familiarized it is with your scent, the easier it is to recognize you, trust you and eventually build a relationship with you.

I'm also a firm believer in talking to them. I've whistled at my 5 year old b&w and had her **** her head to the side or lift her head up and look around for me. So I believe, just like with licking and their incredible sight, they need to hear (you) and your voice in a calm, casual, reassuring manner. 
When they can see you, lick you and hear you on a daily basis, they get to know you - all of you - by using all of the senses that make them so intelligent."

I too am a firm believer in the above. Both Tegus will approach my hand soon after I enter their cage, and lick me. I also talk to them to let them hear that it is me and that I am approaching. Often they will come to my hand for a scratch on the head or chin. 
I think a big key is just watching your Tegus while they are out and looking for clues about what they are trying to tell you. The same thing goes for their cage time. Gordo, if he is frantic to get out isn't telling me just wants out, he is saying that he has to do his business in the bathtub and to get him there RIGHT NOW LOL. He is like a little kid dancing around because he / she has to pee. In fact, Gordo hasn't done his business, pee'd nor pooped in cage for almost three months now. 
Like I said in another post, a daily warm bath equals a pooparama for Gordo.


Read more: http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=10840#ixzz1p0S9BbBe


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## MadameButterfly (Mar 13, 2012)

Mine is a total nut job, she is like a tasmainian devil when I try handle her and my hands are covered in bites and scratches now but I realised the bites don't hurt that much so now I just let her bite me and don't pull away (because any quick movement is just going to panic her more) and slowly she's realised that biting is pointless. 

She'll still nip me every once in a while but she's pretty much stopped with the full on bites. Lately it has just become a matter of routien, she comes out and basks for a while and then I open her enclosure and she does her Tazmainian Devil thing and eventually I catch her and hold her for an hour or 2 while watching TV and rubbing the top of her head and chatting to her in a calm voice.

The way I see it now is at her current size her genetics tell her that she is at the bottom of the food chain so everything is a threat including me, as she gets bigger those threats won't worry her as much and she'll calm down but for now I am in it for the long haul and will just keep the routien going


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## Bubblz Calhoun (Mar 13, 2012)

_What's gonna work for yours is a crap shoot and takes time to figure out. Some of mine I didn't have to worry about or even try taming they were fine from day one. While others I practically had to run through the whole gambit with. But either way I haven't had one that didn't come around Colombian or not,... Time and patience. It takes a while but it goes a long way and pays off at the end. 

Korbens a year old and still a bit huffy, doesn't bite but I actually like that little bit of attitude. _


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## tommylee22 (Mar 13, 2012)

I have one reserved from Varnyard as well. I watched all his video's, he has some showing how to handle them so that they become easily tame. it's all about how you handle them. Check out the video's.


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## m3s4 (Mar 13, 2012)

Bubblz Calhoun said:


> _What's gonna work for yours is a crap shoot and takes time to figure out. Some of mine I didn't have to worry about or even try taming they were fine from day one. While others I practically had to run through the whole gambit with. But either way I haven't had one that didn't come around Colombian or not,... Time and patience. It takes a while but it goes a long way and pays off at the end.
> 
> Korbens a year old and still a bit huffy, doesn't bite but I actually like that little bit of attitude. _



Lol - yea the huffing and puffing the colombians are known to exhibit is something I actually like. At 3 and half years old, Sam would still huff. 

He never tried to bite but he sure enjoyed being vocal. 

Tame as can be but for whatever reason, he just HAD to huff. 

I'd say he was huffing 75% of the time I was petting him. 

Picture this: A golden tegu being pet on the head - eyes closed, tongue tip barely poking out huffing...good times...




MadameButterfly said:


> Mine is a total nut job, she is like a tasmainian devil when I try handle her and my hands are covered in bites and scratches now but I realised the bites don't hurt that much so now I just let her bite me and don't pull away (because any quick movement is just going to panic her more) and slowly she's realised that biting is pointless.
> 
> She'll still nip me every once in a while but she's pretty much stopped with the full on bites. Lately it has just become a matter of routien, she comes out and basks for a while and then I open her enclosure and she does her Tazmainian Devil thing and eventually I catch her and hold her for an hour or 2 while watching TV and rubbing the top of her head and chatting to her in a calm voice.
> 
> The way I see it now is at her current size her genetics tell her that she is at the bottom of the food chain so everything is a threat including me, as she gets bigger those threats won't worry her as much and she'll calm down but for now I am in it for the long haul and will just keep the routien going



Interesting. 

Just as a thought, before you let her bask and get warm why don't you try waking her and let her see you. Slowly - and gently - reach towards her and rub her and let her lick you. Afterwards, pet her on her back. If she's open to it, pet her on the top of her head and under her chin. 

Tegus, along with most reptiles, are most vulnerable when they are cool because they are less alert and most of their bodily functions are hindered because their body temp. is low. 

Luckily for us, they can't scamper off as quickly and hardly ever even try when they are like this. 

So in this state of lethargy - or assisted calm if you will - you can build trust with her because she literally can't get away and she knows she's vulnerable. This is a method I've found to be very useful and I'm now doing it with my new babies. 

You'd be surprised at how tame they are currently and how used to my presence they've become. 

At first the mere sight of me sent them scampering. Now they could care less. 

One thing to consider - although every colombian tegu is different, I haven't seen many or heard of many that like to be handled/held. Even as tame as my adult was, he just didn't like to be held. He was perfectly content to be pet and interacted with as long as he was on the ground and not being held. 

Good luck and make sure to keep us posted on your progress together.


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## larissalurid (Mar 16, 2012)

Thank you everyone. I think I was just over thinking everything and too worried about the lengths I'd have to take to tame him. It seems basically the same as gaining trust from my other animals like macaws, kinkajou, etc. :]


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## Dana C (Apr 30, 2012)

*How to tell....*

How to tell you are making progress.
Tegus arch their backs and puff up so as to appear larger to aggressors or threats.
I figured out that Eva was coming along a while back when she would walk by my as I sat on the floor in that bathroom. I would put my hand down and she would walk underneath it. Now she stops, arches her back just about when my hand is over her hips and butt so I can give her a good lower back & but rub. She stays that way for a minute or two and moves on. 
I thought you might get a kick of that.


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## turtlepunk (Apr 30, 2012)

With my 9 month old, I've never really done anything special to tame him. Even as a hatchling from day one He's had so much attitude and personality; he has always been pretty fearless. I have always fed him inside of his enclosure (which is going against what most would advise) and give him daily attention, even if it's just cleaning his cage and petting him. I think the daily interaction stopped him from becoming cage aggressive, because I have never had a problem with it. He has always tolerated being petted, but I have only just recently began to really handle him, I've never really picked him up until he was around maybe 7 months old. Now that he's three feet in length I can pick him up..but he has his good days and his bad days. Some days he does nothing but death roll and won't let me come near, other days he lets me pick him up without any fuss. He will even tolerate me putting a harness on him, which i find pretty amazing. He did perfectly fine the first day I took him outside. I think i just lucked out with a cool tegu =) As others have mentioned I think it just depends on the tegu =) Have fun with yours!!! =D


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