# Picking Up



## OsiViper (Dec 12, 2011)

Is it normal for Tegus to be more hesitant to being picked up?
My Tegu has absolutely no problem walking onto my hand or arm etc but he still does not want me to actually pick him up.. He's somewhat okay with me picking him up when hes on me already or in his feeding bin but if hes roaming around my desk, or his cage he does not want me to pick him up...

It just seems odd since he knows my hands, hes on them frequently but still freaks out.
And I generally try not to pick him up if i can help it, but if he's roaming and I need to get him back he wont want to get on my hands with all the other stuff to explore so sometimes i have no choice and he freaks out for a second until he is just laying on my hand with nothing holding/covering him.

_And by picking up I dont mean grabbing from above, i mean trying to stick my hand under him and lift him up._


----------



## Rhetoric (Dec 12, 2011)

My hybrid doesn't like being picked up. Gary didn't like it either, he would always go into a death roll. Guru and Rango will tolerate it, its a lot better if they can hang on to my arm, shoulder, etc. Tegus are mostly terrestrial, they're big and I don't think they're meant to be off the ground much lol. How are you holding your tegu when you pick it up? It could also be that your tegu does not feel its being supported properly.


----------



## Bubblz Calhoun (Dec 12, 2011)

_Ditto ^ ^ ^ some just don't like it. I could pick up and hold Dino all day but Natsuki's not so into it. Which is understandable,.. being picked up is not the same as climbing up on your own. They pretty much go from the ground (or what ever) to how ever tall you are in a couple of seconds.

Which could make any body a little uneasy supported or not._


----------



## reptastic (Dec 12, 2011)

Rayne isnt thrilled in the least bit with getting picked up, storm like nero i can walk around with like a baby and have their heads rested on my chest/shoulder


----------



## Tegasaurus (Dec 12, 2011)

Sometimes when you pick them up and they are very squirmy, if you put them back down and pick them back up immediately, they are calmer. At least this is how mine reacts.
They do like to control things.. Like you stated, he will get on your hand, but fight when being picked up. With regular and proper handling, he should calm down. Sometimes my tegu starts fighting me and I put him down and then pick him back up and he is usually ok. I do have to explain to him, from time to time, that he is the pet and I am the keeper.

My tegu is enormous, but he still knows who is in charge.

Rob


----------



## OsiViper (Dec 12, 2011)

Yea mines still a baby lol. And he doesn't mind the going up fast or being carried. He just wants to be in charge of when he gets picked up lol


----------



## dragonmetalhead (Dec 12, 2011)

Tegasaurus said:


> Sometimes when you pick them up and they are very squirmy, if you put them back down and pick them back up immediately, they are calmer. At least this is how mine reacts.
> They do like to control things.. Like you stated, he will get on your hand, but fight when being picked up. With regular and proper handling, he should calm down. Sometimes my tegu starts fighting me and I put him down and then pick him back up and he is usually ok. I do have to explain to him, from time to time, that he is the pet and I am the keeper.
> 
> My tegu is enormous, but he still knows who is in charge.
> ...



Holy hell, that is the biggest tegu I've ever seen! How long/heavy is that behemoth and what's his name?


----------



## kellen.watkins (Dec 13, 2011)

My red never minded being held, vanilla it was if she felt like it she would let me know but when she wanted out of the tank she didn't mind being held... eli doesn't like to be looked at let alone held lol


----------



## Tegasaurus (Dec 13, 2011)

dragonmetalhead said:


> Tegasaurus said:
> 
> 
> > Sometimes when you pick them up and they are very squirmy, if you put them back down and pick them back up immediately, they are calmer. At least this is how mine reacts.
> ...



Hello dragonmetalhead.. His name is Smokey...Ya, he is like the largest, or one of the largest tegus I have ever seen. I need to weigh him. He is one heavy animal...About 1 1/2 years ago he was measuring in at around 54 inches in length.. He has lost about 1 inch of his tail since then.

Rob


----------



## dragonmetalhead (Dec 13, 2011)

Tegasaurus said:


> dragonmetalhead said:
> 
> 
> > Tegasaurus said:
> ...



He's absolutely gorgeous. I can't get over those jowls and that huge head. You are obviously an excellent tegu keeper to have gotten Smokey to such epic proportions. I hope you can most more pics soon.


----------



## AP27 (Dec 14, 2011)

OsiViper said:


> Yea mines still a baby lol. And he doesn't mind the going up fast or being carried. He just wants to be in charge of when he gets picked up lol



Odin was like that too, turned out the only way he was comfortable with being picked up was if you held him in exactly the right positon with total support, if one toe was off my hand he used to freak lol. Eventually after figuring out the right position he wanted(with his head facing my wrist and his back feet on my palm, and his tail had to be between my fingers or he didn't like it, he was very picky lol) it was easy from there, now he does fine with pretty much anyway he's picked up, but i usually still let him just climb onto my hand first.


----------



## OsiViper (Dec 14, 2011)

AP27 said:


> OsiViper said:
> 
> 
> > Yea mines still a baby lol. And he doesn't mind the going up fast or being carried. He just wants to be in charge of when he gets picked up lol
> ...



Yea Gummy's starting to get better about it, I can pick him up most places outside his cage, but he still doesnt even want me to pick him up or even walk on my hands while hes in his cage. I assume he thinks of his whole cage how they feel about a hide - its his safe spot and i really do want him to think of his cage as safe.

He likes to be picked up odd too, doesnt want me to support his feet, i need 1 finger under his head, 2 under his belly and 1 behind his back legs.. not exactly how i figured he would want to be picked up


----------

