# taming the beast



## steve1 (Sep 20, 2012)

ok here is the problem gator is probably about 1 1/2 foot in length head to tail, he is so damn strong its not even funny. i had him outside with me a while ago and he started to get crazy wiggling and squirming and nearly got away 3 times i feel like if i hold any tighter i will hurt him but even at the grip im holding him at he powers out of my hand. is this common for his age? will he calm down a bit when he gets older? i get him out of his cage every day and hold him and let him chill on my shoulders, sometimes i even let him wander about a room supervised of course. but for all my attempts on taming him he seems to get worse. should i leave him be for a few days? or keep at it? will he calm down a little bit when he gets older ? 
in the past i have only had Iguanas and even the wildest of them calmed down eventually,this guy is just plain nuts. and i fear that when he gets older he will be completely unhandleable


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## TeguBlake (Sep 20, 2012)

im not an expert at all but i have herd they get calmer in age if you handle them allot. but then again every little gator out there has its own way of doing things.


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## steve1 (Sep 20, 2012)

guess i should clerify that gator is a bw columbian tegu and not an alligator


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## TeguBlake (Sep 20, 2012)

steve1 said:


> guess i should clerify that gator is a bw columbian tegu and not an alligator



well in that case, Columbia b/w arnt easy to tame they are allot more sqermish and if you spend allot of time and effort you might be able to tame him, it isn't impossible, but very hard with Columbia b/w. sometimes you just have to ignore it just go in a bathroom and set him down, and play on your phone or do something paying no attention to him. and maybe he will learn that you arnt trying to hurt him or bother him.


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## steve1 (Sep 20, 2012)

ok so its a handling issue then? i should set him to wander about close by but not try to pick him up?


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## TeguBlake (Sep 20, 2012)

yes, but dont let him hurt him self of course. when you pick him up are you lightly scooping him or just garbing him? and sometimes that can freak them out. just lightly scoop him from behind his back legs with just a good enough to keep him in your palms. if he wants to jump let him jump and then try again. dont let him jump from to high of course lol


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## steve1 (Sep 20, 2012)

ya typically i do scoop him up and i dont grab him then eh climbs up my shirt and onto my shoulder, i guess maybe he just figured i was trying to hurt him, but we were outside and i was not going to alow him to jump down and run off. but man he is strong. i just cant get over it for such a little ****. i will definatly try the bathroom thing and let him have at it. nothing in there he can get hurt on


funny how they think they are Iguanas the way they want to jump all the time. defiantly no fear in them at all


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## TeguBlake (Sep 20, 2012)

okay let me know how it goes, and when yal were out side he could have been just scared of you, birds, noises, ext. or maybe just wanted to run away. but you will never know what that little guy was thinking.


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## steve1 (Sep 20, 2012)

think it was my wife being loud coming out the door =) but your right i will never know i will just have to keep trying
Thank you for your input, with each passing day i learn a little more about the beast, i do hope that in time it becomes a little easier for him and me. i went through some hard times with an Alpha Iguana in the past and ended up with a best friend =) i just hope to do the same with him..


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## TeguBlake (Sep 20, 2012)

in time he will grow to you, just takes time and effort! i have faith in you and i know you can achieve that goal, i can tell you care deeply about your Tegu. and your welcome 
hope everything goes well Steve.


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## steve1 (Sep 20, 2012)

makes no sense to get an animal and not try to learn all you can and care for it the best you can, might as well have a rock otherwise...=)


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## TeguBlake (Sep 20, 2012)

very true! and nice analogy


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## Rodney (Sep 20, 2012)

Some are just not ok with being handled I guess. I have two and one is just fine with being scooped up but always heads for the shoulders or top of the head, the other gets freaked out by anything. They will both crawl all over me if I just let them wander around the room though, I usually sit or lay on the floor and watch tv or listen to music while they explore the room and eventually they end up crawling all over me. They both get the same attention but one is just more ok with being held. I would say let it wander around a room with you present on the floor and just put your hand out when it's close and see if it gets used to being held that way.


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## Deac77 (Sep 20, 2012)

Columbians are just given a bad rap I've seen them more snuggly than argentines from what I've experienced and seen its a time and trust thing I lock myself in the closet with them and get them to come to me seems to work great and they tame down rather fast columbians by nature are more flighty at first but I believe and have seen they an be just as sweet


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