# running away



## jwax17 (Dec 28, 2011)

so everytime i have to open my door to walk into my room my tegu will run straight for its hide and wont come out. im wondering if this is just a trait for babies and if there is anything i can do to not make him so fearful

also i attached a picture so you could see the mixture of the cream color from the extreme giant and the red from a red tegu


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## HPIZZLE (Dec 28, 2011)

sounds alot like my baby when i got her.

just walk in the room slowly and calmly. eventually they wont see you as a threat.


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## kellen.watkins (Dec 29, 2011)

My hybrid was the same way for about a month. Slowly he got better it took almost 3 months to get to hold him


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## Strange_Evil (Dec 29, 2011)

My tegu was like this for the first week,my Savannah monitor still shoots for the hide when i'm in sight for the most part. He'll break the habit eventually, my tegu couldn't care less who approaches the cage now. Just a tip,I left him alone for the first week,and allowed him to make the first move and approach me rather than going in and just grabbing him up against his will.


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## Dana C (Jan 1, 2012)

My girl wanted nothing to do with me for the first three weeks. I spent alot of time with my hand in her tank and eventually she let me touch her. I had to catch her however for baths which she fought but never tried to bite. When in the bathroom with the door closed, I would sit on the floor for maybe an hour or so with her while she explored. The second time I did this, she climbed up on my leg and just watched me. We repeated this for a few days with her climbing on me more and more each time. I also spent a lot of time with my hand in her tank stroking her which she came to enjoy. After the first week of baths, she climbed up on my leg and came up to where my hand was sitting on my thigh and put her head on my hand and laid down. I knew I had turned the corner then. 

Others have more experience than I and may have different experiences. I think age has something to do with it but every animal is different. Eva was at least 6 months old before she bonded with me. I have an AA that is almost 5 months that is still pretty feisty when he is awake, which isn't often. He is coming around slowly but surely. 

My advice would be to do the bathroom thing. A warm bath, followed by a bowl of food and letting him come to you is the ticket. When they bond, you will know it and while they may have "one off" days, they will come to crave attention and your company. Eva, during our father / daughter special time, spends more time on me than off and seeks out jowl & belly rubs.


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## ARReptiles (Mar 7, 2012)

Greetings Everyone!

After over 12 years, I got another tegu. I took one in as a rescue years ago that didn't last long. 
Now, after much deliberation and the loss of our rescued iguana Sheena, who lived another 6 years with us, I wanted another companion lizard. 

I got a wee red Argentine tegu from CBB stock. This is a cutie pie deluxe!
When I bought this baby, he/she was going into brumation. I got this kiddo setup and left him alone to do his thing, making sure water was available, humidity right, etc. A solid month of hibernation later (yeah, this kid did not come out), I see a head poking up but still sleepy. Then finally the next day, I see some wandering and food patrol. 

I offered food since this was really the first time this kid got to see his new cage and figured I'd wait a week to let him adjust before feeding outside the cage and such.

It took literally about 2 days before he would eagerly approach looking for food, very curious and didn't seem bothered that I was near his cage at all...in fact, he'd pout at the entrance if he was waiting on food and get all happy/excited to see me grab his food dish...and he did not attempt to bite me in feeding response or shy away unless I tried to touch him, then he'd run away. I decided since he was eating voraciously after a week, to try some gentle handling. I coaxed him onto a small bin lid and allowed him to crawl onto my hands and we were golden with him walking through my hands, until....dun dun dun! I had the audacity to let my thumb gently touch his backside, then he whirled around like a rocket and ran up my t-shirt up over my back. lol!
I aimed my backside to the door of his cage and said "you wanna go in partner and calm down?" and he casually walked in like nothing happened. 

So now, I watched Varnyard's videos and some others on here and decided it's time to try and take him out gently to a feeding bin each day. He races around like I'm going to kill him but never attempts to bite, just huffs and twitches his body as if he's going to whip, but doesn't even really whip his tail and runs away in terror. I finally get him scooped up (not grabbing) just as Varnyard shows and place him happily in his food bin. But, rather than eat (this is day 2 of this), he just sits in the corner and lays down like he'd rather be basking than eating, when he LOVES food. 
Is this typical that just getting him into the swing of things will get him to come around for his food?

Thanks in advance for the advice. 

Kindest regards,

Amanda Rose


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## monstruo-the-tegu (Mar 7, 2012)

when i first got monstruo he was like that huffing puffing but i feed all my reptiles outside of the cage so i had to chase a little baby tegu around to get him to eat so once i got a hold of him he would crawl on my shoulder and my head 3 weeks later he didnt even huff and puff


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