# tegu agression outside



## Alldaytegus (May 24, 2012)

Hi guys I have a very tame Argentine bw tegu who gets aggressive with me whenever I take him outside.....does anyone else have this problem? Otherwise he is very tame


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## tommyboy (May 24, 2012)

Alldaytegus said:


> Hi guys I have a very tame Argentine bw tegu who gets aggressive with me whenever I take him outside.....does anyone else have this problem? Otherwise he is very tame



I had the exact same problem with an extremely tame tegu. The first time I brought him outside he turned into a little terror. I was completely shocked. He was huffing and puffing with his mouth wide open trying to bite me.
I think it was just sensory overload. I have brought him out a dozen times since then and he just keeps getting better and better. Instead of putting him directly on the ground, I now sit with him on my lap for a while and let him takes everything in. Like anything, I think they just need to get used to their environment and feel safe.


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## Alldaytegus (May 24, 2012)

tommyboy said:


> Alldaytegus said:
> 
> 
> > Hi guys I have a very tame Argentine bw tegu who gets aggressive with me whenever I take him outside.....does anyone else have this problem? Otherwise he is very tame
> ...


Yea that makes sense I'll try that thanks but yea that's exactly how he acts


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## Dana C (May 24, 2012)

I agree. Between fear of open places and sensory overload which go hand in hand, your experience is not uncommon. Small doses of the outside are the way to go. Also, if you can Tegu proof a large room, it would be interesting to see if he reacts the same way.


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## Alldaytegus (May 24, 2012)

Dana C said:


> I agree. Between fear of open places and sensory overload which go hand in hand, your experience is not uncommon. Small doses of the outside are the way to go. Also, if you can Tegu proof a large room, it would be interesting to see if he reacts the same way.


 
I usually let him walk around the house and he is fine


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## naturboy87 (May 24, 2012)

its the SUN it alows he body to get the vitamins they need and it makes a to set off natural aggrssion also trigering the old factory part of the brain in to over drive bringing out natural instinct and natural aggrission that we all see all to often when leting our guys sun ... also they just do not wont go in side they they know thats wher u plan on taking them ...


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## laurarfl (May 25, 2012)

It's not the sun. It is the fact that the tegu is used to being in a closed in environment with a certain level of stimulation, closed in walls and a ceiling. Now it is outside with wide open space, smells, sounds, sights, birds, etc. reptiles work on the limbic system of the brain which is purely reactive. It is a fear based response to avoid predation.


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## naturboy87 (May 25, 2012)

JUST 15 minits in the sun is just as good as all day under a uvb light . fact


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## Bubblz Calhoun (May 25, 2012)

_It's sensory overload like most have said. If he's not use to being outside, sun shining or not you'll get the same reaction. Until he gets use to everything and figures out what's a threat and what's not. Continue to take him outside for short periods of time in the beginning. After a while when he starts to calm down and relax more, you can lengthen the amount of time he spends out.

Unless startled, they'll pretty much stay in one place observing and taking everything in. As they get comfortable they'll start to move around and investigate things. In the early stages they can still be startled into the fight or flight response. Which is why most people use leashes and harnesses. But it becomes less of an issue as they grow and acclimate to being outside. 

It's the same as when you bring them home and put them in a new enclosure. You get the same response until they get use to everything inside as well as outside of it. _


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## laurarfl (May 25, 2012)

Sun is great for manufacturing Vit D. There are studies comparing times in the sun to regular UVB bulbs. The ideal time spent in the sun depends on your proximity to the equator and the time of day. But the sun does not cause aggressive/defensive behavior.


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## larissalurid (May 28, 2012)

As others have said, it's definitely due to the GIANT open spaces and sensory overload. Your tegu isn't used to the tons of new smells, tress and plants moving around, hearing birds, people, feeling wind, etc. There are just so many things that are all the sudden happening it can be really scary and just too much at once for them. 

It's most DEFINITELY NOT THE SUN though. If getting heat and UV rays made them aggressive, then putting them under a full spectrum heat bulb would do the same. I have many of my pets outside and they are fine, esp in the sun. (which is quite healthy for the reptiles to sit in) Also if the sun caused aggression, then why are there so many tegus and other reptiles who live outside year round in warm places who are totally docile? 

Anyway I would try this. If you have a glass sliding door and can open it but leave the screen shut and put the tegu right near it, see how he reacts. This will let him look outside and smell and hear some of what is going on out there without being right in the middle of it. The next thing you can do is sit right on the edge of the door to go outside with him on your lap. This way he's kind of half outside without being right in the middle of it once again. Id try this for a while. Then you can try bringing him out, sit near something that isn't in the middle of the yard so he can feel safe and not out in a wide open place. Maybe right next to the house against a wall or against a tree. Just something where you aren't right in the middle of a big open space. I'd try just holding him in your arm or lap. Taking small steps like this should help if you take it slowly.


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## ilovelizards (May 30, 2012)

Dana C said:


> I agree. Between fear of open places and sensory overload which go hand in hand, your experience is not uncommon. Small doses of the outside are the way to go. Also, if you can Tegu proof a large room, it would be interesting to see if he reacts the same way.



They then get very flighty and jumpy and scared they normally run into a corner and tail whip and hiss and try to bite and keep there moth opean.


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## larissalurid (May 31, 2012)

[/quote]

They then get very flighty and jumpy and scared they normally run into a corner and tail whip and hiss and try to bite and keep there moth opean.
[/quote]


If they can't even be indoors without getting extremely upset and scared I wouldn't even begin to attempt taking them outside yet.


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## ilovelizards (May 31, 2012)

They then get very flighty and jumpy and scared they normally run into a corner and tail whip and hiss and try to bite and keep there moth opean.
[/quote]


If they can't even be indoors without getting extremely upset and scared I wouldn't even begin to attempt taking them outside yet.
[/quote]

"Also, if you can Tegu proof a large room, it would be interesting to see if he reacts the same way."
Thats how mine reacted when he was younger when I put him in his future enclouser just to see how he would react and that what he did.


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## laurarfl (Jun 2, 2012)

It is a matter of small, baby steps.


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