# MacGyver's Official Thread (Pics, Vids & Taming Stories)



## Scott Hogge (Aug 8, 2012)

This is going to be the official thread for everything MacGyver related.

Background:

I got Mac on July 24 (two weeks before this post) from this guy: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tys-Lizards/188828187820956

He was just short of three weeks old when I got him, so he's about 5 weeks old today in the videos below.

This is Mac the day after I got him (3 weeks old):
[attachment=4766]

And these are yesterday (5 weeks old)
[attachment=4767]
[attachment=4768]

At 5 weeks old now, he is eating about 8 pinkies (frozen from rodentpro.com) every day.

He is super active and dog tame. When he is walking around in "explorer mode", he will come to the front of his enclosure when he sees you and will instantly climb up onto you for a free ride if you put your hand inside (videos below). Even when he is in super lazy mode just basking, if you rub his head a little and then let him lick you, he will climb right up onto your arm.

Here are a few good videos I just took. He is always this active & friendly.

This is Mac in "explorer mode" & looking for a way out of his enclosure to have some fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSbEwgcB9yU

And again, climbing right up onto my shoulders: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWrDLW-N3PA

Hanging out on the couch letting me pet him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPTdeoLnu8w

I let him free roam, but sometimes he just circles me looking for a way into my shirt so he can go to sleep: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf_csPC86Uo

And then after he has been free roaming for a while, i lay down and call him, and he comes over to try to find his way into my shirt again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRApqcj4qVI

Not bad for just two weeks of training. Stay tuned for for videos of him learning how to walk on two legs and fly in a few more weeks.


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## Aardbark (Aug 8, 2012)

Cute little guy, and great name. lol


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## Skeetzy (Aug 8, 2012)

I'm no expert, and could very well be wrong, but isn't it said to be bad to feed a mostly whole prey diet to animals? Just wanted to bring this to your attention just in case you didn't know. 

But Aardbark said it right. He is very cute lol. The videos were cool, I'll probably be making a ton too. I never knew you could make videos unlisted on youtube, and make them only watchable through the link. That's absolutely awesome.

Also, completely random, but whats on the wall under the swords? Is it a TV screensaver or something?


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 8, 2012)

Skeetzy said:


> I'm no expert, and could very well be wrong, but isn't it said to be bad to feed a mostly whole prey diet to animals? Just wanted to bring this to your attention just in case you didn't know.
> 
> But Aardbark said it right. He is very cute lol. The videos were cool, I'll probably be making a ton too. I never knew you could make videos unlisted on youtube, and make them only watchable through the link. That's absolutely awesome.



Thanks. I do give him some variation in his diet but it is about 80% mice, 15% superworms & waxworms, and about 5% fruit. I'm going to be mixing it up a little more in the future also... planning on giving him some raw sockeye salmon tomorrow and trying some other things after that.


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## Skeetzy (Aug 8, 2012)

If you look in the Tegu Articles, Varnyard has a diet posted, that many use with success. Ground Turkey is a great way to go. There's other meat you can off too, for variety. www.hare-today.com has a great selection. Someone posted a thread about it in the diet section, with what they ordered for some variety ideas. It's helpful too, since they grind up the bones/organs with it, so for a well mixed meal you don't have to shop around for livers/necks/hearts, etc. Shipping was cheap too, $20 for me. Came packed well.


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## Steven. (Aug 8, 2012)

Interesting. Never heard of this breeder. From the looks of mac, he breeds healthy animals. Does he have a website or any info?...


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 8, 2012)

Steven. said:


> Interesting. Never heard of this breeder. From the looks of mac, he breeds healthy animals. Does he have a website or any info?...



No website that I'm aware of. I found him by a FC ad @ http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1485354#post1485354 and the same add up on kingsnake.

From the look of it Ty does most his stuff through his facebook page & ads on FC/kingsnake for things he has available. He was very responsive and answered emails almost immediately. I never needed to speak to him over the phone. Just a few quick emails back and forth on friday, I paypal'd over the cash, he shipped him monday night and Mac arrived tuesday morning.

From the look of his FB page he breeds a bunch of different herps and doesn't specialize in tegus... I think he may have like 1 nice breeding pair of reds, 1 pair of blues, and 1 pair of b&w or something like that. When I contacted him he had 5 hatchlings left from his red clutch, and I took one.

I have not had MacGyver tested for parasites but I have no reason to suspect that he has any. Short of a stool test, I can confirm everything else was 100%... hes super active and walks/runs/jumps normally, eats and poops daily, and has no missing toes or any damaged scales.


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## tommyboy (Aug 8, 2012)

Ty is a very well known breeder. You made a good choice!


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 10, 2012)

Just served up a variety feast for Mac's breakfast. Cherries, strawberries, grapes, fresh sockeye salmon, scrambled eggs w/carrot, and a few pinkies. He loved the salmon.

[attachment=4773]


The last few days Mac has been making great improvement in the tame category. He is much more confident in his free roaming now. Last week he would spend most of his free roaming time by circling the house along the walls, but now he is hanging out in the center of the room and trying to climb things.

He has also changed his couch behavior. I would usually start off by putting him on the couch when I took him out, and he would eventually get bored of the couch and climb down off it. Now I'm putting him right on the floor more often so he can go do his exploring thing, and when i put him on the couch its like a treat and he will stay there for hours. He loves crawling around in/behind the couch cushions... I set him on one side and go sit myself on the other side... and 10 minutes later he pops out of the cushions right by me and starts licking my arm.

Awesome little dude.


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 15, 2012)

This is my 3 week update on Mac. He's about 6 weeks old now and just shy of 13 inches. He is in shed right now (has been shedding once a week,) so he is pretty dull looking in these photos, but he has been getting redder after each shed.

[attachment=4810]
[attachment=4811]

He's very confident when free roaming now and doesn't even flinch if I walk by at normal speed. He has started developing some amusing habits when roaming, and his latest is trying to dig into the wood floors at a few different spots. He always returns to the same spots to do this, and will do it for up to 30 minutes. He kinda looks like he is training to be the karate kid with these 'wax on, wax off' hand motions.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GITNsVoT-0

Wax on, Wax off close up video.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_wswjMKU-8

Short 4 minute free roaming session start to finish. Climbs up my arm to get out... Climbs down my back/leg to get to the floor. Checks things out for a min, then returns to me and crawls under me. Then he takes off to go find his favorite spot to try and dig through the wood floor.


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## Steven. (Aug 16, 2012)

Mac is one of the most active tegus I've ever seen. Its crazy how fast he's come to remembering you hand.. Its awesome. Keep up the good work.

sent from my phone to your eyes


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## chitodadon (Aug 16, 2012)

You r doing a great job I hope my Tegu is like that baby Zeus is active and wild lol always jumping at my hand and stuff mine was born around July 1st so he still small

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2


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## Burke (Aug 16, 2012)

Hes a real nice red. I just got mine from Ty last week, and mine won't let me near him. Any suggestions because I'm getting really discouraged?


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 16, 2012)

Burke said:


> Hes a real nice red. I just got mine from Ty last week, and mine won't let me near him. Any suggestions because I'm getting really discouraged?



Don't get discouraged, I'm sure he/she will warm up. They go through distinct phases, and the first one (overcoming fear) is by far the hardest... but as soon as you get through that the rest is easy.

Tegus have great memory, and they remember being freaked out. I've found with Mac & and previous tegus (had to give those away to a nice family about 10 years ago when I moved abroad,) that the key is to know your limits and not push them. Some people will try slowly pick up their new tegus thinking that if they just keep trying slowly he will eventually warm up, but the tegu just ends up remembering the incident as the thing that comes in and always freaks me out. So they key with whatever you are doing, is to stop BEFORE the tegu freaks out. If he wont let you come near him, figure out where he will let you be, say 8 feet away, and hang out there doing your own thing (reading, computer, whatever.) He should learn quickly that you are not a threat. Once he is cool with that, try moving a little closer. Just keep getting closer until you are eventually with your hand in the cage and he doesn't mind if you set your hand down in front of him. Let his curiosity bring him to you, and don't try to handle him too soon. Anything you can do to show him that you are not interested eating him will help. If you find yourself in a staring contest, close your eyes and pretend to sleep, and he'll probably stop worrying about you.

Mac's enclosure is in my office where I spend 20 hr a day, so getting him used to me walking around his cage was easy. Just spend as much time as you can with him, without freaking him out at all, and it will get easier every day.

After he isn't afraid of you it becomes much easier. Then all you gotta do is spend time with him and help him out with his little lizard plans he'll love you. Mac started climbing those trees so he could try to escape (he loves being out of his enclosure!), so I started offering up my hand as an extension every time he climbed to the top and wanted to keep going. At first he would only climb up my hands when he was already in the trees, but he soon learned that he could just bypass the whole tree thing and climb up my hands directly. Now he will climb up anybody's hand, even a new person that he has never met.


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## juliacuunjieng (Aug 17, 2012)

He's such a cute little guy! I'm just wondering, how did you manage to make him respond to his name? I've only just been introduced to this world of tegu ownership.


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 17, 2012)

juliacuunjieng said:


> He's such a cute little guy! I'm just wondering, how did you manage to make him respond to his name? I've only just been introduced to this world of tegu ownership.



Thanks =) I think its just the sound of my voice actually let lets him know its me. He will usually come over to me about 80% of the time once he realizes its me. I keep the house at a constant 75 degrees and he knows I'm warm & not interested in eating him.


My RodentPro.com and Hare-Today.com orders just came. I have a freezer full of pinkies/fuzzies and a bunch of ground animals (rabbit, salmon, quail, pheasant, llama, bison, duck, goose.)

[attachment=4826]

I'm going to try feeding the ground animals starting this weekend, but today MacGyver ate 6 pinky mice and a pinky rat. Yesterday he had a few pinkies and a white fuzzy. Unfortunately I think he's racist, as he wouldn't touch the black fuzzies I tried to give him.

He's really fat looking now after this rat pinky. I just took this pic that makes him look huge. I admit its a little cheating though because the wife's hand is so tiny =)

[attachment=4827]


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 18, 2012)

Mac's been out free roaming for about 24 hr straight now. Last night I let him sleep on the couch, and he woke me up this morning by licking my face.

I setup another basking light for him when roaming. He's been hanging out by the balcony door where there is some good sunlight, so I stuck another powersun 150w lamp there and he seems to know already its his outside basking spot. He's been returning to it regularly to bask, then he goes and runs around the rest of the house for a while.

[attachment=4834]


I think that I'm going to get rid of the enclosure and let him start free roaming 100% starting next month. I would like to do it now, but I'm going to be at Burning Man for the last week of this month and I'm scared my tegu-sitter is going to step on him.


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 22, 2012)

This is my 4 week update on Mac. He is 7 weeks old now and just broke 14 inches.

He has been free roaming since friday afternoon, so almost a week straight now. He knows where his basking spot is, and will spend most of the day there. He takes lots of little breaks to go explore the rest of the house and play with the bathroom drain cover (one of his favorite things to do.)

He has been sleeping on the couch every night. He still can't climb up it by himself, but he tries. He can climb up my all my beanbag chairs though, and he will do that a few times every day.


Mac returning to his basking spot after some exploring:
[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3H5yEonHOo&feature=plcp[/video]


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## chitodadon (Aug 22, 2012)

Great job with taming only if Zeus was like that

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2


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## Murkve (Aug 22, 2012)

Is he still skittish when the big hands come after him, or with fast movements?

If not, tell us your secrets!


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## Steven. (Aug 22, 2012)

^ i second that. I would love to know the secrets. My guy dashes around the tank when someone walks in the room...lol

sent from my phone to your eyes


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## Murkve (Aug 22, 2012)

I just noticed that picture of the frozen food. Made me chortle!

I think my wife would kill me if I filled our freezer with all of those... specimens.


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## Kasmut (Aug 22, 2012)

Wow what a cute little boy you've got! Like I said in another thread somewhere I am so jealous of how tame he is. I hope soon i'll be able to let my gu roam around as he pleases too


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 22, 2012)

Hands are no problem. He learned quickly that hands take him out of his cage, so now anyone's hand is cool, even strangers. I make sure that any hands going near him are only to help him with whatever he wants, so there is no negative association with them. I made the whole house tegu-safe before I got him so that I never needed to catch him quickly to save him from something.. even if it took a while, I could always wait until he was slowly cornered somewhere that he would have to walk up onto my hands.

Fast movements are usually fine now also. If he is somewhere familiar its no problem at all. He is rarely in his enclosure now, but if he is, any movement at all makes him run up to the front and look up into the air waiting to be taken out. On the couch he is very comfortable because thats where he sleeps and we spend most our time with him, and nothing freaks him out there. There are a few rooms he isnt familiar with, and you can tell that he looks a little nervous/cautious when he is exploring those. Fast movements in those unfamiliar places make him take cover... but if I just give him 30 seconds and move over slowly to let him lick me, everything is fine again.

I think the biggest secret is to spend as much time as you can with him, and do the opposite of what you would do If you were interested in eating him. If he freaks out when you come in the room, try spending a lot of time in the room but don't even look at him. Eventually he won't freak out when you look at him, but he will stay alert and looking at you just in case. If you close your eyes now, eventually he will relax and close his eyes. If you are searching for him in your couch cushions, when you eventually find him, put the cushion back for 20 seconds and let him realize you are there but not dangerous first, then remove it and pick him up. Little things like that.


Unrelated eating update:
I've been trying to get him to take fuzzies. He's eaten a few, but he will always eat pinky mice and pinky rats until he looks like hes gonna pop. I put in a fuzzy in this morning that he refuses to touch, even when played with it. I poked some holes in it to get some good scent out, and still no interest. So I finally busted into that hare-today order and tried some ground pheasant meat/bones/organs, and he charged it and gobbled it down. the fuzzy is still sitting there untouched.
[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT6GE8vaVW4&feature=plcp[/video]

This is good example of how I interact with him while he is free roaming.



Awesome news, 30 seconds hot off the presses... While I was typing this post, Mac left his basking spot, walked over to the couch and climbed up all by himself for the first time. Hes laying down behind my back right now. He's been trying to climb the couch for days but has never been able to get a good grip until now.


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## Logie_Bear (Aug 22, 2012)

That is just too darn cool. I'll have to tegu-proof my reptile room and start letting Esmeralda free-roam some more. Mac is one wickedly cool gu. I really enjoy your update videos of him.


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 23, 2012)

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD0GR1KGZ5I[/video]

Last night Mac climbed into my pant leg and fell asleep. When I later went to sleep, I didn't want to kick him out of the pants so I took them off and let him keep them. This is him this morning still hanging out in the pants, not quite ready to wake up completely.


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## chitodadon (Aug 23, 2012)

Lol wow how did u get him so tamed so.early good job

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2


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## Murkve (Aug 23, 2012)

Ha! Sig has climbed in my pants before. Not the greatest feeling in the world.


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 23, 2012)

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VukKwW9zBuw[/video]

So hes awake and out of the pants now. He just took a few bites of ground rabbit. Yesterday he ate a ton of ground pheasant, so I have high hopes for all these whole ground animals I got from hare-today.com

When I figure out what his favorites are I'm going to start mixing all those up together and adding fruit to that staple mixture.

I still have ground quail, duck, goose, llama (yeah, thats right... ground llama), & salmon left to try. He LOVED the pheasant yesterday.


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 23, 2012)

I bought a bunch of dog toys for Mac that he has shown zero interest in. Still loves the bathroom drain cover and my fish nets over by the aquarium. He was dragging one of the nets around for a few min so I grabbed my camera to get some of it, but he had just finished. So instead I turned it into a short vid on him coming when I call his name.

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s1kXv7P4IQ[/video]


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 23, 2012)

He ended up eating a bunch more rabbit after I broke that big chunk into smaller bite sized pieces. I busted out some ground duck meat/bones/organs later and put it down by the leftover rabbit. He gobbled down a bunch of the duck also but didn't touch the rabbit anymore. Not sure if he prefers the duck, or if the rabbit was just too cooked now from sitting out all day. I'm going to do a side by side taste test of all the animals as soon as hes had a proper meal of each first.


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 23, 2012)

[attachment=4883]

He is just a tad bit short of 15 inches at 7.5 weeks old.
Just found Mac taking a nap under the beanbag chair, so I shot a vid of how calm he is even if you disturb his naping.

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLRAh9SH7ak[/video]


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## aambumann (Aug 23, 2012)

Hi Todeyius- I received Quincy Magu ( Mr. Magoo ) the exact same day from Ty as well. Great guy. Maybe they are brothers? Quincy will let me put my hand in his cage and slowly lay it next to him, or just lay there when I am doing cage maintanence. He will let me pet the middle of his back, and kind of raise up as if you were petting a cat. Occasionally he will crawl on my hand and try to use my arm as a ladder to get out of his tank. He does not care to be picked up or have his head and tail touched yet. I have not tried the free roam yet. I did try putting him in the bath tub, he did not seem too keen on that yet either. He gets up around 6 am and most of the time he is back in bed before I get home from work, 4 pm, past couple of days he has been up when I got home. When he is I try to feed him for the second time that day, otherwise I feed him before I leave the house in the morning. He loves his basking spot, that is usually where i find him when he is up when I get home. His water bowl usually is filled with mulch, like he had a party while I was gone. I gave him some chicken liver today when I got home for the first time. He seemed to really enjoy it. Tommorrow's breakfast will consist of scrambled eggs and mixed vegetable baby food, I think, both are first attempt food items, and some chicken liver. Thanks for listening (reading) Good Luck with Mac.


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 23, 2012)

aambumann said:


> Hi Todeyius- I received Quincy Magu ( Mr. Magoo ) the exact same day from Ty as well. Great guy. Maybe they are brothers? Quincy will let me put my hand in his cage and slowly lay it next to him, or just lay there when I am doing cage maintanence. He will let me pet the middle of his back, and kind of raise up as if you were petting a cat. Occasionally he will crawl on my hand and try to use my arm as a ladder to get out of his tank. He does not care to be picked up or have his head and tail touched yet. I have not tried the free roam yet. I did try putting him in the bath tub, he did not seem too keen on that yet either. He gets up around 6 am and most of the time he is back in bed before I get home from work, 4 pm, past couple of days he has been up when I got home. When he is I try to feed him for the second time that day, otherwise I feed him before I leave the house in the morning. He loves his basking spot, that is usually where i find him when he is up when I get home. His water bowl usually is filled with mulch, like he had a party while I was gone. I gave him some chicken liver today when I got home for the first time. He seemed to really enjoy it. Tommorrow's breakfast will consist of scrambled eggs and mixed vegetable baby food, I think, both are first attempt food items, and some chicken liver. Thanks for listening (reading) Good Luck with Mac.



Awesome. When I spoke to Ty he only had a couple reds left and I think they were all the same clutch. Looks like we are extended fam now. =) Mac still hates his baths too, so it must run in the family.

Sounds like you are taking the right approach and he's turning out nicely. Once they are trying to climb up your arm to get out, the hardest part is over... it goes must faster from there. If you let him climb up more often he will start to see you as very useful. Eventually he will be clawing at the enclosure when you walk by because he wants you to stick your hand it to let him climb out.


Mac climbed up the couch today all by himself for the second time now. Its definitely gonna become a new habit of his. The first time, he left his basking spot to come over and join me on the couch. This second time, he had already climbed a beanbag chair on the opposite side of the room and was sleeping there, but about an hour later he startled me by snuggling up into my arm on the couch. He sure gets around.


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 24, 2012)

Quick clip of how chill Mac is now, even if I go next to him and yell "BOO!"

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5yoOv-ec_0[/video]


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 24, 2012)

*[Video] MacGyver follows me around*

This is how MacGyver follows me around now when he wants to take a nap in my pants.

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RINqNhfNmIA[/video]

There is also a failed couch climbing event at the end. He has still only made it up the couch twice, but he tries many times a day.


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 24, 2012)

This is how chill mac is if I wake him up at 1am for a petting video.

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHn_8-unsYE[/video]


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## Scott Hogge (Aug 25, 2012)

Cute little MacGyver yawn clip

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElyYuBkSaTQ[/video]


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## Scott Hogge (Sep 4, 2012)

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38dmE_L2BQM[/video]

I got home from Burning Man yesterday to find that Mac had grown more than an inch in the 5 days I was gone. He's about 18 inches now. He has no problem climbing the couch at all anymore, and now climbs it multiple times every day and sleeps there every night.

I had planned to keep him in the enclosure while I was gone, but having been 100% free roaming for so long now he refused. Within a few hours of me leaving he had already figured out how to climb back out, so the tegu-sitter just let him continue free roaming. Other than that he gave the tegu-sitter no trouble. The tegu-sitter said it took him a few hours to get used to him, but he just backed off and gave Mac his space, and by the end of it they were best buds.


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 4, 2012)

Mac is just too darn cute! I love the yawning vid. <3 Also, I'm so jealous you went to burning man. It's one of my life goals to get out there .


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## nbmiller59 (Sep 4, 2012)

I have read and watched all this and it makes me want my b&w even more! He is crazy cute and amazing only ? I have is how do u deal with his messes he leaves behind ?


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## Scott Hogge (Sep 5, 2012)

nbmiller59 said:


> I have read and watched all this and it makes me want my b&w even more! He is crazy cute and amazing only ? I have is how do u deal with his messes he leaves behind ?



Right now I have a bunch of paper towels all around the house covering up all tegu turds on the rugs that I found when I got back so that they dont get stepped on and rubbed in. I have a mini steam cleaner (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Y3AA2S/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00) arriving today so I can finally give them a good wash.

So far I have yet to get him to poop in his bath. I don't think bath pooping is gonna work though because he eats all day long and poops multiple times, and I can't give him that many baths. I'm thinking about getting some kind of heated & filtered/drainable pond so he can climb in himself and learn to go there.


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## Scott Hogge (Sep 6, 2012)

That mini steam cleaner (BISSELL Spotbot Pet Handsfree Spot and Stain Cleaner with Deep Reach Technology) arrived yesterday and is working out great. It is automated, so u just set it over the spot, press, a button, walk away, and a few minutes later it beeps to let you know its done.

All my tegu turd spots are all cleaned up now. I'm still trying to get Mac to go during his bath, but he is still refusing. I've been giving him a couple baths a day trying to line one up with one of his turds (he goes about 3 times a day on avg because he eats constantly throughout the day)

This will work for now though. I just let the turd dry so I don't end up pushing it deeper into the carpet... wait a few hours... pick it up with a paper towel, and then drop that bissel on the spot.


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## Scott Hogge (Sep 6, 2012)

This was Mac's lunch today: 15 superworms and 2 fuzzies. I hand fed him most of them. 

He doesn't have any problems with food agression because he spends so much time with us and is like part of the family.

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NLHISrqccM[/video]


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## nbmiller59 (Sep 6, 2012)

That's great that it works but stinks how he won't go at bathtime. What stinks more is i don't think i will be able to get my tegu for awile cuz of it getting to be fall.


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 6, 2012)

How warm is the water when you put him in the bath? Ezzy only likes to poo in the tub when its really warm water. I turn it on and put my feet in the tub to make sure its really warm but not *hot* and she's pood in there everyday since I got her.


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## Scott Hogge (Sep 7, 2012)

Logie_Bear said:


> How warm is the water when you put him in the bath? Ezzy only likes to poo in the tub when its really warm water. I turn it on and put my feet in the tub to make sure its really warm but not *hot* and she's pood in there everyday since I got her.



The bath starts off at about 100degrees but cools to 90ish after a few minutes. Today I took him out of the couch cousions and into the bath right away, before he had time to bask at all and get active. He's calmer today (not trying to constantly jump out), but its been about 15 minutes and still no turds =/


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## Scott Hogge (Sep 7, 2012)

2 baths today and I finally got him to poop during his 2pm bath! woot! poop!


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 7, 2012)

If he has a fave treat try giving him one after every successful bathtime poop. That's how we potty trained our iguana back in the day. (who LOVED strawberries


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## HeatherN (Sep 7, 2012)

i think im in love with mac! im moving to my new apartment, and id like to have the same freeroaming setup as you do. any tips on tegu-proofing? do you just leave his food out in a bowl? howd did you get him to come to his name? i hope Tarot can calm down like that. hes a nervous nellie, but i have a feeling if he has some time in an environment like mac's, hed learn, albeit slowly. do you know how long he is now?


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## Scott Hogge (Sep 7, 2012)

When he gets a little taller I am planning on using a bowl for his food, but right now im just setting it on paper towels/cardboard on the floor so that he can see the actual food at eye level from a distance.

As for tegu proofing... lots and lots of duct tape over any places he could crawl into... a few layers thick. The trickest spots are going to be in the kitchen around the appliances. Crawl around every wall in the apartment and seal anything big enough for a cricket to crawl through. Open up any closets or cabinets and check those also, sometimes they have weird openings into the wall or under something that you would not expect to find there.

Once you finish sealing all death traps around the perimeter, start blocking off things that are not the end of the world if he gets in/under, but make it difficult to get to him. You can do this phase as you go along if you notice something being a problem. It was impossible to get Mac out from under the couch without scaring him, so I just taped some cardboard to the bottom of the couch & the floor to seal off the area under it. Once he is big enough that he can't fit under the couch I will remove that. I also installed plastic door sweeps on all closet doors so I could be sure he didn't slide under the door. All the closets are also safe, but it is just easier to find him if you can rule out more places to look quickly. The more things you block off, the less time you spend freaking out trying to find him & asking yourself if you really sealed everything off completely. I can pretty much always find Mac in under 2 minutes even though he roams the entire downstairs floor of our place.

So the short answer:
1) seal any holes in walls, cabinets, closets & around kitchen appliances.
2) block off places that make it hard to look for/get him, such as under couches & behind bookcases

I also put plastic outlet plugs in all open electric outlets, especially ones on the floor in power-strips... they get warm and tegus like to lay over them

MacGyver is about 18 inches now and getting more red every shed. We talk to him a lot so I think he recognizes our voices.


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## nbmiller59 (Sep 8, 2012)

I just ordered a extreme male from bobby he had left over cuz some one backed out. He said its 4 weeks old. Im paying today ships Monday should get it Tuesday. Hope every thing goes as well for me as they did for you.


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## BatGirl1 (Sep 8, 2012)

You are getting an extreme from Bobby on tuesday? And you just ordered it? Why,then,is everyone else waiting for tegus that deposits were made on months ago? I don't get it...

Sent from my ZTE-Z990G using Tapatalk 2


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## larissalurid (Sep 8, 2012)

BatGirl1 said:


> You are getting an extreme from Bobby on tuesday? And you just ordered it? Why,then,is everyone else waiting for tegus that deposits were made on months ago? I don't get it...
> 
> Sent from my ZTE-Z990G using Tapatalk 2



I don't see exactly how this person would get theirs before the people waiting, but I do know that many people pull out of their orders leaving extras available. I was originally going to get a reg argentine, but last minute i asked him if any extremes were available (although i dont count into the ppl who just ask and get one, mine was reserved almost a year ahead of time) and he said yes and how people do things like how one person ordered 5 then all the sudden decided they didnt want any. So i can see how more are available, just not how this person would get theirs before those on the waiting list.


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## Scott Hogge (Sep 8, 2012)

Its a scam. He doesn't bother to keep real ordered lists anyway because he is only going to ship 5% of orders placed. He writes orders on sticky notes or something and puts them up on his wall of victims. One of the first times I called him he couldn't even find my order.


I got MacGyver from Ty... whole thing took 4 days. Damn Bobby Hill for being such a scamartist that the discussion has overflowed into MacGyver's official thread! Damn him to hell!
MacGyver's late breakfast today:

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8rD-CooQvw&feature=plcp[/video]
Screwed that one up and posted the wrong video.. board post-combining logic won't let me edit it because the first post is older than 10 minutes old now =/

Correct breakfast video: 
[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mztTXVc5fac[/video]


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## nbmiller59 (Sep 8, 2012)

Some or backed out of two extremes and in getting th male. He said it is 4 weeks old. Should ship Monday but if u guys are right ima shoot my self...$350... i guess i will just have to weight an see. I asked for b&w but all he has left are the 2 extremes and some all Americans. He said i can pre order for next year or if i want one of the left overs...if i get ripped off... sorry i brought this on your amazing tegus page...


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## Scott Hogge (Sep 9, 2012)

I have some good news and some bad news with respect to MacGyver's intelligence & pooping.

The good news is, he knows I don't want him pooping on the rugs or on the couch.

The bad news is, he knows I don't want him pooping on the rugs or on the couch.


He has the bath pooping down finally, but he is now using his 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th poops of the day as a negotiating tactic against me.

Last night he pooped on me, and on the couch, 3 times within an hour to try get me to leave him alone and let him sleep. He would crawl under a cushion, and a few minutes later I would take him out for petting. 5 minutes later he would walk away, and right before going back into the couch, he would let a little turd out, just like a little 'byebye *******' statement.

Today, a few hours after he had already pooped in his bath, he was walking around on the rug. I walked over to him, he looked up with with sneaky look in his eye, and proceeded to try and poop faster than I could move in. I got him up before anything came out and put him in the bath for a second time. He then waited about 10 minutes before finally letting something out.

He is super smart and I'm convinced he knows what he is doing.

His intelligence has made some other training very easy though. He used to go pick any random thing in the house to sleep under during the day. I wanted him to stay close and sleep somewhere I could easily see him. For the past couple weeks, any time he has crawled under random things to sleep, I have taken him out and put him back under his basking light... except when he sleeps under the ottoman by my couch. He has completely learned that even though its an open space I could easily pick him up if i wanted to, I won't. Now he kind of rubs it in my face thats its a human free zone. Sometimes when he doesn't want to be picked up, he will quickly walk under the ottoman, turn around, and stick his head and half his body out to watch & tease me.


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## aambumann (Sep 10, 2012)

Hi Mac , your package has been shipped and lunch is on the way, bon appétit.


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## MacGyver (Sep 10, 2012)

aambumann said:


> Hi Mac , your package has been shipped and lunch is on the way, bon appétit.



Best way to follow a food post is with a Poop video! 

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmXKMndZIuk&feature=plcp[/video]


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## MacGyver (Sep 12, 2012)

Food delivery from aambumann just arrived!

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icsp_k_N2Es[/video]


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## bmx3000max (Sep 12, 2012)

latest feeding video @ http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5ePfJMoj10 [video=youtube]www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5ePfJMoj10 [/video]
Its mcgyver evryone. Latest update, since tydiouse is not here


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## chitodadon (Sep 13, 2012)

Y he not here and how will we contact him

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2


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## TeguBuzz (Sep 13, 2012)

Great thread Todey. Mac is looking superb, definitely going to sub to you on YouTube, you got some pretty nice vids. Makes me wish I still kept tegus, you should check out my cayman hybrid iguana if you're at all interested in rock iguanas. Take care bro.


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## bmx3000max (Sep 13, 2012)

I belive the email stil works, how he contacted me.


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## TeguBuzz (Sep 16, 2012)

Thought I'd post the latest vid on Mac. Link is below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqG2GVIZnzs


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## ReptileGuy (Sep 18, 2012)

Was asked to post this for Todeyius........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GebuPDK_TOg


It truly is an AMAZING video!! Must have taken him a lot of work!


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## chitodadon (Sep 18, 2012)

Yea I wish they let him back

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2


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## BatGirl1 (Sep 18, 2012)

*Re: RE: MacGyver's Official Thread (Pics, Vids & Taming Stories)*



ReptileGuy said:


> Was asked to post this for Todeyius........
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GebuPDK_TOg
> 
> ...





Omg so cute!!! :heart:

Sent from my ZTE-Z990G using Tapatalk 2


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## ReptileGuy (Sep 18, 2012)

BatGirl1 said:


> ReptileGuy said:
> 
> 
> > Was asked to post this for Todeyius........
> ...





lol ikr! I have already watched it at least 4 times


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## Steven. (Sep 18, 2012)

Man, if my parents say this video they would tell me even lizards are smarter than i am because i never pick up when they call lol..


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## chitodadon (Sep 18, 2012)

Lol

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## ReptileGuy (Sep 18, 2012)

Steven. said:


> Man, if my parents say this video they would tell me even lizards are smarter than i am because i never pick up when they call lol..



LOL


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## BatGirl1 (Sep 18, 2012)

I've been saying "niles " (my tegus name) constantly to him.when I open his tank and when holding him, in hopes that as an adult he'll respond to my voice and his name.
.I guess the video shows I may not have to wait for adulthood if I am consistant! 

Sent from my ZTE-Z990G using Tapatalk 2


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## chitodadon (Sep 26, 2012)

This is MacGyver's lasted movie

http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php? tid=12145&page=5 http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=42ssmaEES9s&feature=plcp 

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42ssmaEES9s

This is the right link 

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2


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## BatGirl1 (Sep 26, 2012)

Extremely sweet :heart:

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## TheTeguArmy (Sep 27, 2012)

chitodadon said:


> This is MacGyver's lasted movie
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42ssmaEES9s
> 
> ...



Amazing. Absolutely amazing.


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## Dyna Bob (Sep 27, 2012)

Wow !! Can't wait to get me a red next year!!! That is awesome!


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## tegus4life (Sep 27, 2012)

Oh my gosh! That's so freaking cute!!!! He's awesome


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## TeguInsanity (Dec 1, 2012)

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds8ugYwhupc&list=PL059B56FDB5DF78D8&index=1&feature=plcp[/video]

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRrp39Izs6o&list=PL059B56FDB5DF78D8&index=3&feature=plcp[/video]

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8qWxUyZzYw&list=PL059B56FDB5DF78D8&index=2&feature=plcp[/video]

We want more MacGyver!


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## SomethingTegu (Dec 2, 2012)

Macgyver's the tamest tegu I have ever seen. How did you do it?


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## TeguInsanity (Dec 2, 2012)

SomethingTegu said:


> Macgyver's the tamest tegu I have ever seen. How did you do it?



Todeyius is still banned for telling people Varnyard is a scam... u gotta ask him on YouTube. I just pasted up the latest links cause he asked me to.


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## SomethingTegu (Dec 2, 2012)

Oh... too bad. Is there any way he can get unbanned? Seems to be a quality tegu owner, maybe we could learn something from having him here.


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## Deac77 (Dec 2, 2012)

He's awesome love watching macs vids


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## laurarfl (Dec 2, 2012)

He is not banned for telling people Varnyard is a scam. He was banned for disrespectful behavior after being warned. He was given a temporary ban then created false accounts to get around the ban. There is more involved, but not everything is appropriate to disclose.

He seems to be convinced that this forum is part of the scam associated with Bobby Hill. Absolutely not true. I edited a few of his posts back when things became heated. I didn't want to give Bobby any ammunition to accuse Josh or any TT members of harassment, slander, etc. I will always stand behind that decision.


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## SomethingTegu (Dec 2, 2012)

Well that's nice. Guess I will have to talk to him on YT and the other forum.


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