# tegu problem



## pauljr456 (Nov 3, 2012)

I got my tegu today he was acting really good but when i pet his head he lifts it up and when i pet his back he arches it idk what that behavior is but anyway my main concern is that he got settled in his enclosure and now when i open the door and put my hand in he charges at me and i dont want that can anyone give me advice to whats going on the guy i got him from said he was under for about 3 days so im thinking hibernation but yet now hes up also hes about a year if that helps and hes 2' long


----------



## Deac77 (Nov 3, 2012)

Your tegu is stressed leave him be for a week or 2 just offer food and water and let him settle he should come around


----------



## pauljr456 (Nov 3, 2012)

i dont want to feed him in the enclosure


whats the back arching behaviour though and how am i gonna be able to feed him


----------



## TegusRawsome80 (Nov 3, 2012)

Feed him in the enclosure for a week or two as to reduce stress. It's what's best for the animal. If you don't want to then you could forcibly remove him, put him in a tub with the food and hope he eats but I would suggest switching to tub feeding AFTER he has time to adjust.


----------



## pauljr456 (Nov 3, 2012)

well he ate today no problem out of the enclosure but if its gonna stop him from charging to bite me then i guess thats what ima have to resort to


----------



## Deac77 (Nov 3, 2012)

I agree feed in the enclosure for now the back arching is a defensive display he's freaking out


----------



## pauljr456 (Nov 3, 2012)

i cant put my hand in there without him charging at me


----------



## Deac77 (Nov 3, 2012)

Just only mess with him for feeding and leave him alone


----------



## pauljr456 (Nov 3, 2012)

if i open the door hes fine he watches everything as soon as he sees my hand or even my finger go into the door he charges at me super fast


----------



## Deac77 (Nov 3, 2012)

Like I said lean him be for 2 weeks


Like I said lean him be for 2 weeks


----------



## pauljr456 (Nov 3, 2012)

okay just stressful first tegu eveR and he was fine earlyier i dont get it


----------



## Deac77 (Nov 3, 2012)

He was stressed earlier he's still stressed but more defensive


----------



## pauljr456 (Nov 3, 2012)

okay so ow long you think before he stops wanting to kill me


----------



## Deac77 (Nov 4, 2012)

Just depends Kirby never came after me but then again he's still a baby and I have him 2 weeks to acclimate properly and he has the proper cage/diet requirements and that makes a big difference also your dealing with a highly intelligent reptile with its own personality they vary


----------



## Diablo (Nov 4, 2012)

As everyone has said before.....leave him be for a week or so. Yoshi at first wanted nothing to do with me. All I ever did for two weeks was open the cage to tong feed him or change the water. When I first put my hand in he gnawed on it until he realized he couldn't eat it. After that he has never tried biting me. He licks me all the time but never bites. Honestly I say stick your hand in and let him bite the hell out of you until he realizes he can't swallow you. After that he shouldn't anymore.


----------



## Dubya (Nov 4, 2012)

pauljr456 said:


> i cant put my hand in there without him charging at me



Do not feed him live food. He probably is used to chasing anything that moves. I feed mine inside the enclosure all the time and he is never aggressive. He only goes after the food dish, not my hands. If you feed him in the enclosure, get him used to seeing your hands doing other things such as changing his water dish, spot cleaning, cleaning off his basking spot, etc. When I put my hand on the floor of the cage, he just sniffs it and climbs up my arm. Once you start feeding dead feeders or raw meats, eventually, he should calm down. Alternately, you can immediately stop him from charging by just taking away his credit card.


----------



## pauljr456 (Nov 4, 2012)

well hes a year or so so how bad would the bite be i guess ima just have to suck it up and stick my hand in there


hes also never eaten live food


----------



## Dubya (Nov 4, 2012)

pauljr456 said:


> well hes a year or so so how bad would the bite be i guess ima just have to suck it up and stick my hand in there
> 
> 
> hes also never eaten live food





Chuck Norris would stick his hand in with an alligator and pull it out with a pair of alligator boots. Put on your chest wig and put your hand in there.


----------



## pauljr456 (Nov 4, 2012)

i dont wanna stress him out more


----------



## Dubya (Nov 4, 2012)

[attachment=5684]Just do it. Chuck Norris would.


----------



## Deac77 (Nov 4, 2012)

I don't agree that's a big tegu with large jaws I wouldn't let it bite me


----------



## pauljr456 (Nov 4, 2012)

i used gloves but i didnt put my hand in the fingers he went after it bit it then calmed down a bit i pet him with the glove on then i took him out i took off the gloves and he was fine but when he sees my hand with no glove in the enclosure he wants to kill me


----------



## Dubya (Nov 4, 2012)

pauljr456 said:


> i used gloves but i didnt put my hand in the fingers he went after it bit it then calmed down a bit i pet him with the glove on then i took him out i took off the gloves and he was fine but when he sees my hand with no glove in the enclosure he wants to kill me



First, George Patton would slap you for talk like that. That being said, did you get him just recently or did you raise him from a baby? I think that before you had him, he was fed live food inside the enclosure and was never handled. I think he is used to live prey just being dropped into his enclosure and then he chases it. That would cause the cage aggression. Try letting him climb out of the cage on his own and when he comes out, then handle him. Another thing could be that the previous owner fed him by hand and when the tegu started associating hands and fingers with food, he started going after fingers. Then the previous owner didn't know what to do, so he sold him to you. Now stop being a baby and put on your helmet and get in the game. Do like zee Dog Weesperer and be a calm, assertive pack leader. Make him calm submissive. Now get off the computer and get in there!


----------



## pauljr456 (Nov 6, 2012)

first off i did that so he would get used to hands and he will let me enter his enclosure with gloves no problem to do cleaning and stuff and yesturday after i fed him in his enclosure i let him be he charge at the glass calmed down i opend the cage and he just walked out straight to me i picked him up had him out for awhile then he **** on me lol but other than that i think hes making progress and i just got him hes about 2ft and hes a male


----------



## BatGirl1 (Nov 6, 2012)

I had a rat years ago that I could not remove from cage without gloves, but once out she was fine.also, my daughter's corn snake wants to strike when removing from tank or from feed tub...so I put a sock on my hand when moving from tank, and from feed tub I just wait until she crawls over the lip of the tub to get her. The reason I mention these things is because perhaps, like dubya suggested, he was fed in tank and not handled, so associates fingers with food. And also I believe some beasts are just more territorial,etc than others (ie my rat,etc) so you just need to find your happy medium with him.like whatever way you get him out, once out touch his head and face a lot to get him used to your fingers not being food...try different 'exercises ' with him to develop a calmer association with your hands...then maybe eventually he will act more docile around them.just suggestions. :sleepy:

Sent from my ZTE-Z990G using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Teg (Nov 10, 2012)

I'm not claiming to be an expert !! but what seemed to work with my situation .. It may sound silly though !! Was to clinch my fist and put it to rest next to Teg's basking spot but the clincher was I think ! when i was lying down next to the enclosure doing this and rather him and me staring each other out all nervous !! lol i closed my eyes and pretended to sleep with him for about 45 min ! well what a difference in his attitude !!! Not to mention i was peeking !! lol Give it a go ! Mind your fingers though, like I said clinch your fist !! Good luck ! Teg is about 3-4 months old got him 2 weeks ago, been out of enclosure 4 times for app 20 min each time and now interacting with family and children and loves to bet stroked ! I'm surprised really !?


----------



## DavidRosi (Nov 10, 2012)

I got my Colombian as a juvi and almost went down the gloved route... But kind of thought it'd be harder if he ever associated glove as friend and hand as foe...


----------

