We got our tegu (coco) just a few weeks ago, its still very young but its sooooo angry. Ive only been able to pet it a few times and it wont let me hold it without trying to tail whip and bite me. Just today it actually jumped a few feet with mouth wide open going for my face. Were kind of worried that getting a tegu was a bad idea. Do I just need to wait until its older to try and handle it, or is there something else I should try. Any help or suggestions would help, thank you.
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Angry Tegu
- Thread starter Aragorn
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What is your setup like? Size enclosure, temps, humidity? What are you feeding and how often? Where are you feeding? How long exactly have you had it and how long did you give it to settle in? How old is he?
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First off your tegu isnt angry its scared, imagine giant hands coming after you in a world were big things want to eat you, their behaviour is solely instinct at that age and he wants to survive, give him time to adjust, try wearing welding gloves and just mess around in his enclosure to allow him to get use to your hands eventually he will see that u arent a threat and will come around, trust me i have dealt with hatchling that were so mellow i could take them outside w/o a harness(not recommended with most hatchlings) and i have dealt with hatclings and younger tegus that were just the opposite but with time they all came around usually within a month or two, are you using an aquarium were he can see out of
First off your tegu isnt angry its scared, imagine giant hands coming after you in a world were big things want to eat you, their behaviour is solely instinct at that age and he wants to survive, give him time to adjust, try wearing welding gloves and just mess around in his enclosure to allow him to get use to your hands eventually he will see that u arent a threat and will come around, trust me i have dealt with hatchling that were so mellow i could take them outside w/o a harness(not recommended with most hatchlings) and i have dealt with hatclings and younger tegus that were just the opposite but with time they all came around usually within a month or two, are you using an aquarium were he can see out of
First off your tegu isnt angry its scared, imagine giant hands coming after you in a world were big things want to eat you, their behaviour is solely instinct at that age and he wants to survive, give him time to adjust, try wearing welding gloves and just mess around in his enclosure to allow him to get use to your hands eventually he will see that u arent a threat and will come around, trust me i have dealt with hatchling that were so mellow i could take them outside w/o a harness(not recommended with most hatchlings) and i have dealt with hatclings and younger tegus that were just the opposite but with time they all came around usually within a month or two, are you using an aquarium were he can see out of
With the size of cage and temperature and humidity, I'm not 100% sure. He has a basking spot that gets pretty warm. We have wooding chippings and he loves digging in them. But but other than that, a few rocks in the wood chips and a couple of sticks. We usually just feed him right in his cage, we put a few balls of ground turkey and try to put some fruit in it. We usually just leave it in the cage next to his water dish. What adjustments should we make?
Thank you reptastic, I do have hope!!! He is pretty young, like when we got him they said he was just a few days or weeks old. How long should I wait until Im able to handle him or am able to just let him wander around the house? I guess how long until he is really settled in?
Thank you reptastic, I do have hope!!! He is pretty young, like when we got him they said he was just a few days or weeks old. How long should I wait until Im able to handle him or am able to just let him wander around the house? I guess how long until he is really settled in?
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Do you have any pics of him, Does he still have a green head, give him 2-3 wks to adjust before handling,also something that came to mind was humidity, do you mist him i ask because my tegus would get a lil pissy when the humidity was too low for to long
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Aragorn said:
You need to make sure the temps and humidity are good because he could be trying to get out if its too hot or too cold. Get some digital thermometers (preferably with a probe). What are you using for UVB and heat? What type of "wood chippings" are you using? Can you measure the enclosure, is it a glass aquarium, does it have a screen top?
K I will get a thermometer probe thingy like you said. I have a humidifier right next to the cage, when I walk into the room, its like walking into a rain forest. The cage is a custom made cage with screen all around it. He doesn't have a green head anymore, but his head looks a little bit more white than a lot of the pictures I have seen. Should I mist the cage, or just continue with the humidifier? For heat I have one of those red bulbs and then a ceramic heater. The cage is 6x3x3. Im not sure what type the wood chippings are, there just like little cylinders of wood. Thanks again guys for all the help.
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Ditch the red bulb, you need some sort of UVB. Can you post some pictures of you setup? We could help alot more with some pics.
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The easiest way is go to photobucket.com and load your pictures there and than use that to post them here.
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You don't have to pay for photobucket
http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=5488#axzz1KnEX75dn
here is a post that tells you how to use photobucket
http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=5488#axzz1KnEX75dn
here is a post that tells you how to use photobucket
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Aragorn said:are you able to see a picture at all? man im an idiot with all these technical mumbo jumbo.
no picture. when you scroll over the picture some links should show up, right click the last one and copy. Then paste in your post on here.
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Please don't take offense, but that enclosure is wrong on every level. The mesh will not hold heat or humidity, could be ripped by your tegu, and could melt from the heat. You NEED to have UVB for him, whether you get a MVB or use the tube type bulbs, you NEED something. The substrate needs to be deep enough for him to burrow, I would say at least 4".
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Aragorn said:
Yes they will fit if you get a MVB (mercury vapor bulb). You should be able to get them at petsmart/petco. They will probably carry either the ZooMed PowerSun or ExoTerra SolarGlo. They are a little pricey, but definitley worth it.
Kebechet
New Member
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Aragorn said:
What you want, is a powersun bulb, or a SolarGlo. They provide light, heat, and UVB. UVB is important to your tegu because it allows them to process vitamin D3 which is important for calcium and bones. Your tegu can get MBD and die if they don't have UVB. Take a look at some of the enclosure designs around the forum to get a better idea of what you need for your tegu. A ceramic socket for your bulbs are needed. Also, the red light can be bad for your tegu's eyes.
it's entirely possible that your tegu is stressed and upset because it's not feeling well. It feels insecure and threatened because of the open cage (they need to feel secure, and need a solid opaque enclosure, with just the front having glass or plexi windows.
Heat is very important because it allows your tegu to digest its food. Basking temps should be around 115 degrees, and the lights should be within 12 inches of the basking spot.
You probably want to go with a 6x2x2 or 6x3x3 enclosure at your tegu's age.
I hope that helps.
