Attack Tegu

[Tkeller]

Ok so i've not had my Tegu that long about a week or so, when I first got it (not sure of its sex) it had no issues with me handling it, it would run for a second when I put my had in the enclosure, but eventually would let me pick it up. Today I went to pick it up and it bit me! Not hard just a nip, i pulled my hand back quickly and it went after it again, to which I chaulked up to it thinking the sudden movement was something to catch and eat. So I gave it a few minutes, dusted some crickets and let them go in its feeding tank and tried again, this time it smacked my with its tail. I decided to just leave it be, so an hour later i tried again, and was able to finally convince it to let me pick it up, after it ate it seemed fine so I returned it to its enclosure and did a few things around the house. I then tried to get it back out to allow it to spend some time getting use to me, and bang it bit me again. Now I guess there is a question here, is this a phase? its seemed so calm and laid back for the first few days, nothing bothered it, today it hates me :cry: any suggestions? I tried the T-shirt thing, it likes to lay on it, but how often should I change the shirt? all i have to say is thank god it has no teeth or i might have lost a finger...lol

 

[MIKE-ZILLA]

It could be getting cage aggressive.try a feeding bin, and dont let it see you with the food. also wash hands after handling food or other animals. as for the tail whipping i think it just wanted to be left alone. you may have been bothering it by trying over and over again to handle him/her. sounds about normal though, just give him/her some time alone but dont give up handling. if you start using a food bin your tegu will soon learn not to associate you and you hands with food. you could also stop feeding live prey.but i know its fun to watch a tegu chase down crickets.

 

[Tkeller]

I have fed him in a feeding bin since the start, but i do feed it crickets not because its cool to watch him pounce on them (which it is i admit)but because I thought it was all he would eat, but i fed it a frozen (then thawed) pinky and he had no issues eating it. I'm going to try to feed it nothing moving and see what happens, i just walked by its enclosure and he chased me from one end to the other and back again bumping his head on the glass like he wanted a piece of my hand as it went by, so I touched my finger to the glass and he tried to bite it. Am i feeding enough? he eats until his belly buldges, should i feed him until he stops eating? his bite doesn't hurt but i startles me and i pull away. My wife nicknames him CUJO today after he bit me for the second time!

 

[GOT_TEGUS]

I have fed him in a feeding bin since the start, but i do feed it crickets not because its cool to watch him pounce on them (which it is i admit)but because I thought it was all he would eat, but i fed it a frozen (then thawed) pinky and he had no issues eating it. I'm going to try to feed it nothing moving and see what happens, i just walked by its enclosure and he chased me from one end to the other and back again bumping his head on the glass like he wanted a piece of my hand as it went by, so I touched my finger to the glass and he tried to bite it. Am i feeding enough? he eats until his belly buldges, should i feed him until he stops eating? his bite doesn't hurt but i startles me and i pull away. My wife nicknames him CUJO today after he bit me for the second time!

welcome to tegu talk. only time and gentle handling your GU will learn to trust you. you can use gloves or the old shirt method the GU gets used to your scent and gentle encounters will become tame good luck Heres a link by bobby

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JD

 

[MIKE-ZILLA]

If hes chasing you and you hand as you walk by hes probably still hungry.I feed mine all she will eat during the summer months. if you want him to eat insects you could kill them and mix them into ground turkey. or mash up a soft boiled egg and stir the dead crickets in.

 

[Tkeller]

Ok so today I went to feed him and of course he bit me, so I decided to try a glove, and he was fine, he bit the glove slightly, then crawled right onto it and was calm as can be, I place him in his feeding bin and let him eat until he started to ignore his food ( I fed a mixture of scrambled eggs and ground Turkey) I tried a bare hand again to remove him from his feeding bin and no issues i held him for about an hour although he moved from hand to hand quite a bit and a few times climbed onto my shoulder, he never tried to bite me, and hiss or anything. At one point he even closed his eyes and sat still for about 10 minutes before he gave me the evil eye and started going from hand to hand again. Hopefully tomorrow he won't try to bite me when its feeding time, do you think I should use the glove again, or try bare hands, Its not painful because he is small, but my reflex is to jerk my hand away so now i flinch when he sticks his tongue out in the direction of my fingers, i'm scared that i'm going to make him skittish if i continue to react that way.

 

[Meg90]

Where did you get him from? Have you posted any pictures?

 

[MIKE-ZILLA]

he was fine, he bit the glove slightly, then crawled right onto it and was calm as can be, I place him in his feeding bin and let him eat until he started to ignore his food ( I fed a mixture of scrambled eggs and ground Turkey) I tried a bare hand again to remove him from his feeding bin and no issues i held him for about an hour although he moved from hand to hand quite a bit and a few times climbed onto my shoulder, he never tried to bite me, and hiss or anything. At one point he even closed his eyes and sat still for about 10 minutes before he gave me the evil eye and started going from hand to hand again. Hopefully tomorrow he won't try to bite me when its feeding time, do you think I should use the glove again, or try bare hands, Its not painful because he is small, but my reflex is to jerk my hand away so now i flinch when he sticks his tongue out in the direction of my fingers, i'm scared that i'm going to make him skittish if i continue to react that way.

thats great ! sounds like hes getting used to you. I always feed mine until he wont eat anymore. I use gloves because my gu never got real tame.tegus are smart, your tegu might even learn to associate the gloves with handling,which will reduce the chance of him biting you out of hunger.I think you should feed him plenty.and he should be growing and gaining weight. if he doesnt put on weight you should have him checked for parasites.

 

[Tkeller]

So it would seem I may have figured out where the biting was coming from. My wife bought berry scented antibacterial soap for me because she keeps saying i'm going to get salmonilla, (she is a little paranoid) and so to please her since there is no living with her if I don't pacify her sometimes, I used the soap. While it smells nice, i think it smells like food to my gu! I didn't use it to wash my hands yesterday at all, just used regular soap, and no biting at all, then later in the day my wife was standing behind me when I went to wash my hands so i used the fruity antibac soap, and then went to handle my gu, and he bit me. I then got the idea that maybe it was the soap, so i went back and washed my hands with the unscented soap I always used before, then tried again, my gu flicked his tongue at my hand and seemed confused for a second then came right to it, no bite, everything was fine. Just to make sure I was on the right track i washed my hands again with the scented soap and he bit me again! Case closed?? Needless to say i spilled the soap by mistake this morning, the whole bottle down the drain :yik

 

[mikecrowder23]

That's hilarious, i love it. That's great that you figured it out at this age and not when you had a 4' monster on your hands that could have done some real damamge. Well good luck with the rest of your adventures.

 

[mikecrowder23]

Oh and did you explain it to your wife, i don't use soap i just use the plain alcohol sanitizing squirt stuff. no washing required.

 

[Greenmanbacchus]

So it would seem I may have figured out where the biting was coming from. My wife bought berry scented antibacterial soap for me because she keeps saying i'm going to get salmonilla, (she is a little paranoid) and so to please her since there is no living with her if I don't pacify her sometimes, I used the soap. While it smells nice, i think it smells like food to my gu! I didn't use it to wash my hands yesterday at all, just used regular soap, and no biting at all, then later in the day my wife was standing behind me when I went to wash my hands so i used the fruity antibac soap, and then went to handle my gu, and he bit me. I then got the idea that maybe it was the soap, so i went back and washed my hands with the unscented soap I always used before, then tried again, my gu flicked his tongue at my hand and seemed confused for a second then came right to it, no bite, everything was fine. Just to make sure I was on the right track i washed my hands again with the scented soap and he bit me again! Case closed?? Needless to say i spilled the soap by mistake this morning, the whole bottle down the drain :yik

Hey TKeller It's good to have you here! Yep, case closed, I'd say. It's important to be mindful of how your hands smell....perhaps most especially while he's small and impressionable. Bear in mind too that the prey/feeding drive on young reptiles is frequently higher than in adults, as they have lttle by way of reserves and they're still physically growing. Defense mode ( tail-whipping, running, etc) is higher also....that's how tiny Tegus get to grow up to be big Tegus. Salmonella may be of some concern, and using any good antibacterial scrub will remove that issue. ( No fragrances LOL )
If he's bitten you and you jerked your hand out of his mouth, it's not a bad idea to keep half an eye on his mouth for a while as the trauma to his mouth could conceivably result in what's known as 'Mouth Rot'....frequently fatal if ignored, and easily treated and cured, esp when it's caught early.
Feeding bin: Yes. Non-live food: Yes. Gloves: If you don't really need gloves, I wouldn't wear 'em ( My opinion) It's easier to wash and 'odor-free' your hands than your gloves and a fruity-smelling glove is likely to be mistaken for food too. Hehehehe...whole new world, eh? Not to worry....it's all easy when you know how, and there's plenty of seasoned handlers here who are happy to answer any questions that you may have.
Good Luck! Keep us posted!

GMB

 

[Tkeller]

Thanks for all the advice guys, seems my little guy is shedding now, and has been great with me all day, even coming to my and now when i put it in his enclosure. I'm nervious about the shed, any advise? I hear horror stories about losing toes, and stuck skin! I'm keeping the humidity around 65 to 75%, and there is a huge water bowl in there which he seems to either soak in or just throw substrate in, i have seen him do neither, but the minute I clean his bowl out its dirty again 10 minutes later, he is like my kids great when i'm watching, but a terror when i'm not.

 

[4Horse]

For the shedding you can soak him in some slightly warm water every day for 10 to 20 minutes. Don't make the water too deep, he could possibly drown. I do this with my yearling when she's shedding and the dead skin comes off really well.

 

[MIKE-ZILLA]

Thanks for all the advice guys,

no problem, I just notice your location.Im right down the road from you in Raleigh/Durham.welcome to tegu talk.