B&w tegu, now double size after a month, still docile but timid....am I feeding wrong?

[GhostieRawr]

Every day I feed my tegu who I got as a hatchling , 3 times or even more a day. I visit him constantly throughout the day, petting him, feeding him, always feeding him as much as he will eat before removing him from enclosure.

What I do do, which may be wrong... before feeding him, I put my hand flat in front of his face, let him lick me, and than stroke his neck and back. No agression. Than I bring out the tongs and he loses his mind, I feed him super worms, meal worms, crickets, wax worms, pinkies, and fuzzies, I've tried ground Meats but he's not a fan, tho I won't stop trying. But those are his faves. After I've offered all the food he will take, I go back to showing him my bare hand. Let him lick me, then I pet him. He only ever seems to breath deeply, maybe huffing? No tail whipping. No biting. Nothing else. Am I lucky or doing this all right? Fight time tegu owner BTW and really threw myself in there .

 

[Walter1]

You're lucky to not have been bitten. Safest for him not to associate you with food.

 

[GhostieRawr]

Like I said , he seems to know the tongs are what always feeds him with. Because if I put the tongs down, he calms down. Has never followed my hands or fingers the way he will with the tongs.

My thought is, I'm always showing him my hands, than I stroke him , before I even feed him. No aggressive response. Soon as I get the tongs he perks up like he knows it's feeding time.

I always give him a petting after he's full. I'm trying to not associate my hands with food by using them to touch him gently with. Get him asociated with hands on attention.

 

[GhostieRawr]

I guess I'm just lucky than. He's starting to use my hands as a ramp to get over things in his enclosure, to skip around the water so he doesn't get wet and he climbs up my arm sometimes.

 

[Walter1]

Got it. Crazy for tongs? Alright then. Again, lose the tongs and place food apart from his watching. You have a good relationship forming with your tegu.

 

[GhostieRawr]

All I know is I absolutely adore him. He's been shedding like crazy and let me peel it off of him after his bath I gave him. Even when I accidentally tugged too hard and may have hurt him, he didn't do a thing. I pet him right after cause I felt bad, he twitched a little when I pulled the last chunk off him...

If there wasn't so much shedding skin on his legs I would have left him be, but it seemed to bother him as he walked...so I helped him out and now he's back to chasing the crickets. I mean he still would before but you could tell all the skin was scraping

 

[GhostieRawr]

My babyyyy

 

[Walter1]

My babyyyy

Good looking buddy.