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Baby tegu doesnt eat enough/huffing when handling

Joshua Wu

New Member
Messages
19
Ive had rex for about 1-2 months now, he has grown 8-9 grams. he only eats every 2-3 days, and if so his food selection is very little, he only eats meal worms and crickets, ive seen him eat a bit of turkey but that was after week of not eating anything.

i have been handling hikm regularly
Sometimes when i suddenly touch him in flinches and tail whips, he also starts huffing and braething heavily, but never bites or opened his mouth
but after a few minutes he is normal, but he doesnt like me - doesnt clijmb onto my hand like other tegus

any tips on taming/making him like me

how do i get him to eat more? his body fits in my hand, he isnt eating enough!

btw temps are max 45 celcius
thanks
 

Joshua Wu

New Member
Messages
19
And 45 degrees is mesured with a temp gun on the basking spot? If the ambient air temp is 45 degrees it is much to hot

Could u post a picture of him
 

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Bram040

New Member
Messages
26
Location
Eindhoven, netherlands
Well its a beauty, she doesnt look realy skinny or anything to me. I wouldnt worry about it to much.
Most om them i think prefere bugs over other things when they are little. Maybe try some eggs, raw egg can be a mess so feed it on a towel or something. Not on substrate as he will wipe his mouth on at afterwards and he will be coverd with sticky sand :p.
Mine also loves pinky mouse, i mostly feed him those about 4 sometimes 5 when there realy small

As of taming im still struggeling with my colombian wich is about the same size as yours now, so im not the right one to answer that.
But remember they have different personalitys just like people. Some will always behave differently then others
 

Adramelec

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
11
Hey :)
40-50°C seems a bit high for me.. my Boy does'nt like it that hot.. max 36°.
As to the handling, he too does'nt wanted to be touched as he was in this age, he was very aggressive and wanted to bite everything.
The old T-shirt i put in his Space was shredded ;)
Try to comfort him, sit and do nothing ( over weeks), eventually he will come when he sense that you are no Danger to him, but be alert, he maybe try to bite.
Raw Eggs are always good, you could try to mix it with some meat. Otherwise many Insects like Worms, Crickets and Cockroaches.
 

Mamasaurus

Member
Messages
39
Location
Pennsylvania
Went through the same with my boy. It's the new place and also rough time of year to get started. He still huffs sometimes but has never been mean. It takes a long time to actually want you. They tolerate us at least lol. He eats way more now but it took time. Also it is brumating season so he barely eats of at all for 6-7 months. If temps are good just keep trying new things. Mine adores reptilinks and fruits
 

Joshua Wu

New Member
Messages
19
Ik
Hey :)
40-50°C seems a bit high for me.. my Boy does'nt like it that hot.. max 36°.
As to the handling, he too does'nt wanted to be touched as he was in this age, he was very aggressive and wanted to bite everything.
The old T-shirt i put in his Space was shredded ;)
Try to comfort him, sit and do nothing ( over weeks), eventually he will come when he sense that you are no Danger to him, but be alert, he maybe try to bite.
Raw Eggs are always good, you could try to mix it with some meat. Otherwise many Insects like Worms, Crickets and Cockroaches.
I'm not sure how I can reduce the temperature, I have a uvb and uva bulb, another uvb lamp, and a halogen bulb for warmth.

And for the taming, he has only bitten me once when did something dumb and tried to hand feed him a cricket. Other than that he has never opened his mouth aggressively. He does not seem that scared but he does sometimes jump when I sneeze or cough. I think he isn't afraid of me but my goal is to make him like me. Like some videos where their tegu just climbs up the owners arm.

As for eggs I've tried boiled, scrambled, and raw. He didn't even look at it.
 

AlphaAlpha

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
5 Year Member
Messages
1,022
the trust should come in time and hopefully you will get him tamed just how you want him in time but don't hold your breath just incase cause some tegus are stubborn lol
 

Rusty7486

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
13
I had this problem a bit when I first got mine. He would never eat insects of any kind. Still won't after 2 years lol.

He is still a picky eater with anything that isn't whole prey or soft boiled eggs. Egg yolk is like crack to him. He won't touch fruits or veggies of any kind. His highness expects better than that, so I have to trick him [emoji16]

What I did, and still do, is make meatballs. Here is my recipe if you want to try it. He still gets mostly whole prey but when he needs fruit this is how he gets it.

Ground turkey (no hormones or antibiotics, the good ****)
Collard greens
Mustard greens
Papaya
Mango
Blackberries
Beef or chicken liver
Wild caught salmon (never buy farmed fish)
Chicken gizzard and hearts.
Salmon/cod liver oil

First, I run everything that needs to be chopped up through my food processor and just dump all that in one bowl.

Slice up all the salmon into portions, as well as the liver. (GROSS!)

Take vitamin and calcium powder with d3 and spread all over the ground turkey.

Mix everything together except for the salmon and liver.

Divide the mixture into portions. Place each portion in a freezer bag, along with a piece of liver and salmon. Repeat until there's nothing left and throw all the bags in the freezer.

You can get cod liver oil pills, break them open and drizzle on top of the meatball. The scent tends to get their interest.

Anyway good luck!

Sent from my SM-T380 using Tapatalk
 

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