Biting at feet?

[Keiko_Blue]

My 3 year old tegu has formed a liking for biting our feet. Test biting, I believe. He isn’t aggressive when he does it… just wants to bite? I had made a post few years ago since I was having a similar problem, and the suggestions worked, though he has started again. Before, it was because I was feeding him in the same spot and every time I would walk past it, he would make it known he wanted food. Now, I have made adjustments to feeding him in different areas to avoid this problem. I read that the biting could be because he is still hungry, so I now feed him till he’s completely full. I feed him everyday (some days he doesnt want to eat much).

Today, he ignored his food and tried to nip at my feet. I kept redirecting him towards it, but continued to explore and tried to bite my toes when he found me again. I am assuming he is full, since yesterday I gave him some small thawed mice. Not sure why hes doing it.

Again, these seem like test bites. He doesnt charge at me, just starts to open his mouth to bite if hes close enough. I’ve resorted to keeping my shoes on in the house. Is it possible I am not giving him proper lighting? Is it because hes a male being sassy since he woke up from brumation? Should I adjust food/feeding? Looking for advice

added a pic of the stinker, keiko <3

 

[AnimalNerd]

My boy does this too and it is 100% because it is breeding season and he's feeling sassy lol. I've found that he is just crazy about socks so if I remove my socks he immediately loses interest in foot biting. If he's getting plenty to eat and all of his other needs are met it's most likely territorial/hormonal behavior. Another thing worth monitoring for is parasites: tegus bite/act up if they've got hitchhikers making them uncomfortable. Giving him something to 'chase' ( a wadded up paper towel I throw or one of those rubber balls with holes in it for dogs I put reptilinks in) has helped redirect the behavior as well.