Blue tegu aggression. Should I take him on?

[Lauraj10551]

I have been offered a 6 year old blue tegu for free, as I am told he is mean and hasn't been worked with in quite awhile. The guys life who has him now has changed and he has not had time for his tegu at all. He said he is 'always hungry' and very food aggressive. Said he will go after anything that moves.

So, my question is, will I be able to reverse this by feeding him as much as he wants in a sitting? I have whole ground prey, eggs, but no rodents.

I'm a little wary of taking him on, and having him be so mean I can't get near him.

Thoughts or experience with this?

This is a picture of him.

 

[RickyNo]

its going to be a long process but I think it can be done. but we're talking months and months of trust building if not more

 

[RickyNo]

if you care enough to give that little guy a good home and life then I say do it

 

[bfb345]

That lizard needs more food, I bet the meaness is solely linked to the food blues are supposed to be the easiest to tame

 

[Lauraj10551]

Thanks guys.. I will let you know.. If I get him, I will be getting him on Saturday next week.

 

[TegusRawsome80]

Blues are not supposed to be the easiest to tame. Never even heard that before. I really dislike when people with little experience offer up advice. In my experience, my blue has actually been the hardest of all my tegus to tame and I've kept Columbians, Argentine black and whites and reds, and blues. That being said that animal is underfed and hungry. You will likely be able to tame him down with relative ease once he's fed properly. If you can't, I'm sure you can find a good home for him where they won't care whether he's tame or not.

 

[bfb345]

Seriously I came back here offering help and your going to say that I have no experience and pick a fight seriously. Blue tegus are supposed to be the calmest, and yes I have experience to know this so please don't jump to conclusions and if your one tegu is harder than that doesn't mean on average the claim is false so thanks for your input. If you wouldn't mind describing to us what you are doing training wise for your blue and we can see why it is harder for you to tame.

 

[TegusRawsome80]

You've kept one tegu for a combined total of like a year. Maybe a year and a half. I've been keeping tegus for 8 years. Let's not start. I've raised 2 tegus, rehabbed a rescue, and have tamed down several adults that were previously not tame. Do show me a reliable tegu keeper who says blues tame down the easiest in general. And what experience do you have with blue tegus? Last time I checked you kept one tegu, a Chacoan, and you were having a bit of a rough time providing proper husbandry.

 

[Matthew Krzemienski]

To bring the convo back to the OP.....

Good luck if you decide to take on the challenge. Keep us updated!

Matt

 

[Deac77]

I agree with ransom in this, with a proper diet I bet he comes around quickly. Being as intelligent as these animals are I can't take long


Also I know the one gu you have is your first as well, you mentioned this when you first got him

 

[Lauraj10551]

I have decided against taking him on. I work daily with my blue tegu I received in August, and making sure he stays tame. After thinking a lot I decided that taking on a untamed adult male at this time is not a good idea. But thanks for the input.

 

[bfb345]

Either way was the right choice good job. Sorry about the spamming a bit didn't mean for it to spill over here.

 

[SnakeCharmr728]

Laura, if this blue needs somewhere to go where he can gain trust with humans I may be able to help. Let me know.

 

[TeguBuzz]

You made the right decision, hopefully this tegu ends up in proper care. Quite sad to see what its condition has come to in that owners care. To relay back on Brenden and Austin's posts, sorry but I'm inclined to.. Brenden, with all do respect, I have to agree with Austin on this one. I have kept all types of tegus over the course of the past 10 years and have realized blues are definitely the more difficult to tame in comparison to black and whites and reds. Not trying to stir up an argument but keep it cool bud, while your case may be different, others share the same experiences as Austin and I.

 

[Matthew Krzemienski]

I guess i just got lucky then...my two blues Ty are as sweet, gentle, friendly and cuddly as can be. Maybe its because of great husbandry and interaction (tooting my own horn...just kidding). I've never owned tegus before these two but im not a reptile novice and these have been the easiest of all to tame down. My gf and I dont do anything special except for interacting with them and handling them for 2-3 hours per day.

Matt

 

[TegusRawsome80]

^^^ You could tame down any animal if you spent 2-3 hours a day holding it. Just saying, that's quite a bit of time to spend taming down an animal. For example, you're spending about 15-20 hours a week holding them haha.

 

[Matthew Krzemienski]

I spend enough time working at my real job so when i get home i just like to relax with the gf and the gu's.

Matt

 

[TegusRawsome80]

Nothing wrong with that, simply saying that that's a ton of time.

 

[TeguBuzz]

Agreed.

 

[Lauraj10551]

Laura, if this blue needs somewhere to go where he can gain trust with humans I may be able to help. Let me know.

The person that has him is about 2 hours from me. I don't believe he wants to ship him though. I know he is giving him away for free because he doesn't have the time for him or the desire to work with him. I'm not sure where you are located.