Constant snake tailing

[TheMonsterMash]

Hey all.

Had our tegu for 3 months now, he’s about 8 months old, just over 2ft. taming is going okay ish. He free roams in an enclosed space will sit on us but huffs when stroked and seems fixed on skin at times (see my other post!) target trained. we have to go between gloved and no gloves depending on his mood, hates to be picked up so we don’t do that where possible (just let him walk over hands and things) sometimes I can pick him up and he’s fine.
But he snakes tails SO much, when he’s out. When he approaches us. When we pet him. Have we just got a grumpy tegu? will he grow out of this with time?
I feel like we’ve just been unlucky and not got one of the sweet and placid tegus you hear about. I know it’s early days.
We are being patient, he’s handled 1 hour a day every day, loads of progess in some ways but just feel a bit deflated about it all today.
Worried when he’s huge.

 

[king of tegus]

I have had success with tegus by repeating the same touching in same places over and over. I also pet the tegu's body length when its eating so it will associate pleasure (eating) with being touched. I also have --when they are ready- learned that I will place my fingertip in his/her armpits so she/he will love the warmth in an area that normally is sensitive and doesnt get touched. If a tegu (young) gets uppity; I cease and just let it walk on me; constantly talking in a calm voice and saying the same things; including its name. I slowly pet further down its tail as it gets accustomed to tail being touched. Takes time; remember they are not wired for 'affection' but my history is that argentine tegus will respond favorably with constant simple touch: graduating to more advanced touching when they a re more trusting. Its all about repetition and trust. Watch the BBC documentary "the man who swims with crocodiles" to see a human interaction( totally successful) with a 16 ft croc that he got when it was 3 ft long. The national geographic documetary is mesmerizing: No one has ever reached a level with a large reptile such as this. Its 45 minutes long and worth watching every second of it!

 

[TheMonsterMash]

Hey thank you so much!

I will check that doc out! It was a few months ago I posted that and he’s come on so much! It’s kinda handy to read that post so I can see how far he’s come.
We don’t get snake tailing anymore, I can fiddle with his feet and tail to pick off shed and can pick him out a lot of the time and never get whips or anything. He’s still a bit huffy but it’s never with a snake tail now, so seems to have dropped some level of defence around me. but way more accepting of me overall and does come to me by choice now and I can touch him loads more than before. Going to keep going and hopefully he will keep getting better