clydeballthepython
New Member
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Hi guys, my tegu Gilbert keeps hitting and scratching at his door to be let out really early in the morning, before his lights have even come on. The first time he did this was around 6:15 and was shortly after daylight savings. I didn't let him out because tegus are smart and he'd keep doing it if it worked, but alas he has persisted anyway. Unfortunately he has also kept doing this earlier and earlier, waking me up around 5. I'm not really sure why he's doing this, as his light schedule didn't change (from his perspective) so the amount of light inside the house shouldn't be different or anything. I'm not sure why he's doing this or how to stop him, as he's staring to leave faint marks in the door paint, and I don't want him to get hurt.
Some extra info on Gilbert:
I got him as a rescue, so we aren't 100% sure his age or sex. The reptile rescue that we got him from estimated he was 3 and a male, which would make him 4 now. He's about 3 ft long and doest have the biggest jowls so I'm not super confident in that guess but oh well.
His "cage" is a small room connected to my bedroom and is 7.5x5.5 ft. While I can't make the humidity of the whole room high enough, he has both a large water bowl and a hide that I regularly mist inside filled with sphagnum moss. His old home didn't offer enough humidity so he has a few missing toes from shed problems, so I make sure to give him a few soaks when he's shedding.
His basking spot is about 115° F and his humidity hide has a dog heat mat that I set to 95° every morning.
He eats regularly (4-5 days), usually ground turkey or egg (the occasional mouse rejected from snakes) with a variety of fruits and veggies.
He really likes to roam my bedroom, so he's let out almost every day each week and starts destroying stuff in his room if he doesn't get to go out when he wants. I try to provide enrichment but he doesn't seem too interested in it. He has a large tub of dirt to dig in, blankets to move around and hide under, and a tunnel in his house at all times. I've also tried a box of shredded paper but he dug in that for 5 minutes before pooping in it and never looking at it again. His favorite thing to do is just explore my room and then go sleep in my closet.
Sorry for such a long post, I just wanted to give as much information as I could think of!
Some extra info on Gilbert:
I got him as a rescue, so we aren't 100% sure his age or sex. The reptile rescue that we got him from estimated he was 3 and a male, which would make him 4 now. He's about 3 ft long and doest have the biggest jowls so I'm not super confident in that guess but oh well.
His "cage" is a small room connected to my bedroom and is 7.5x5.5 ft. While I can't make the humidity of the whole room high enough, he has both a large water bowl and a hide that I regularly mist inside filled with sphagnum moss. His old home didn't offer enough humidity so he has a few missing toes from shed problems, so I make sure to give him a few soaks when he's shedding.
His basking spot is about 115° F and his humidity hide has a dog heat mat that I set to 95° every morning.
He eats regularly (4-5 days), usually ground turkey or egg (the occasional mouse rejected from snakes) with a variety of fruits and veggies.
He really likes to roam my bedroom, so he's let out almost every day each week and starts destroying stuff in his room if he doesn't get to go out when he wants. I try to provide enrichment but he doesn't seem too interested in it. He has a large tub of dirt to dig in, blankets to move around and hide under, and a tunnel in his house at all times. I've also tried a box of shredded paper but he dug in that for 5 minutes before pooping in it and never looking at it again. His favorite thing to do is just explore my room and then go sleep in my closet.
Sorry for such a long post, I just wanted to give as much information as I could think of!
