Do Tegus get lonely?

[james.w]

I sold my Red Tegu yesterday who shared a cage with my AA, and now he seems lonely. I thought they were solitary animals and he would be better off alone in the enclosure. Has anyone else noticed anything like this?

 

[Rhetoric]

My two smaller ones are kind of similar. If I take just one out the other will hang around the doors until its taken out as well or until the other one comes back. I'm not sure if its that it really misses it though.

I'm interested to see what people have to say, I don't want to steal your thread but one of my girls is a male and I was literally just now wondering if they would be lonely if I split 'em.

 

[reptastic]

I always kept my tegus seperated because of size differences but i noticed that my 2 tegus that were raised together seem inseperable, they bask together and sleep together, i recently tried adding a second hide to see if they would sleep seperately, they dont, if one sleeps in one hide so does the other and vice versa, i have yet to see them sleep seperately so im curious too

 

[adam1120]

come on guys i orded a b&w from bobby hill but only one now i feel bad i dont want my baby tegu lonely(

 

[Rhetoric]

One of mine is by himself, hes always been alone. He seems just as happy as the others. He's never known life any other way

 

[Strange_Evil]

Interesting thread. But i doubt it,Like most reptiles,tegu's are solitary and in the wild i don't believe they live in groups.So to them i doubt it even matters,if that were the case then that means it's a bunch of lonely tegu's running around. But i look forward to seeing how this thread turns out.

 

[adam1120]

do you always keep him alone or do you let them roam together? mabe hes missing the other life, he was born with other gu's

 

[Rhetoric]

He had always been alone until a couple weeks ago. He's only been around the other 2 tegus like 4-5 times. He doesn't pay much attention to them when they're all together. The last time they were all out he was more interested in the female but he never like laid with her like the other one does.
I've read somewhere that there have been occasions where tegus would brumate in groups, I'll try to find it, but other than that they're more solitary.

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If they do brumate in groups I don't see it as being a social thing but more of a way to help keep warm

 

[reptastic]

4 out of the 6 tegus i owned were raised solitary, none of them seemed lonely, in fact when i did put them together they rarely paid each other any attention, they all seemed content, now
my giant and b/w have been together pretty much their whole lives but i doubt it would bother them for long or at all if i seperated them

 

[chelvis]

I think tegus just get use to rountine. One day there was another tegu there and now it gone. It will take sometime to get into a new habbit. I think tegus that are raised with another tegu get use to this companion but it will not be so hard to remove one verse doing this with two bonded dogs where they will mope and look for thier pack mate.

My tegus now share a common mesh wall. So they can see and smell each other but not actully get at each other. The bigger one pays no attention to the smaller one and the smaller one seems indifferent as well. As long as they are both well fed there seems to be this, eh whatever mentaility.

 

[Strange_Evil]

I think tegus just get use to rountine. One day there was another tegu there and now it gone. It will take sometime to get into a new habbit. I think tegus that are raised with another tegu get use to this companion but it will not be so hard to remove one verse doing this with two bonded dogs where they will mope and look for thier pack mate.

My tegus now share a common mesh wall. So they can see and smell each other but not actully get at each other. The bigger one pays no attention to the smaller one and the smaller one seems indifferent as well. As long as they are both well fed there seems to be this, eh whatever mentaility.

Ahhh,thats a really good point.

 

[Moofins]

My view on the whole thing is strictly based on any reptile's typical and instinctual behavior: they're opportunistic.

Being alone does not bother them, but being in groups does no foul, either. When in a group, there is the same-old "strength in numbers" factor, as well as the likelihood of running into food. In captivity, they would not know the difference if the food kept appearing because of the owner (which they should never see, anyway) or because of the other tegu. All he/she knows is, "Hey, as long as I stick with this kid, I'm fed and warm. Right on."

As for separation, when you see your tegu clawing at the glass to get out too, all they are probably thinking is that the other 'gu shouldn't get to hog all the grub. It's simply survival tactics, in my opinion.

 

[slideaboot]

I think a lot of people confusion COMPANIONSHIP with COMPETITION.

If your tegus sleep and bask in the same places at the same time, think about it--those are probably ideal places for your tegus to be (which is why both of them "seem" inseparable)--they are "competing" for that spot (and, odds are, the competition probably doesn't end violently because there is enough of whatever benefit for both to share). A lot of problems that I've heard people have with competition getting out of hand is when a cage isn't big enough or there isn't enough basking area, etc...

I'm not saying they don't enjoy companionship. I'm saying that we, as humans, like to project our own human perspectives onto animals and think we've got it figured out.

 

[reptastic]

I think a lot of people confusion COMPANIONSHIP with COMPETITION.

If your tegus sleep and bask in the same places at the same time, think about it--those are probably ideal places for your tegus to be (which is why both of them "seem" inseparable)--they are "competing" for that spot (and, odds are, the competition probably doesn't end violently because there is enough of whatever benefit for both to share). A lot of problems that I've heard people have with competition getting out of hand is when a cage isn't big enough or there isn't enough basking area, etc...

I'm not saying they don't enjoy companionship. I'm saying that we, as humans, like to project our own human perspectives onto animals and think we've got it figured out.

very valid points, i did think about them competing for the best areas of the enclosure hides, basking ect. Just didnt put a lot of thought into it as to why they are always together, but i think i will seperated them when they are older

 

[james.w]

Something wierd is going on today though. My AA is digging throughout the entire cage. Seems as if he is looking for his "friend". He had never done this before.

 

[Moofins]

He may just be "revamping" the enclosure since it is officially all his now. I think it's safe to say he is displaying dominant bahavior and claiming his space.

 

[slideaboot]

Something wierd is going on today though. My AA is digging throughout the entire cage. Seems as if he is looking for his "friend". He had never done this before.

See...that's what I was talking about--the whole human-projection of what our animals' behavior means.

Tegus dig. A lot. It MAY be true that your tegu is looking for his friend. But, odds are, he's just being a tegu.

 

[Rhetoric]

How long did it take for your AA to settle back down after you rehomed the other tegu? I might need to sell one of my tegus, not 100% sure yet... I know tegus are solitary and all but I'm wondering how long it might take the other to get used to the new living situation. Hopefully it doesn't need to happen..

 

[james.w]

It was only a few days if I remember correctly.

 

[teguwhisperer1967]

I sold my Red Tegu yesterday who shared a cage with my AA, and now he seems lonely. I thought they were solitary animals and he would be better off alone in the enclosure. Has anyone else noticed anything like this?

It has always been MY observation that TEGUS are the ONLY species of lizards that seem to prefer being around people o around other tegus. They do NOT enjoybeing alone at all. They are very intelligent, social animals and they absolutely DO prefer to be around people and around other tegus for sure