Dominance Tips

[LizardStudent]

My girl is getting to the size where she thinks she's boss of the house. She's less than 7 months old, so I don't quite think she's going through guberty, but she definitely is throwing her weight around and letting me know that she says she's the top of the food chain. I wanted to know if people have any general tips for showing your tegu that you're the alpha in the relationship when they try to test boundaries. I don't want to use any negative reinforcement for obvious reasons. Anything people on here have tried besides generally being patient with them?

 

[TheTeguNovice]

IMO I don't think there is a need to assert dominance. My tegu's are about the same age as yours and my female was doing the same thing. First I thought it was because she was housed with a male, which it partially was. However she started to show the same behaviour with me, when I came by she randomly stood up on all fours and paced back in forth. One day I put my hand in to tank to signal its time to get out, like I always did and she bit me. A week later she was fine and now she comes to me no problem and has no aggression. I think they are able to see that your the alpha because you control the food and their ability to explore outside their enclosure. So no need to assert it it'll come to that conclusion on its own.

 

[LizardStudent]

Thanks for the advice. My girl hasn't shown any aggression or anything like biting thankfully, she just thinks that she's one big bad gator lol. I'm wondering if its also crankiness from the cold weather here, it finally dropped down this past month

 

[AlphaAlpha]

Its patience that is needed more than anything ...... but if she's struggling whilst handling don't release until she's calm and don't let her be a **** around food, if she's playing up take it away.

 

[Debita]

It sounds like guberty to me. Is it possible she's a little older than you thought? It's tough to gauge the exact time they go into it although that sounds early. Alpha is right though. No reward for bad behavior. Let them go hungry for a day or more, and they'll be very happy to see you. If they're in guberty, the madness might continue on for awhile. Asserting her dominance is something that she can't stop trying to do no more than a young boy can stop his voice from changing. Lol

Soooo sorry you got bit. Better now than when she's an adult I guess. You're doing a great job - I have no doubt about your abilities!

 

[LizardStudent]

It sounds like guberty to me. Is it possible she's a little older than you thought? It's tough to gauge the exact time they go into it although that sounds early. Alpha is right though. No reward for bad behavior. Let them go hungry for a day or more, and they'll be very happy to see you. If they're in guberty, the madness might continue on for awhile. Asserting her dominance is something that she can't stop trying to do no more than a young boy can stop his voice from changing. Lol

Soooo sorry you got bit. Better now than when she's an adult I guess. You're doing a great job - I have no doubt about your abilities!

I'm pretty confident that she's less than 7 months, she was bred by Steve at Wildwood reptiles and the clutch she came from hatched on July 22nd 2020 according to him. But she's pretty up and down, some days she's happy to see me and others she really wants to throw her weight around. I'll try my best not to encourage her when she's acting out

 

[Debita]

I'm pretty confident that she's less than 7 months, she was bred by Steve at Wildwood reptiles and the clutch she came from hatched on July 22nd 2020 according to him. But she's pretty up and down, some days she's happy to see me and others she really wants to throw her weight around. I'll try my best not to encourage her when she's acting out

And... part of doing the non-reward thing is about not allowing escalation of the little hissy fit. If she raises up, or lowers her head, you can walk away and come back another time. Def the hard part of owning a Tegu that has already been fun, and easy-going. She'll pass through it. It's temporary.