feeding thawed mice in the enclosure

[Lovestegus]

Since my tegu broke it's tail he won't eat outside of his enclosure now. He will happily eat inside the enclosure though. I was wondering if this will increase chances for aggression if I were to take him out of his enclosure, put the pinky mice inside without him knowing, then I would wash my hands and put him back to eat.

 

[Jer723]

sounds ok to me, ya know you have to do what you have to do. maybe he will eat outside again someday but ubtil then just feed in the enclosure, but i would just keep trying him in the bin. it cant hurt to try. hope this helps . . .

Jerry

 

[Anthony]

i had issues with my tegu wanting to eat in the bin also plus with my work schedule it makes it real difficult.... u can try what i do and this is bobbys advice.... keep crickets in the enclosure anytime your not home so she has something to eat and when ur home just keep offering her food in the bin , like turkey mice etc.... if she dont eat in the bin put her back in her tank and she still has the option to eat crickets.... eventually she will eat the turkey in the bin but if some reason she dont and weeks go by and shes just eating crickets id say then u have no choice.... she wont starve if she has access to crickets at anytime ur not home .... bobbys advice and he said it multiple times dont feed in enclosure except crickets....

 

[Toby_H]

Many people swear by the practice of bin feeding and I am in no way challenging that...

But last year I found my schedule and my Tegus schedule did not allow daily bin feedings and I didn't want to attempt inconsistent feeding patterns... so I have been feeding in the enclosure for the 14 months or so that I've had her (minus hibernation time)...

I always/only feed her on the same white dish... and when she sees that dish coming into her cage she knows exactly what time it is.

Now that she's older, smarter and calmer, she will quickly walk over to the plate and start eating while it's still in my hand. I'm hardly concerned at all she will bite me on accident. I was not always this confident...

When I put my hands in the cage around feeding time without the plate, she is very attentive (hungry) but I simply 'show her my hands' as soon as I reach into the enclosure. She smells/licks my hands and then acts normal allowing me to do whatever it is I'm doing.

The only time I feel at all at risk of getting bitten is in the event I do not remove the empty plate one day... and I am retrieving it the next day. She sometimes gets to the plate before me and having seen my hand and the plate at the same time, she's expecting food.

Thus far, my girl has not yet bitten me...

Well once she did, and it was adorable... I was ignoring her and she very gently bit my toe and then looked up at me... as if to say, "Hey, I'm right here, pick me up."

Again, IÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢m not promoting feeding in the enclosureÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ IÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢m simply sharing my experience doing soÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦

 

[TanMan57]

My tegu refuses to eat outside his enclosure. So what I do is I feed inside the enclosure everyday at 10:30 with tongs or on a plate so he associates the plate and tongs with food. I havent noticed a change in him in fact he likes to be pet even more than usual. He lets me do everything in his enclosure since he knows plate or tongs equals food

 

[mr.tegu]

i have never fed my tegus in a bin. i cage feed everyday with no problems. BUT i am in and out of the cage/enclosure numerous times in a day so i dont think my tegus associate me entering the enclosure with food. i never will or have fed anything with my hands like tongs or fork or rat by tail ect. the only time i see a feeding aggression with my tegus is when i offer live chickens or mice. that can get nasty and be a bloody mess.

 

[skippy]

i feed my tegu the same as i fed my black throat: in his enclosure or out, hand fed or off the plate i'm holding.

he definitely identifies me as the food bringer but is not aggressive unless i have mice, in which case he tries to climb up me to get at them. if i open the enclosure he rushes up to me and i hold my hand out for him to smell... even if i have food on my hand he's never tried for a finger as long as i give him a second to realize it's me. i do feed him dubias on tongs because they're kind of a small target for him to get without getting my finger as well. thus far i have not had any issues and i have had him for 10 months or so and he is just over 3 feet at this time.

he doesn't react like this to anyone else in the house even though my housemates take him out to roam now and again.

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