A few days ago, I got a black and white Argentina Tegu from a reptile expo. They claim she is 1-1.5 years old. She’s about 2 feet long. I’m not a beginner reptile owner but I am a beginner Tegu owner. I asked the guy who I bought her from is she was handled a lot and he said no because they have so many reptiles it’s not possible to handle them all. He picked her up and laid her on his arm and she was so calm. Her out her in a sac for me to bring her home. She’s been pretty okay for me petting her, she huffs a lot but doesn’t open her mouth of bite. Sometimes she runs away. She’s impossible to pick up. She does the alligator roll, whips her tale and squirms like crazy. I wanna get to the point where I can have a bond with her and she will let me pick her up, because I need to be able to pick her up to get her out of her cage so she can roam which I’ve been doing but she hides the whole time. What can I do?
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First time owner
- Thread starter Paige
- Start date
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- 1,022
Let her settle in to her new home with a dirty old t-shirt or something that smells of you.... keep putting your hand in NOT to touch her yet , just to get used to seeing it..... Move it a bit closer each day until you can touch her without her being scared, if she does run keep your hand there until she calms or she'll create for you to remove your hand..... when you can touch her regularly without any problems then try to pick her up or if shes anything like Alpha she'll be jumping on your hand for some time roaming..... If she creates once picked up hold to her until she calms in your hands gently talking to her if not this again can cause behavioral problems
onnie0047
Active Member
- Messages
- 100
Once she settles in. Keep up the daily contact giving her as much time as you can. When at home I rotate my time from on to the other be it holding watching tv or taking a nap. I have even gone to bed with them next to me. I don’t sleep much but it did seem to help With bonding a bit. I have a leash that they are on just in case I fall deep asleep and they decide to go for a stroll. It’s going to take time. My RED still huffs and puffs and does the death roll along with the stink eye 6 months later. While my black-whites are quite docile in comparison.
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- 4,384
They are strongly creatures of habit. Over weeks seeing you go about changing water and food and sitting or walking nearby, they realize you're no harm. Keep dirty shirt in rhe hide for familiarity. Work from there. However, DO NOT REWARD BAD BEHAVIOR. Don't remove hand because he freaks out.
