So after months of research, and my other reptiles not filling the "family pet" niche we were looking for, I decided a few months ago to get our first Tegu. His/Her name is Gojira (Goji) and he/she has been doing awesome. Not sure how old it was when I got it or the sex though. Going to try sexing it soon when it tames down a little bit more. I tried the hands off approach while still taking it out once in awhile to slowly start getting used to us. When he (we'll just say he for now) sees us he always comes over to the glass and tries to get out. He will lick our hand and even crawl out of the cage with us right there but doesn't really like being picked up yet. Sometimes he will let us pet him without raising his back and making that hissing sound, sometimes he doesnt. But he seems to be getting more and more used to us as the weeks go by. He has had about 4 sheds now that come off in giant whole pieces, which is good.
Right now, hes in a 7x3x3 setup that I built that seems to be holding temps and humidity extremely well so that made me happy as it was my first terrarium build. When he likes something food wise, he eats the heck out of it. But he seems to be getting pickier and pickier. He will always eat dusted ground turkey, no questions asked. The only two fruits I have been able to get him to eat consistently are cantaloupe and grapes. Eggs is the other thing that he will usually always devour, and for some reason he always feels the need to thrash hard boiled egg around. He does not like Liver, heart, Chicken livers, chicken hearts, and rarely ground beef. Chicken breast he will usually eat but not as often as ground turkey. He will eat a bowl full of superworms, but doesn't seem to like the canned crickets I have tried giving him. He will ALWAYS eat a mouse but he usually only gets 1 every two weeks or so. I keep trying to mix up his diet but he really usually only wants to eat grapes, ground turkey and cantaloupe. Any techniques on how to get them to eat a varied diet better?
Gojira also seems to think his water dish is his toilet. I know water does this to most lizards, but after observing him for awhile, he doesn't ever sit in his dish. He strictly goes to his dish to drink and to make a bowel movement and then immediately leaves it. Its nice, because the soil doesn't get all crappy, sometimes he does it early in the day and by the time im home from work hes already asleep and I worry that he didn't drink any water because he dumped in in.
One last thing, how can I start getting him to tame down a bit more? When hes out of his terrarium, he is a bit calmer but he still hates being picked up and will trash his tail around. He never bites or anything but he does open his mouth in defense when he has been held too long. I just get worried that Im stressing him too much so I dont take him out as often as i would like.
P.s. The first photo of him is the day i got him, the next one is him today. I got him back in mid Aug. And they said he was probably 6 months but he seemed way too small for a B&W to be six months. Not sure though
Right now, hes in a 7x3x3 setup that I built that seems to be holding temps and humidity extremely well so that made me happy as it was my first terrarium build. When he likes something food wise, he eats the heck out of it. But he seems to be getting pickier and pickier. He will always eat dusted ground turkey, no questions asked. The only two fruits I have been able to get him to eat consistently are cantaloupe and grapes. Eggs is the other thing that he will usually always devour, and for some reason he always feels the need to thrash hard boiled egg around. He does not like Liver, heart, Chicken livers, chicken hearts, and rarely ground beef. Chicken breast he will usually eat but not as often as ground turkey. He will eat a bowl full of superworms, but doesn't seem to like the canned crickets I have tried giving him. He will ALWAYS eat a mouse but he usually only gets 1 every two weeks or so. I keep trying to mix up his diet but he really usually only wants to eat grapes, ground turkey and cantaloupe. Any techniques on how to get them to eat a varied diet better?
Gojira also seems to think his water dish is his toilet. I know water does this to most lizards, but after observing him for awhile, he doesn't ever sit in his dish. He strictly goes to his dish to drink and to make a bowel movement and then immediately leaves it. Its nice, because the soil doesn't get all crappy, sometimes he does it early in the day and by the time im home from work hes already asleep and I worry that he didn't drink any water because he dumped in in.
One last thing, how can I start getting him to tame down a bit more? When hes out of his terrarium, he is a bit calmer but he still hates being picked up and will trash his tail around. He never bites or anything but he does open his mouth in defense when he has been held too long. I just get worried that Im stressing him too much so I dont take him out as often as i would like.
P.s. The first photo of him is the day i got him, the next one is him today. I got him back in mid Aug. And they said he was probably 6 months but he seemed way too small for a B&W to be six months. Not sure though
