Hatchling Attitude

[Murkve]

Hey there!

After making a few gains with my small 'Gu this past week, I can't help but wonder how others' experiences with their little ones went.

So, if you've raised a young Tegu:

1) How was the animal at first?

2) How long did it take for the animal to be "OK" with touching? With gentle handling? By "OK" I mean that it did not run or show aggression upon contact.

3) When did you feel like you and your Tegu "turned a corner", so to speak? What did you do to get there?

4) What was/is your general philosophy for taming these animals, from hatchling to adult?

Thanks!

 

[DavidRosi]

1) Skiddish, crazy skiddish. Didn't like me near him, around him or in sight...

2) It took a few weeks, when handling wasn't an option I would just put my hand in his viv, let im get used to be scent and to realize that "hand" and "me", isn't a threat.

3) After a month, he was coming out of his viv into my room to eat, from here it just went leaps and bounds... now he is happy to let me stroke him and be near to him all of the time. He is also a lot more comfortable when held on to and chooses to climb on me and relax.

4) Patience. In my eyes it's about building trust; my little lad went from a skiddish little monster to being a family loved tegu in just a few months. I just had to take things slow, work with him and not try and force progress.

*extra note; this was all achieved with a Colombian Black and Gold tegu; considering most people think they are the most agro and difficult to live with, my lad certainly stomped out that myth.

 

[apocalypse910]

I got my tegu a little over two weeks ago. I had planned out for ages how the training / taming process would go and I have to say it has all gone out the window. It seems that things need to move at the Tegu's pace and they are all different.

When I got mine he seemed like the tamest lizard I've ever seen - then he warmed up and turned into a skittish little demon lizard that managed to escape effortlessly my first time feeding him. I broke trust seriously and grabbed him so I could get him back in his cage - thought that I had really screwed up but he got over it fast.

His curiosity has been a great asset in getting him to calm down. He was willingly walking to my hand then darting away on the second day. We even managed to get him into the feeding bin that day but it took a lot of patience. He was sitting in my hand and "Playing" a bit with me the next day. By the end of the week he was letting me pick him up.

Every feeding has been outside the cage and that seems to help gain their trust. Not sure if it is helping but I also talk to him to let him know where I am taking him. I use simple phrases like "Loki Food", "Loki Bath", "Loki Home". He seems to pick up really quickly. The only problem I had with this system was that he learned "Loki Food" a little too well -about the third day doing this I extended my, said the words, and he immediately attempted to eat my hand.

I'm seeing very little aggression - The only aggression bite was when I grabbed him after he escaped. He is still attempting to eat my hand from time to time but that seems to be a scent thing and not an attack.
I am painfully aware that he can out run me effortlessly but he doesn't seem inclined to do so - the only big worry now is that he'll bolt if startled. Occasionally I need to grab him like when he tries to run over my shoulder - but he seems to react less strongly and forgive more quickly as time goes on. Now if I have to grab him he'll huff once, glare at me for a second, and then act like nothing happened.

He still is a bit weird about being touched. He'll come to me no problem (in fact he is already sitting at the glass by my desk constantly begging to come out). He does not like to be petted though. I can scratch his chin but if I touch the top of his head or back I still get a huff and a solid tail whip. I can brush his back when he is walking through my hands but anything else makes him freak a bit.

The other thing is that at this stage they don't so much get tame as get used to certain people. Loki was supposed to be "My" tegu - My husband wasn't too keen on the idea of having a giant lizard in the house. Loki, of course, took to him immediately, has never bitten him, and seems to go to him whenever he can. Loki and I have bonded as well but he seemed to take to my husband much more quickly for some reason. For the first week Loki only wanted my husband to pick him up and would freak out badly if I attempted it despite me spending more time with him.

It has been more of a gradual process rather than a few milestones. He is very smart, and very curious - the biggest holdup has been me trusting him not to bolt rather than him trusting me.

 

[Murkve]

Thank you both very much! My Sig sounds very similar. I have a top opening enclosure, so I have to resort to clever means to remove her without stress. She's very curious, so I've been using pillowcases to great effect.

Lately I am encouraged by how she has been acting in the enclosure. She is no longer outright afraid of my hand, and seems to accept and expect my presence in her space. Though she still does not appreciate my touch, she will often come and investigate my hand, and today she walked into my hand twice, with no enticement.

I've been tong feeding her, which I attribute to much of her trust. She will actually ignore food unless it is in tongs. This means I can control her feeding response for the most part.

As far as philosophy, I was originally only going to go at her pace, but after reading a few experiences, I realized that what I'm trying to build is a partnership. I will almost always respect her space, but because she depends on me, she's going to have to come out of her comfort space sometimes. This means me initiating handling every so often, whether for feeding or otherwise.

 

[laurarfl]

Very cool! I like the partnership idea. And it is about reading the animal.

I was speaking with someone about hatchlings recently and interacted with my few last night. I opened the lid to feed and little heads popped up out of the substrate (they are on aspen). I was able to pick up 4 fairly easily and they were calm when I picked them up. One wanted to be all flippy, so I left him alone. My kids can go pick them up, too. Well, my kids are adults, lol. Are they so much tamer here because they are used to it here and used to me?

Argentine:

1) How was the animal at first? Scared, tried to bite when handled, pooped on me when caught.

2) How long did it take for the animal to be "OK" with touching? With gentle handling? By "OK" I mean that it did not run or show aggression upon contact. I got her in early Sept and she was defensive (I like that better) until hibernation in Nov. When she woke up in April, she was the same. But after a couple of months, she was great. Now she is my favorite tegu. i have no problem working with her, she watches me from her cage, and I can open her door to pet her head, etc.

3) When did you feel like you and your Tegu "turned a corner", so to speak? What did you do to get there? Some of it I think was size of the animal. The tegu just got bigger and more confident. All I did was consistently pick her up, keep her in view of people, feed her when I picked her up.

4) What was/is your general philosophy for taming these animals, from hatchling to adult? Hmmm...that's hard. Let them settle in for a few days, then begin handling. Sometimes put your hand in to do things in the enclosure at the far end from the tegu. Sometimes gently herd and pick up. If they whip and bite, pick them up anyway. if they poop on you, wash it off. That is all early response....freeze, flight, fight. That teaches the little gu that no one is going to eat it, having a hissy fit is not going to help you get your way, you might just get some food or something good. I give them little treats when I pick them up when they are babies. Little bites of food and such. When they get more comfortable I stop so they won't get food aggressive in my hand.

Above all, make taming a positive experience for the tegu. Think of it from the perspective of a little lizard: "What is good for tegus?" Every time I get picked up I get fed or a treat or some freedom. Well, getting picked up isn't so bad after all.

I did the same thing with a young rescue Colombian. I just got a pair of gloves and picked her up. It took a bit longer, but before long she was climbing up my arm to get out of the cage.

 

[Dana C]

Very cool! I like the partnership idea. And it is about reading the animal.



2) How long did it take for the animal to be "OK" with touching? With gentle handling? By "OK" I mean that it did not run or show aggression upon contact. I got her in early Sept and she was defensive (I like that better) until hibernation in Nov. When she woke up in April, she was the same. But after a couple of months, she was great. Now she is my favorite tegu. i have no problem working with her, she watches me from her cage, and I can open her door to pet her head, etc.


4) What was/is your general philosophy for taming these animals, from hatchling to adult? Hmmm...that's hard. Let them settle in for a few days, then begin handling. Sometimes put your hand in to do things in the enclosure at the far end from the tegu. Sometimes gently herd and pick up. If they whip and bite, pick them up anyway. if they poop on you, wash it off. That is all early response....freeze, flight, fight. That teaches the little gu that no one is going to eat it, having a hissy fit is not going to help you get your way, you might just get some food or something good. I give them little treats when I pick them up when they are babies. Little bites of food and such. When they get more comfortable I stop so they won't get food aggressive in my hand.......

To piggy back on this I would like to offer some thoughts on progress over the first months up to a year.
Tegus are not the same from day to day, much like their humans. They will be all for being picked up one day and will love being stroked and talked to and the next want nothing to do with you. I mention it because many will view it as a loss of trust, loss of bonding etc.
Some just prior to and during the early phase of a shed will be quite cranky as they are very uncomfortable. A nice warm bath helps.
Behaviors will come and go. For instance, I posted some time ago how Captn' Jack absolutely had to get on top of my head when we were having "father son" time in the bathroom. His claws were tearing me up but his insistence was very interesting. He stopped cold turkey one day and never has done it again.
Having setbacks is also normal. Hatchlings are much easier to control than a 6 month+ Tegu. You at some point will pick your baby up and he or she will squirm, claw and want to fly out of your grasp. It could be the way you are supporting your Tegu, shedding “itch”, moodiness or whatever. You may actually drop your tegu a short ways after a vigorous tussle. Your first thought will be is he hurt followed by, “he will hate me” thoughts. Have no fear because if you have bonded with your lizard kid, it will pass. Another gut wrenching moment can come during a handling that goes bad. Your Tegu will squirm, claw and generally not want to be handled for whatever reason and you won’t know it until you are halfway to the bathroom. He jumps out of your grasp / arms after clawing you to shreds and falls a short distance. If you have bonded, the bond isn’t broken. He or she may be pissed at you for a couple of days but will shortly act like nothing has happened. It happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Jack clawed he way out of my arms and fell into the bath tub which had warm water in it. To make a long story short, he huffed and puffed at me for the balance of the time we were in the bathroom. He huffed and puffed when I stroked his head for a few seconds but didn’t move away. The next day he was still a tiny bit pissy and the day after that, it was “Dear Dana, all is forgiven please come home”. (WWII phrase). This most likely won’t happen while your tegu is a hatchling as they are small enough to control. That however, will change.

One last thought; a hatchling will be trying to figure out friend from foe and will hover between flight and fight for a month or so. Because your baby “chills” when you pick it up does not mean that it likes it. It is most likely “freezing”, a fright mechanism. When you have one on one time in a small closed space like a bathroom and it comes to you and feels safe enough to climb on to you and closing it’s eyes while you stroke it you will know that you have really bonded.

 

[bmx3000max]

its taken like a month from a skitish demon to yesterday i was abel to pet him in his encloser and handle him u can read his thread to see how its been with him

 

[Murkve]

Breakthrough: Today, Sigourney walked into my hand from her enclosure to be fed, then walked onto my hand from the feeding bin. It was amazing to know that here were the beginning bonds between myself, and one of the most intelligent reptiles existing.

"Forced Handling" may not break trust in all cases, and in fact may help communicate to the Tegu that you mean no harm.

 

[SnakeCharmr728]

I have a hybrid hatchling from Laurafl and shes been a real difficult one to tame... We've had her about 3wks now and boy does she have an attitude....
she tail whips, squirms, she huffs and puffs, poops on you, and even tries to bite. we've been doing the sweatshirt trick (tying a belt around around your waist on the outside of a sweatshirt so they dont fall through and putting them inside to bond) but no luck... have been having to feed in the cage because getting her out is incredibly difficult and breaks all trust because we literally would have to chase her down and grab her all while shes thrashing to get away....
we've been trying to the gentle approach because i dont want her to feel like we are a threat.... herding her into a corner makes her literally whip and charge us with an open mouth... ive never seen such a grumpy baby lol once we do have her we aren't "holding" her just letting her go from one hand to another which she basically just runs and takes off but we've been doing in a bathroom so she cant go far... also tried the bathtub trick... it works while shes in the water as soon as she comes out she transforms into evil tegu again... poor girl i know shes just scared, typical of any baby... im wonderng if we should just keep workin at it getting her out or let her be until shes a little bit older and gets a little more size to her and only do hands in the cage... i feel like we are totally breakng her trust but even if our hand is in the cage and we arent even chasing her shes huffing and literally will charge at us...
we've literally tried ALL suggestions on both tegu forums about taming, and now ive come to the conclusion that its just about age, time and individual personalities... my b/w was never like this.. lol
BUT WE LOVE HER ANYWAYS!

 

[Quartzyellowjacket]

1) Ok to touch and pickup but skiddish, freaked out at sudden movements

2) right away

3) after a month
4) Let Baragon be lazy

 

[Dana C]

Off topic a little....Quartz I see that you are a fan of Japanese reptile monsters. I have Gojira, (Godzilla in the English dubbed version), Mothra, Rodan, and the movies where Baragon, Megalon and a couple of others made their first appearances. Some are really awful and so awful that they are funny classics.

 

[Quartzyellowjacket]

Off topic a little....Quartz I see that you are a fan of Japanese reptile monsters. I have Gojira, (Godzilla in the English dubbed version), Mothra, Rodan, and the movies where Baragon, Megalon and a couple of others made their first appearances. Some are really awful and so awful that they are funny classics.

(Off Topic) Yeah, been a fan since I saw son of Godzilla as a really tiny kid (Went to Hollywood video one day saw the movie, wasn't sure what Godzilla was asked parents to rent it and had a memory making moment) Some are bad, But the way it sparked pop culture was fantastic. Baragon happened to be my favorite Daikaiju and the perfect name for my Tegu.

 

[apocalypse910]

I actually had one of the first milestone moments so far with Loki Tonight-

We have a fairly decent routine going. When I get home from work I call him, he will walk to my hand and wait to be carried to the couch. He gets to play there for a while. If I am feeding him something messy I'll take him to the feeding bin, otherwise I cover the couch with a blanket and let him eat there.

Tonight as soon as he finished eating he ran straight back to me, jumped up on my lap and just curled up there for five minutes or so. It may not seem like a huge deal but it made me extremely happy as he's generally only interested in me if I'm carrying somewhere he wants to be. Alternatively he may just view me as a backup heat rock now.

Today is also the second day of clicker training so far. He seems to be learning to come when I call pretty quickly. He also seems fascinated by the clicker and pushed it around the couch for a bit after I set it down.

 

[bmx3000max]

1 flighty but kinda good when held but would freak out wen first being taken out of the encloser

2 a month

3 a month

4 do what bobby advises....best way, ignore and theyll come

 

[frost]

i loved godzilla ever since i was a little kid.=D i just got a sulcata that i named gamera.which is another movie like godzilla.

 

[Quartzyellowjacket]

i loved godzilla ever since i was a little kid.=D i just got a sulcata that i named gamera.which is another movie like godzilla.

Gamera was cool, but It wasn't Toho. Was still cool though.

 

[frost]

you're referring to the movie company that made Godzilla?

 

[Kym123089]

This is a very helpful read. Is there a post on clicker training somewhere I should read? It really interests me.

 

[Dana C]

While I have heard of supposed clicker training success, I have never actually seen it live or on a You Tube clip. I do know of and have seen target trained Komodo Dragons. In any event, I would give it a year before trying it.

 

[Murkve]

While I have heard of supposed clicker training success, I have never actually seen it live or on a You Tube clip. I do know of and have seen target trained Komodo Dragons. In any event, I would give it a year before trying it.

I would guess that most Juvies are still too skittish and worried about their environment to become conditioned in that manner.