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He thinks im food..

Len

New Member
Messages
8
Location
Indonesia
so, my tegu thinks my smell is food. He has bitten me a few times, first time was when he still has a little green left on his head, it was just a curious bite on my toe. Ever since i got him i try see and interact with him everyday so he always gets contacts with humans. I always try to be calm and let him smell me a lot.

Now it’s been a few months since he gets nippy. If i move my hand too fast he’ll see it as something he wants to chase. So i’ve been trying to move my hands slowly near him to show that it’s not food. I used to tong feed him but now i dont bcs i thought that might’ve been the cause of this behavior.

A few weeks ago, when i let him roam free, he bit my sandal and then my toe. He seriously thought my feet were food bcs he didnt release until remove him. This time i have no idea how i’m gonna teach him, i just try to show him more of my feet when he’s around to tell him that it’s part of my body. I read that there’s a ‘teen period’ that tegus go through and they act more ‘aggressive’ around this time and they’ll grow out of it.

Today, i thought of giving him a worn shirt that i just wore. I once gave him the ‘scent training’ when he was way smaller and i thought this might make him recognize my smell better. But what happened next is, he tried to eat it. You know when they try to rip the meat off rats by shaking their head and smashing the rat, thats what he did. It continued until i cautiously took away the shirt. It was quite hard bcs he didn’t want to let it go.

Now i really don’t know what to do anymore, he’s now the size of (probably)an adult bearded dragon, his bite is already quite painful. It might be too late when he gets bigger. Please help.
 

Walter1

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Staff member
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When bitten, my advice is to yell NO!!! and squirt ice water from a bottle directly to his face and mouth.

Also, be certain that he is well fed. They grow quickly during the first 1.5 years of life.

Feed from same bowl in same place. Can place food in morning before he wakes up.

There are other ways to handling this as well.
 

Len

New Member
Messages
8
Location
Indonesia
I've actually tried the squirting ice water to his mouth and face when he bit last bit my toe, it was an attempt to get some space between my foot from him because he was going for it again. He just seemed annoyed and kept going but it did distracted him a little.

I will try to get him full on every feeding to the point where he's not even interested to get any food anymore.

I have been doing that since last month, i think it did make him less 'aggressive'. I go to school every weekday at 6am so i wake up around 5am. I don't know if i have enough time to prepare some of his food before 5am, so is it okay if i do it at night (after he goes to sleep)?
 

AlphaAlpha

Well-Known Member
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5 Year Member
Messages
1,022
If hes only biting your toes, put a smelly sock in his enclosure instead of a shirt.
 
Messages
40
so, my tegu thinks my smell is food. He has bitten me a few times, first time was when he still has a little green left on his head, it was just a curious bite on my toe. Ever since i got him i try see and interact with him everyday so he always gets contacts with humans. I always try to be calm and let him smell me a lot.

Now it’s been a few months since he gets nippy. If i move my hand too fast he’ll see it as something he wants to chase. So i’ve been trying to move my hands slowly near him to show that it’s not food. I used to tong feed him but now i dont bcs i thought that might’ve been the cause of this behavior.

A few weeks ago, when i let him roam free, he bit my sandal and then my toe. He seriously thought my feet were food bcs he didnt release until remove him. This time i have no idea how i’m gonna teach him, i just try to show him more of my feet when he’s around to tell him that it’s part of my body. I read that there’s a ‘teen period’ that tegus go through and they act more ‘aggressive’ around this time and they’ll grow out of it.

Today, i thought of giving him a worn shirt that i just wore. I once gave him the ‘scent training’ when he was way smaller and i thought this might make him recognize my smell better. But what happened next is, he tried to eat it. You know when they try to rip the meat off rats by shaking their head and smashing the rat, thats what he did. It continued until i cautiously took away the shirt. It was quite hard bcs he didn’t want to let it go.

Now i really don’t know what to do anymore, he’s now the size of (probably)an adult bearded dragon, his bite is already quite painful. It might be too late when he gets bigger. Please help.
What kind of Tegu u have? Did u try to feed him food in the a dish plate outside his cage? My experience was that the behavior of Tegu is depend on how u raise the animal in captivity or what kind of Tegu is it.I still watch my Argentine Tegu when he is near my foot or my body just in case. Even my dog who a love of my life sleep one day and my son girl friend pet and hug all the time. One day when my dog was sleeping she tried to kiss him. Guess what? He bit her gently in the face. Oh boy she screamed like hell. I told her that you should never approach my dog with your face while he is sleeping. Even an animal have nightmare or dreaming.
 
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