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.
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.