ideas for taming

[iiLOVExTEGUS]

ok so im a new tegu daddy to a 3 month old black and white he is pretty calm bc i have spenttime with him for about 3 weeks at the pet store so hes kinda use to me he eats out of my hand and sleeps on my chest but he still has those sudden bursts of running how do i make it to were he doesnt do that or is it even possable so give me your ideas on how to tame your tegu thanks for all the help i get

 

[rrcoolj]

It sounds like you are doing everything right. He is still small so he will be a little darty. I think you should just keep doing what you are doing and in time that behavior will go away.

 

[herpgirl2510]

Hang out in the bathroom that is the easiest room to tegu proof. I just lay on the floor reading or on my computer.

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Also I don't think many just sit on you for long like a bearded dragon I know my B&W is super mellow but will not sit on my lap he is constantly on the go. My extreme will spend more time but that is because he is still nervous to free roam plus he is too small.

 

[kellen.watkins]

As he gets older the "darting" will go away, but you are doing everything right hand feeding isn't recommended though you don't want him/her to associate your hand with food but your the daddy

 

[Jefroka]

Ideas: keep spending time with him outside the enclosure and never feed in the enclosure. As mentioned, in time he will know you are not a threat to him and will chill down a great deal. He will still want to explore and seek hiding spots (their favorite thing to do other than eating) as he matures.


..Jefroka

 

[iiLOVExTEGUS]

wow guys and girls thanks for all the feed back i appreciate it

 

[james.w]

Ideas: keep spending time with him outside the enclosure and never feed in the enclosure. As mentioned, in time he will know you are not a threat to him and will chill down a great deal. He will still want to explore and seek hiding spots (their favorite thing to do other than eating) as he matures.


..Jefroka

Just wondering why you say never feed in the enclosure??

 

[Jefroka]

Ideas: keep spending time with him outside the enclosure and never feed in the enclosure. As mentioned, in time he will know you are not a threat to him and will chill down a great deal. He will still want to explore and seek hiding spots (their favorite thing to do other than eating) as he matures.


..Jefroka

Just wondering why you say never feed in the enclosure??

I believe we have differed in our opinions on this issue in the past. I still firmly believe in feeding in another enclosure as to prevent the possibility of food aggression.

I know there are those out there that don't have a problem feeding in the cage but there are likely many, many more keeper's out there that wish they could reverse the effects of having fed in the primary enclosure.


...Jefroka

 

[james.w]

Yeah we definitely have a different opinion on this, but differences are good.

 

[Jefroka]

Yeah we definitely have a different opinion on this, but differences are good.

Can be.


...Jefroka

 

[CrankbaitJedi]

I am always wary when all the spunkiness is gone. I actually appreciate the occasional freak out or energy burst (especially from the youngsters). Tells me they are still 'engaged'. Lizards that are puppy tame all the time, well... those animals are either sick or getting sick. Just enjoy em. I would have given anything to have some occasional darting be the only issue I had with my young tegu. I couldn't get within feet of my tegu for awhile without a face full of tail whip or a fist full of teeth. She thought I was the DEBBIL!!!

 

[herpgirl2510]

I have found the method that works weel is to let them be for 2 -4 weeks. I just offer them food and clean there cage. I just got a blue tongue skink 2-3 weeks ago. I just offered food and never tried to handle her. All of a sudden today I looked over and she was scratching at the door to come out. I picked her up and she sat basking in the window sill right next to me for hours and was nervous at all of me. She would huff a little but considering I never saw her or over two weeks seems like good progress. This also happened at week 3-4 with my extreme just started to scratch to come out and will sit on the window sill next to me.

 

[Jefroka]

I have found the method that works weel is to let them be for 2 -4 weeks. I just offer them food and clean there cage. I just got a blue tongue skink 2-3 weeks ago. I just offered food and never tried to handle her. All of a sudden today I looked over and she was scratching at the door to come out. I picked her up and she sat basking in the window sill right next to me for hours and was nervous at all of me. She would huff a little but considering I never saw her or over two weeks seems like good progress. This also happened at week 3-4 with my extreme just started to scratch to come out and will sit on the window sill next to me.

We purchased a 2' long male blue tongue recently. His appetite is enormous and some of his droppings are as big as my rat terriers'!

Loves bananas and super worms and huffs like a big wuss when picked up but will spend an entire day on your shoulder if you let him.


...Jefroka

 

[ColdThirst]

OMG that thing is TINY! Lol I didn't get mine till it was 6 months old, however, the not feeding in the cage thing is a MUST in my experience. The last thing I want to worry about when reaching inside the cage to do something is being attacked. And TRUST ME, when that thing starts getting a little bit bigger, It will dominate you and whatever it's around.

It's not till about the 2 year age when they start really calming down to where you can do anything with them.

Think of it as a puppy in that sense. There's really no way to make a puppy sit still and do what you say etc. They just want to sleep, eat and get into everything. Same with the baby tegu, you wont calm it down till it calms down with age.

Keep doing what your doing, handling etc, just dont have such high expectations for its behavior this early in the game. at about 7 months it will become a killing machine and anything that moves is on the menu.

So any feeding habits you instill now, as in, "Nothing inside your cage is ever food" or feeding nothing but frozen food "nothing that moves is food" or I snap my fingers every time i have it's food ready and it comes running to the sound. It knows that what it's licking is A:Not white B:In my cage C: Is moving D:Isn't something I smell when I'm around my food E:I didnt hear snapping sounds
= Which means this is not food, so I will not latch onto it. Because it was your hand.

So the more things you can do to re-enforce those differences, the less likely you are to be bit when your caring for your tegu. You don't want it to think that there's even a 1% chance that what in front of it is food. Because it will test it.

 

[james.w]

For you guys that are "feed outside the enclosure" keepers, do you practice the same things with your snakes?

 

[herpgirl2510]

Do you think the cage aggression appears when people a good majority of the time only open the cage to feed. I feed Tonka outside his enclosure, but my savannah always gets fed inside her enclosure. My snakes were always fed in their enclosures.

 

[Orion]

I have 6 snakes and I feed outside the enclosure since I keep some snakes together, some finish quicker then others and go after the others food. I have 3 Tegus and I feed them in the bathroom after their daily soaking. I think that one thing that works for one person or Tegu may not work for the other. I have a female that is food aggressive no matter what or where. She always comes rushing up to the front of the cage looking for food when I come by no matter what. She has broken the habit of trying to eat my fingers, but it takes her a minute to clam down and realize shes not getting fed. She is still food agressive, about a week ago while feeding her in the bathroom I was spoon feeding my male who was on a hunger strike. She took interest in his food, when I let her taste it and when I took the spoon away to get get more she lunged for me and got hold of my elbo and held on, she is about 3 feet long. At that point I decided I had enough and tried to walk out the door, but she would have none of it. She bit me on the back of the leg and tried to take me down. She left me with a nice battle wound, a half circle of teeth marks on each side of my leg about 4 inches above my ankle. My point is some spirits will never be broken, some animals will always have some wild in them.

 

[Jefroka]

For you guys that are "feed outside the enclosure" keepers, do you practice the same things with your snakes?

With my tegu, yes

My blood python, yes

My Florida King, Yes & No, with him it doesn't really matter.

My Future Argentine Boa (being held for me right now), Yes


...Jefroka

 

[james.w]

In my opinion snakes should be fed in their enclosure as well. Imagine having a 10' python in feeding mode that you have to move back to his enclosure, not fun. Snakes also should not be bothered for a couple days after they eat to prevent regurg.

As far as herpgirl's comment, I do believe some cases of food aggression are because the keeper rarely opens the door other than to feed.

With lizards, I don't see much wrong with feeding out of the enclosure if you prefer, but when keeping young lizards (monitors especially) you need to let them get acclimated and gain your trust before handling. There is no way to take them from their enclosure to feed outside if you aren't handling them. Just reaching in and grabbing them can cause huge amounts of stress and they will go off of feed completely.

 

[herpgirl2510]

I used to feed my savannah outside with tongs she is not digging me right now and will not accept food from me.

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It was a great way for us to bond hopefull soon she will allow that again.