Jumping B/W?!

[GREM]

Hi guys! I just joined the site.

I've had my lil boy for about 2 weeks now... He is about 18 inches and I'm absolutely in love with him! Cant say the same for him though, he is still a bit shy and when I open the 40 gallon he wiggles his tail a bit also he's tried once or twice to get a piece of me when I was spot cleaning a little close to his hide haha! Little scamp... He's fine once he's out of his cage like in the tub or when being put into his feeding bin.

I have a few concerns about him... I want to make sure I'm doing all of this right!

First of all, I'm using the T-shirt trick and it seems to be working... he is always laying on the shirt basking. But when I go in to pick him up he sometimes gapes, almost all of the time he whips. He is getting better but I found that using the t-shirt to place near him and then slowly touching him with my hand in the shirt makes him less afraid of being touched by me, and after he understands that I'm not going to hurt him he allows me to pick him up.

Is this defeating the purpose of the t-shirt? If I'm stressing him with the shirt will he associate the smell with discomfort? I was worried that I'm leaving the shirt in there for him to feel comfortable around and then totally working backwards whenever I use the shirt to pick him up..

And my main question: I've noticed that he has started to jump up to his screen and grab it, trying to hang on... it only happens when his light is on. I just replaced the 75W heat bulb I had handy for a 125W SolarGlo.

Today he was going CRAZY trying to grab on to the screen for almost an hour and a half! Is this normal? Is he bothered by the light or something? He jumps mostly near the light and has been falling a lot which is making me worried =(

He ate when we brought him home the first day but since then he will not eat any small roaches or anything for that matter when he's in his feeding bin, he just looks for a way to get out the whole time. He's eaten hard boiled eggs and ground turkey whenever I put it inside his terrarium when he's not inside but I really want to get him used to eating in his feeding bin... =(

Sorry for the huge article-sized questions guys I just want to make sure that Haku gets the best care possible!

Thanks guys, great site btw! Lots of really cool info here!

-Grem

 

[txrepgirl]

Hi Grem.Welcome to the tegutalk forum and congrats on your new Tegu.I had my Tegu hatchling for about 3 weeks now and she is doing the same thing ( jumping up to the screen top ).But mine does that no matter where in the enclosure.Does yours still do that after you fed him ? I recommend not to feed him in the enclosure.Most ( not all ) Tegus get food aggressive when fed in the enclosure and they also can get impacted if the food falls on the mulch and he eats some mulch.I never used this kind of t-shirt trick.I always just put my hand close by and let them smell me and than try to get closer.What I did to tame down all four of my big Tegus when they were small and now I do the same thing with my hatchling is I put on two shirts.One so I will not get scratched up and the other one for her to hide under.I put a belt around my waist and make it as tight as I can so she will not fall out.Than I put the Tegu in between the two shirts.Since Tegus feel save when they get to hide this trick will work great ( and has so far for me ).Since it's hibernation season it's normal for Tegus to slow down on eating.Just make sure your Tegu has enough water in the enclosure.Once you feed the Tegu in the enclosure it's hard to untrain them to do this.Do you have any pictures of your Tegu ?

 

[Reflektr]

From what I understand, it just takes time and patience to establish trust with your 'gu. Sounds like you're not off to a bad start though if the little guy's being brave with you in the tub. I'm to the same point with my veiled chameleon and we've had him since April, so don't feel bad lol. Just be patient and persistent and I'm sure you'll be buds. As far as the leaping lizard, I'm not sure if you have your lights on top of your screen or not, but you may want to keep a close eye on that if so. Screen can claim poor little toe-nails if not careful. Good luck with the tegu! Oh hey txrepgirl, i recognize that name from your you-tube videos! Great vids by the way. Leonidas seems mighty entertaining.

 

[txrepgirl]

Thank you for the nice compliment :-D .Yes, he is so are my other ones.But Leonidas and Schatzi ( female blue/red hybrid ) make me laugh the most.Do you have any on youtube I can look at ?

 

[Reflektr]

Unfortunately i do not lol. The only cam-corder i have is a little older, and to my knowledge, won't put video on the computer. I wish i could though, because my beardie Zero is quite the clown lol.

 

[txrepgirl]

that's to bad.

 

[GREM]

txrepgirl! omg!! I didn't even recognize your sn haha!

I love your vids, I commented on them a few weeks ago just before I bought my little Haku. No pics or vid yet, still giving him some time to get used to his home. When he is calmed down I will have plenty of great vids though!

Say hi to Leonidas! He is a goofball.

 

[thestem07]

Grem,
I have had my little guy for about 4 weeks and it has been interesting. He has done the jumping thing a few times, when I notice him starting to do that I usually get him out and play around with him. I think it might be his way of saying I want out.
As far as not eating in the feeding bin and just looking for a way out. He did that too, so I took some duct tape and put it around the bottom 6-8 inches of the bin so he couldn't see out with out climbing up the sides and he eats in there with no trouble now. In fact he is eating like crazy! So much for slowing down around this time of year.

A trick I used to tame my little guy down was just put your hand in the tank for awhile, not trying to go for him or anything just sitting there reading a book or something with your hand just resting in there. He should get curious and investigate, mine did. It took him a few days though cause he was really wild for the first few weeks, doing the tail whip, and even biting me twice, but after about a week of me just resting my hand in the tank for 30-60 min a day he let me pet him and now he lets me pick him up and carry him around. If he gets down when he is out, he will just bolt away though so I usually just get him out and go to the tub and chill now.

anyways best of luck and hope I was helpful.

 

[GREM]

thestem, thank you! I never thought of covering the feeding bin so he couldnt see out of it. I was in between buying a solid colored sterilite or a clear one and opted for the clear just because I liked the look of it better. I'll add tape to it as soon as I get home!

I have tried resting my hand in there for a bit and usually he gets curious enough to come check it out... the only problem is he wiggles his tail and starts posturing whenever he sees me and usually it seems like hes about to go for my hand! haha!

I really wouldnt mind being bitten, I've been bitten by tons of my animals and I'm fine with it. Just today I was in his terrarium adding some substrate and cleaning and he actually leapt into the air and across his tank! He went like a foot distance! I was impressed.


Thanks for the advice guys! You guys should add me on myspace if you have it.

<!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.myspace.com/ravepower" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">www.myspace.com/ravepower</a><!-- w -->

I'll post new pics of my little monster in a few days. They will definitely be on my myspace and I'll also try to post a thread here! =D

-Grem

 

[Reflektr]

If you don't want to use a whole bunch of tape and get sticky all over the bin, you could also just tape news paper around the outside? Your 'gu could also enjoy the Funnies while eating breakfast!

 

[GREM]

great idea! I'll figure something out. Hopefully he realizes that there is a wall there now! haha

 

[thestem07]

Germ,
I was the same way when I bought my feeding bin. As far as the tape goes that's just what I had handy at the time and it seemed like a good idea. As far as not afraid of being bitten I understand that like I said he has bitten me as well but, I just didn't let that really bother me and the next day sat with my hand in the enclosure and he didn't try it again. Anyways if he does come over to your hand and is in a threatening posture, not sure if you are willing to keep your hand in there or not but maybe try and see if he settles down if you don't remove your hand.
Anyways I wish you the best of luck with the little guy and I know he will settle down with time. Look forward to seeing pics of him soon.