My Red Tegu!

[ebola]

Just got a baby Red a few days ago. Mine is very wild seeming; tail whips, has bit me, poops on me explosively whenever I hold it, also seems to be a finicky eater. Only has ate once :-/ I take it out and feed in a separate bin. It did eat a frozen pinkie, so I think that is good. Do they usually start out this wild?
Here are some crappy pics, I will definitely will try to get some better ones, this tegu is beautiful!

 

[tegus4life]

They will tail whip and try to bite, mine did when she was littler, your tegu is scared and is trying to protect itself. If I were you I would give her/him a week or two to get settled in to it's new home. I know a lot of people recommend feeding in separate bins, but for the first few weeks I would say just feed in it's cage, just until it's used to it's environment and you aren't stressing it out much. A tegu that is stressed will be less likely to eat too so that may be part of your problem. For now, I would just leave him/her alone and let your new tegu acclimate to everything. It will get better with time and as your tegu gets bigger it will very likely gain more confidence.

 

[leosbybam]

You gotta give him time to settle in..Right now he thinks you are trying to eat him.Let him come to you.There's plenty of info on this site to help you with the taming process..Don't force it...

 

[ebola]

Well after taking the pics and posting that it fell asleep on my hand! Is that normal? Kinda a big jump from being all feisty haha. Ya the process will definitely be slow, I'm just trying to hold it a little each day. Also I was told it may not have been being cared for properly before it got it. So that probably doesn't help with it being nervous. I should also mention this is my first tegu, but I am an experienced reptile keeper

 

[Rhetoric]

I would leave it alone for a week or so. It probably "slept" in your hand because its scared. It is a nice looking tegu though.

 

[ebola]

Ok will do. It is in a temp cage and I will be setting up its real cage tomorrow and moving it. I think I will feed it in it's cage for now, I want to make sure it is getting enough to eat. Then move to a feeding bin after a week or two, is that a good plan? Or keep trying the feeding bin?

 

[james.w]

Feed in the cage. Who did you get it from?

 

[ebola]

Not sure who bred it. I bought it off a friend.