My Tegu craps on me like clockwork =0(

[babyyitslove]

I would not automatically agree with the conclusory statement that it is a defensive response and I would with all respect to other input NOT agree that you should start feeding him in his enclosure for a while "until" he calms down.

Tegus often see food/soak time as a time to relieve themselves as well. Mine will do it without fail after his meal and into about ten minutes of his warm water soak. Tegus, like many smaller predators who are themselves less than "apex" status on the food chain, don't preferentially defecate immediately next to their burrow or enclosure; it would advertise their presence even more. Water seems to be a preferred defecation point, though. Your interaction with him right at feeding time may be the equivalent of a two year old potty trainee being taken into the bathroom and then waiting a few minutes too long. He'll get there eventually, but it is likely he associates you with potty time as much as he does meal time. Maybe a towel in your arms and don't linger for neck rubs when you first pick him up, just be gentle but a little quicker in the transition without being rushed?

If you start feeding in the enclosure "until" he calms down, you may well see the return of that previous charging, cage/food aggression he came to you with. Personally, I wouldn't choose that path and it may be more confusing to him than helpful. No, of course you don't want to stress him unnecessarily...but ALL habituation involves some stress, including shipping, enclosure cleaning, water changes, feeding, you name it. As long as you are conscientious about it and pay attention to minimizing that stress as best you can, you will be doing the right thing. In my opinion, restarting cage feedings to avoid stress will only set you up for more stress dealing with it later.

Thanks!

I've been talking to my husband about it, and we really don't want the set back. I handled him for the first time in a few days last night, to clean his cage and provide him with a newly built hide, and he was GREAT! He hung out with me for about 10 minutes, calm as can be... when my husband reached to stroke his head, he gaped at him. Which was a first. We gave him a few more minutes, and he tried again and succeeded to pet him without any gaping or defensiveness.
He did, in fact, still manage to crap on me, but he did it AS I was setting him into the freshened up enclosure.

Personally, from what he was on day 1 to what he is now, I see a degree of comfort with us. And hope that it grows.

 

[m3s4]

The last thing you want in this scenario is your tegu getting accustomed and used to going potty on you.

What could have been an early defense mechanism at play here, can very likely lead to this tegu becoming trained to potty at your touch. Maybe, maybe not but the longer he associates your warm hands with going potty, the more likely he is to become used to this routine.

Perhaps you can arrange your bathroom so that you can allow him to bask close to your tub, then when he's warm you can place him in a tub of warm water and he'll go there instead of your hand(s).

I noticed a pattern with both of my tegus: they're both fussy when cold, and will both potty when their body temp. reaches a certain (warm) level. Like clockwork this happens every day.

I have made this a routine for all of us and it works great:

1) Warming/basking
2) Soak in warm water for potty
3) Feed 1x daily turkey or eggs until they are full
4) Warming/basking
5) Roaming/activity
6) Rest/hide/sleep

Rinse and repeat every single day and with very few exceptions, have had no potty accidents.
For occasions where I think there might be an accident, we set potty-pads under the tegus for a quick, easy, disposable mess.

The reason I have these 6 steps is simple. In the wild the first thing a tegu is going to do is raise his body temp. to his particular liking. He will then opt to forage/hunt for food away from his burrow where on the way he will potty. If he fidns water he will drink or soak then bask if he needs too and then finally return home for the afternoon/night.

My steps help to replicate and mimic this type of behavioral pattern to some extent, as well as keep them in a routine that WE ALL can manage.

Hope this insight helps with your potty problem(s).

 

[slideaboot]

I DEFINITELY recommend the pre-soak technique. I had the EXACT problem, but haven't had a single incident since I started soakin' my guys before any REAL handling. Good luck...it's a crappy situation...

 

[dragonmetalhead]

Kodo used to poop on me, but he stopped doing that months ago and now always hops off me if he needs to go. He does his morning business right after eating and fortunately there's no carpeting in the museum so I just use a Chlorox wipe of two to clean up the mess.