My Tegu Gets... "Frustrated"

[SomethingTegu]

My tegu is pretty tame overall, but he's kind of stubborn. I noticed a couple of times while him and I were out on the couch he was trying to dig under my arm. I didn't move my arm, because he was just nudging me with his nose. After awhile though he'd get frustrated trying to push my arm out of the way so he would open his mouth slowly and gently looking to try and grab my arm and move it that way! He didn't bite me, I tapped him on the nose before he got his mouth on me but it's still alarming and at a adult size I'm thinking even a slight bite would hurt and do some serious damage... What do you guys suggest I do?

 

[TeguBuzz]

Next time, you move your arm.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

Ditto ^ ^ ^ nothing wrong with letting him cuddle. Plus it's apart of you that he knows can be moved. Unless he was seriously upset huffing and puffing and all I don't think the nip would have been much. You probably would've caused most of what might have been a little damage by pulling away when it happened.

They can be quite stubborn or persistent when they want something.

 

[SomethingTegu]

He wasn't trying to cuddle. He was digging into the couch for over an hour finding tight little spots to lay under for short periods of time before I came around and reacted the same way to my arm as he does a pillow cushion *digdigdig. I noticed after I had got up to do something near him when he opened his mouth at my arm, he was also trying to move other things that were in his way with his mouth, like the pillow cushion, and the xbox controller. He just really likes to dig I guess. He will spend hours doing it outside and inside of his enclosure every day. He will also eat any vegetable/fruit you put in front of him. He's special.

 

[apocalypse910]

Heh - mine frequently decides that my neck is in an inconvenient location and pushes on it to get it out of the way. He is a persistent little word that I can't use on the forums.

I may be wrong but I've noticed that the digging behavior occurs when he's done being out and wants to be someplace secure. If I don't let him hide or move him to his cage he tends to get very very testy. They seem to get overstimulated and frustrated when they can't hide.

Mine has not bitten aggressively since he was a baby. I have noticed though that when he is extremely hungry he'll attempt a slow motion bite. He's clearly fast enough to bite me if he wants to so I usually take this as a clear "Feed me Now!" rather than an attack. You may want to try offering more food if you haven't tried already.