need advice!

[shannond813]

howdy
i currently have a 3-4 month old red tegu, about 8 inches svl. hes quite aggressive and very scared. ive been asking all around on what methods i should use to tame him down. ive been told to let him do what he wants, (wiggle, bite, hiss) until he becomes comfortable, and then ive been told to tame him like an iguana, by showing him im in charge, and when he wiggles not to let him go, and if he bites not to put him down, since im rewarding him for biting, ive tried the first method with no success, and now im trying the second method. ive been bite a bunch of times in the past two weeks, and i really just want a correct way to tame my arg red tegu! and even if he isnt very tame right now, he will still be tame when hes older right? or are there alot of cases of aggressive adult tegus? thank you

 

[angelrose]

Hi shannon813 and :welc did you read Bobby's article on the Home Page about "Taming the Beast" ? time and patience to build trust.

 

[Magik]

Ok First thing you want this little guy to trust you its not about dominance!Can you Describe your set up?

 

[tegu1982]

you just got to be patiant with him. ive got a red that was actin relatively the same but without the bitting. and it has now calmed down considerably. you should read the taming the beast article as angelrose suggested. you should also checkout the varnyard channel on youtube, they have some good videos of taming and care. good luck. http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=Varnyard&p=r

 

[shannond813]

yea ive read that already, and then someone told me that was not the way to do that. but thats what you get when you listen to people that dont even keep tegus. but yea im going to stick to that article. 75 gallon tank, with a plexiglass top to keep in humidity, 2 hides, mulch/dirt as substrate, 110 basking temp 78 cool side, 60-75 percent humidity, UVB lighting. feeding on blueberries, strawberries, fuzzies, superworms, crickets, and eggs.

 

[DaveDragon]

Sounds like you're doing good!

 

[shannond813]

thank you davedragon. i am going to stick to the "taming the beast" article. i know it will work out in the end. im just very worried at this rate i will have a 4 foot monster running around the house.

 

[DaveDragon]

I've read, and experienced, they can have some aggression at 6-8 months old and then calm down after that. First you have to earn their trust, then they have to mature and calm down.

Our 16 month old is still a bit crazy. Our adult Tegu's are fine walking around the yard, the young one has to stay on a leash or she'll run away.