Nervous Tegu

[Non Crimen Jr.]

What kind of tegu do you have?Argentine Red Tegu
How old is your tegu?8 months
How large is your tegu?25 inches
What is the sex of your tegu?Probable male
How long have you had your tegu?6 weeks
Does your tegu brumate or hibernate?Not determined
What size enclosure do you have?72x40x40
What kind of substrate is used? Cyprus mulch
What kind of UVB do you use (brand and coil vs bulb vs tube)? Powesun 10.0 bulb
What is the wattage of your bulb?1002
How old is your bulb?1 month
How far away is the UVB?about 20 inches
Do you use a separate bulb for heat? What is the wattage?No
What are the temps (basking and cool side)?95 and 78
What do you use to measure the temps?flukers thermo/hydro and Zoomed Repti Temp
What is your humidity? What do you use to measure it?^
What do you feed your tegu?Rats,Eggs,Ground Turkey,Grapes
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? Morning and late afternoon
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?Zoo Med Reptile Calcium with D3
Does your tegu have regular BM's?Yes
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?No
Does your tegu share and enclosure with another tegu?No

So here is my problem. Everytime I just stick my hand in Owen's cage he gets up and starts to walk off of his hide; if i start to move my hand to pet him he runs away, and goes in his hide and burrows. He started this 4 days ago. He eats fine, and he makes BM's regularly. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Nick

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

The taming process takes time and he doesn't want to be bothered right now. They can have off days or weeks just like we do.

 

[Dirtydmc]

I've had Dozer for 7 months. He likes Lisa. Not me so much.

 

[Dana C]

It took three months to get Eva to the point that she trusted me and not have a hissy fit when I picked her up. Mind you I spent almost an hour everyday with her in the bathroom letting her crawl around and on me.
Gordo, my adult male I have had about a month or a two. Supposedly, he was "very tame". Well, that wasn't exactly true. When he is awake, I take him to the bathroom, feed him, bathe him and let him crawl around as well. He is just now climbing up on me for chin and jowl scratches and strokes.
I have an AA as well who is six months old and when he is awake, which isn't often, he is hell on wheels. Tail whipping, squirming, hissing and generally being an arse is his normal behavior. When I manage to grab him for a bath, he calms down and tolerates handling, stroking etc. The big issue is catching him.
The moral of the story is they are all different and it takes time an diligence. Give him and yourself time.

 

[Non Crimen Jr.]

thanks for the advice.
-Nick

 

[Tegasaurus]

As mentioned. It is practically necessary to spend up to 1 hour or more a day with him for several weeks to get him used to you. Also, feed him outside of the enclosure. This will create a bond. Everytime you want to feed him, put him in a tote or other container. After a while, he will come to you and expect to be picked up and brought to his food. He will not see you as food, but rather the person he needs to go to for food.

Rob

 

[Dana C]

Bubblz and Tegasaurus are correct. For example, Gordo for the last four days has been, "Dana, I love you, I love, I love you". " I worship at the altar of Dana". Today, I noticed that his belly scales were turning sort of peach colored and the tan scales on his back were getting darker and he was indifferent about being picked up, his bath, his food and just wanted to go back and nap. He is, I am almost sure, approaching a shed which afftects all three of my "kids" behaviors and mood.
I spend a good hour per day with my Tegus and I think that they have come to expect the attention.