CharlieTheTegu
New Member
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- 1
Hello! Firstly, I'm happy to be a part of a community that seems to be as enthusiastic about tegus as you all are. I'm sure these questions have been answered a million times already but I wanted to present you with my exact situation to make sure all variables are known.
I just got my new tegu the other day (6 months old haven't gotten a length or weight) and right out of the box he was gentle and curious but a little nervous. Very happy about that mostly. I've had him for 3 or 4 days now and on the first day I made a couple mistakes I'm trying to change. I hand fed him a blueberry which he took pretty gently and I dug him out of his burrow to show a friend and he seemed interested in what was happening not too frightened and no aggression. I realized after that I should never dig him out of his burrow and I haven't done it since then.
For the first day I didn't see him at all, I put food in his cage and he came out while I wasn't around and ate some of it. The second day I fed him and I went into my reptile room while he was out and he let me stand next to the cage while he was eating but any sudden movements and he would retreat back into his log. The day after that I used tongs to feed him some insects and I bribed him into coming out with a horn worm which he easily came out and took off the tongs along with about 5 super worms and another horn worm.
Today, he came out and was eating some eggs and I attempted to open the cage to see if I could put my hand near him or at least in his territory. I presented him with a closed fist and he instantly bit me on my knuckle. Seemingly a feeding response and not an aggressive bite. I've had a nile monitor in the past and currently have blood pythons so I'm pretty experienced with feeding responses and aggressive reptiles in general. I just dont know how to go about taming him without invading his personal space. He already has associated my hands with food and I'm worried it will only get worse if I don't force some kind of interaction that isn't food related but the only way I can currently interact with him is food related. I know target training will help but how do I get him to even come out to start working with him on that.
My nile monitor ended up being "relatively" tame but I never expected her to be a completely docile reptile so I didn't mind the aggressive feeding response so its something new to me. I've owned reptiles my entire life but my nile monitor was my favorite by far which was part of the inspiration for getting a tegu because it seemed like all the parts I loved from my nile but as much as I loved her I think a nile monitor is one of the worst pets you can have so I really want to concentrate on getting him to be the best pet tegu he can be.
I've read a lot of information on tegus, I know more than the basics and im an experienced reptile keeper but sometimes information is conflicting given your specific situation. I don't want to force interaction he isn't ready for but how can I expect him to not associate my hands with food when so far thats all my hands have been used for. Feeding. I realize the blueberry wasn't the greatest start but I can only move forward from here and I want him to be a docile pet one day so I'm completely open ears for opinions and criticism.
I have tegu proofed my room which considering his size, my room and the reptile room are the only safe rooms I can make (stove, couch, fridge, etc.) I feel like he will become more comfortable around me if we are cohabitating the same space for good portions of the day( im currently on temporary lay off because of the virus, so I have nothing but time to spend with my tegu if he will allow it.)
Its been less than a week so up until this afternoon I was assuming he just needs time which is okay but I know they are creatures of habit so I dont want bad habits at a young age to quickly turn into life long problems which is the only reason I'm reaching out so soon.
Thank you all for even taking the time to read my post! Very long but I wanted to give you all the details.
Small ending post about the best nile monitor to ever live.
Her name was Sunny and she was a ball of fire when I first got her. She would latch onto me and wouldn't let go for anything. Before she passed away because of an accident involving my cat knocking her heat lamp off the cage, she was the full length of my arm and as long as I let her come out of her cage on her own she never was aggressive with me. I said in my main post I've had reptiles my entire life but my connection to my nile was on another level. There was a mutual respect that had to be there and I appreciated that. Its been years since she has passed and I really hope me and my tegu can reach that same level with each other and I know fellow owners of large lizards will know what I mean!
I just got my new tegu the other day (6 months old haven't gotten a length or weight) and right out of the box he was gentle and curious but a little nervous. Very happy about that mostly. I've had him for 3 or 4 days now and on the first day I made a couple mistakes I'm trying to change. I hand fed him a blueberry which he took pretty gently and I dug him out of his burrow to show a friend and he seemed interested in what was happening not too frightened and no aggression. I realized after that I should never dig him out of his burrow and I haven't done it since then.
For the first day I didn't see him at all, I put food in his cage and he came out while I wasn't around and ate some of it. The second day I fed him and I went into my reptile room while he was out and he let me stand next to the cage while he was eating but any sudden movements and he would retreat back into his log. The day after that I used tongs to feed him some insects and I bribed him into coming out with a horn worm which he easily came out and took off the tongs along with about 5 super worms and another horn worm.
Today, he came out and was eating some eggs and I attempted to open the cage to see if I could put my hand near him or at least in his territory. I presented him with a closed fist and he instantly bit me on my knuckle. Seemingly a feeding response and not an aggressive bite. I've had a nile monitor in the past and currently have blood pythons so I'm pretty experienced with feeding responses and aggressive reptiles in general. I just dont know how to go about taming him without invading his personal space. He already has associated my hands with food and I'm worried it will only get worse if I don't force some kind of interaction that isn't food related but the only way I can currently interact with him is food related. I know target training will help but how do I get him to even come out to start working with him on that.
My nile monitor ended up being "relatively" tame but I never expected her to be a completely docile reptile so I didn't mind the aggressive feeding response so its something new to me. I've owned reptiles my entire life but my nile monitor was my favorite by far which was part of the inspiration for getting a tegu because it seemed like all the parts I loved from my nile but as much as I loved her I think a nile monitor is one of the worst pets you can have so I really want to concentrate on getting him to be the best pet tegu he can be.
I've read a lot of information on tegus, I know more than the basics and im an experienced reptile keeper but sometimes information is conflicting given your specific situation. I don't want to force interaction he isn't ready for but how can I expect him to not associate my hands with food when so far thats all my hands have been used for. Feeding. I realize the blueberry wasn't the greatest start but I can only move forward from here and I want him to be a docile pet one day so I'm completely open ears for opinions and criticism.
I have tegu proofed my room which considering his size, my room and the reptile room are the only safe rooms I can make (stove, couch, fridge, etc.) I feel like he will become more comfortable around me if we are cohabitating the same space for good portions of the day( im currently on temporary lay off because of the virus, so I have nothing but time to spend with my tegu if he will allow it.)
Its been less than a week so up until this afternoon I was assuming he just needs time which is okay but I know they are creatures of habit so I dont want bad habits at a young age to quickly turn into life long problems which is the only reason I'm reaching out so soon.
Thank you all for even taking the time to read my post! Very long but I wanted to give you all the details.
Small ending post about the best nile monitor to ever live.
Her name was Sunny and she was a ball of fire when I first got her. She would latch onto me and wouldn't let go for anything. Before she passed away because of an accident involving my cat knocking her heat lamp off the cage, she was the full length of my arm and as long as I let her come out of her cage on her own she never was aggressive with me. I said in my main post I've had reptiles my entire life but my connection to my nile was on another level. There was a mutual respect that had to be there and I appreciated that. Its been years since she has passed and I really hope me and my tegu can reach that same level with each other and I know fellow owners of large lizards will know what I mean!
