new tegu! (question?)

[Guest]

It explored its new home a bit then hid under a rock. I figured it would probably be a week or so until it gets used to its new environment. When can I start to handle it, any tips in doing so? I've been reading that feeding your tegu in its cage is a bad idea for a few reasons. Does it matter if it eats in its cage during this adjustment period? I have a 10 gallon tank I used to use to feed my beardie in but now that I have 2 lizards I've cleaned it out and its only housing crickets. I've read some people feed their tegus in rubbermaid containers or in their bath tub. My guys still tiny, as I said, any suggestions on feeding?

 

[Nessie]

I would say that if you can get him out of the enclosure without too much of a fight ( You don't want to chase the poor guy all over the tank) then I would start feeding him in a bin right away to get him used to that and to get used to you. I would keep it short, save the bonding time until he has had about a week or so to adjust. That being said my little guy was fed in his enclosure for the first week as he was so "wild" and every attempt at getting him out of the tank turned into a tail whipping frenzie! If he is like that that I would just make sure you put his food in a large shallow dish or pan and watch him closely to ensure he doesn't drag his food into the mulch and eat it by accident. Again if you can get him out withouth stressing him too much then I would go that route as it did take my guy a little while to get used to bin eating and he went hungry a few days also! I would spend time in the tank a few times a day though changing the water, misting, and spot cleaning just so the gu can get used to you and check you out on his terms before the real handling even starts.

Thats just the way I did it so I am sure you are going to get other views and some great advice from others also.

Very nice Tegu, was he from a breeder?

 

[Guest]

I just fed him/her/it, it let me pick it up but then kind of fought to get down/away when it started coming out of the enclosure... I fed it in a lunch box lol for the time being that might be something that works. Thanks for your help! It let me touch it a little bit but I didn't want to go overboard, after the feeding I pet it a few times and back into its enclosure it went.

 

[Guest]

No I got him at the reptile rescue I mentioned before. I went to go check out the adult they had but she was still in quarantine, I guess she had a part of her tail missing and some missing toes I was so sad while I was there, I wanted to get all the animals.

 

[striggs]

I've fed my boy in his tank/cage for a long time before feeding him out of the cage. I've never noticed him to have cage-feeding aggression luckily. One thing I will tell you is to take your time letting your tegu become adjusted to being handling. I know when we just get a new pet we wanna just dive into handling em all the time but the more patient you are with em the less afraid they'll become.

 

[Guest]

Yeah I reverted to feeding him in his cage for now, hes got a large dish on a huge rock and I haven't noticed him eating substrate or anything. I stopped taking him out after he almost slipped through my hands. Right now I just spend a half hour or so at a time spot cleaning and changing the water or doing whatever. He seems to be calming a little bit, patience, lol.

 

[slideaboot]

I've noticed that my Extreme will eat a TON more food when I leave him alone in his cage than when I take him out to feed. He's still really young (less than 2 months old) and with hibernation coming, I want him eating as much as possible before he goes down.

 

[eddyjack]

I find these animals to be very curious, I like Nessie's thoughts about misting, spot cleaning and just being active in their space. I also would simply sit in front of my enclosure and slowly move my hands around as I was taking care of the needs then just leave my arm in there and sure enough she started moving closer to check me out. On their terms at first, let them come to you and just move slowly and before you know it you will be holding them in no time.

 

[Guest]

Cool thank you for you both for your advice. :-D

 

[JohnMatthew]

Just take it slow and steady. As time goes by you'll notice your GU getting more used to your presence. At first when I'd be spot cleaning, unless I was at the complete other end of their enclosure, both my tegus would dive into a hide. After time I noticed I could pick up stuff just a few inches from them without their freaking out. From this point I'd slowly move my hand towards them until they showed signs of retreating, then I'd just stop and let my hand rest a while so they could check it out. Eventually I got to the point that I could slowly reach over and give them a little scratch on the head, back, sides or under the chin but still if I went for a scoop and they'd hop off my hand. That's the point I'm at right now, about 1/2 the time I can get a scoop and they just chill and then I bring them out for a while. When taming you just have to take it slow and steady and learn their warning signs of being scared/stressed as it's not hard to set yourself back a few weeks worth of work with 1 bad manhandling of your GU.

 

[rrcoolj]

Just take it slow and steady. As time goes by you'll notice your GU getting more used to your presence. At first when I'd be spot cleaning, unless I was at the complete other end of their enclosure, both my tegus would dive into a hide. After time I noticed I could pick up stuff just a few inches from them without their freaking out. From this point I'd slowly move my hand towards them until they showed signs of retreating, then I'd just stop and let my hand rest a while so they could check it out. Eventually I got to the point that I could slowly reach over and give them a little scratch on the head, back, sides or under the chin but still if I went for a scoop and they'd hop off my hand. That's the point I'm at right now, about 1/2 the time I can get a scoop and they just chill and then I bring them out for a while. When taming you just have to take it slow and steady and learn their warning signs of being scared/stressed as it's not hard to set yourself back a few weeks worth of work with 1 bad manhandling of your GU.

You stole the words from my mouth. it is critical that you are patient and persistent at this stage. How you treat your tegu now will determine how he sees you for the rest of his life. I have always fed my tegu in a seperate container and he has never been an aggressive feeder except when he hunts live fish but even then it is controlled.

 

[Guest]

Yeah mines not hiding anymore, hes out in the open just watching but usually on the opposite side of the enclosure. There have been a few times where its came over to smell me but thats about it. I don't think its quite ready to be handled yet its still huffing and puffing with tail whip attempts if I make the first (slow) move.
I had another question on feeding, right now I'm doing a f/t pinkie every Saturday. Is there a rule of thumb for how large their prey should be? He can get the pinkie down easily.

(Last weeks first bathtub experience before the attempted bathroom escape)

 

[Guest]

Re: new tegu! growing like a weed

I can't believe how fast these guys grow! They really do seem to grow before your eyes. Yesterday I was thinking wow, my tegus gotten a lot bigger... I woke up this morning and he looked a little bigger even from yesterday.

2 weeks ago, when I brought 'em home

3 days ago

Today, he's not as green as he used to be!

 

[ashesc212]

Wow that is great that you rescued it from a shelter! That is very nice of you to do. I know what you mean about wanting to take them all home. Every animal deserves a nice place to call home and it's sad that we can't save them all.

On a positive note, however, you did a great thing by taking him. They do grow quick and it seems that yours is doing that.

Are you feeding anything other than just one pinkie per week? The rule of thumb is usually don't feed anything that is larger than the space between their eyes. However, when they get adult sized that's not quite as applicable. For example, they may eat large rats.

If you are only feeding pinkies I would try to feed him every day during this growing stage. Try some crickets and worms and also some lean ground turkey.

 

[Toby_H]

First off, it sounds like you are doing great...

I read all the warnings about feeding in the cage and I agree with most of them. Yet, like you, in the beginning I fed in the cage to prevent disturbing the new/young Tegu. Then I continued doing so because it just seemed to work. 2.5 years later, I still feed in the cage because it still works. That said, my Tegu is not at all food aggressive nor cage aggressive. I feel there are a lot of factors that will impact aggression and where you feed them is but a minor one.

Offer him as varied of a diet as he will accept. When mine was young he ate mostly ground turkey. He showed little interest in much else from the grocery store. Once I started offering him frozen/thawed mice that quickly became his favorite, yet I resist making it too much of his diet. Now a days, he will eat just about any meat offered but whole foods such as mice,. rats and chicks are still his favorite.

My adult male eats baby chickens that are easily twice the size as his head

You will hear a huge range of opinions and experiences as you read around. Take each one for what it's worth but most importantly watch your Tegu and se what works for him/her...

 

[Guest]

Yeah we've been trying different foods. It really seems to like eggs, I give it eggs 2 times a week with some ground turkey or tilapia in between. then the pinkie on saturdays. I bought some turkey necks so we might be trying those in a few days after I can cut them up. I tried crickets the first few days but it doesn't seem all that interested in them, it eats maybe 5 and thats it. But it seems to inhale everything else.
When I do the first feed , I put the food in just after turning on the lights before it's come out of its little burrow. And the second whenever its not watching lol. I'm hoping once it gets more used to me I can take it out to eat. As I said before its warming up more and checking me out when I'm in the cage but still won't let me make any of the moves. I heard about the food aggression when my brother had his ball python. It was fed in its tank and never got aggressive, maybe it just depends on the individual itself.
As far as prey size goes I sort of figured thats what it was, my beardie doesn't eat anything larger than the space between his eyes but I had seen some tegus eating rats and stuff as adults.