Hello guest! Are you a Tegu enthusiast? If so, we invite you to join our community! Our site is specifically designed for you and it's a great place for Tegu enthusiasts to meet online. Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your Tegu and enclosure and have a great time with other Tegu fans. Sign up today! If you have any questions, problems, or other concerns email josh@tegutalk.com!

Reply to thread

Message

Don't worry - if you work with your Columbian there is a fantastic chance he/she will be really tame. I have two male Columbians that I have been keeping for 6 & 7 years. I worked with them constantly when they were small. Now they are 34 and 39 inches and super tame. They are also very smart. They have name recognition and they understand "no" (like when they are trying to walk under the couch or slide off the bed or something).
Try to get him outside (in a reptarium or something similar) if you can for a little bit each week. My guys love turkey, eggs, rodents, a little tuna fish etc.

But start mostly by working with him - let him crawl from hand to hand, you can even let him sleep rolled up in the bottom of your tshirt for a few minutes. I also think it is a good idea to hold him and let him see you closing your eyes for a few seconds so that he won't think he is a prey item. Might sound weird, but it works.

Good luck & enjoy your Columbian - I am so tired of hearing that they aren't as good as Argentine because you get what you put into it. I have 4 red tegus too (2 are still very young) and my older 2 were purchased older so I never had that chance to work with them when they were young. Guess what? They aren't as tolerant to handling as my Columbians because I worked with them constantly but didn't get to work with my two older reds when they were young.

Also, check out this clip from Frogs (1972) to see how cool these "actor" Columbian tegus are:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWsXSvL3kLs

<blockquote data-quote="MCoakley" data-source="post: 95572" data-attributes="member: 2807">Don't worry - if you work with your Columbian there is a fantastic chance he/she will be really tame.&nbsp; I have two male Columbians that I have been keeping for 6 &amp; 7 years.&nbsp; I worked with them constantly when they were small.&nbsp; Now they are 34 and 39 inches and super tame.&nbsp; They are also very smart.&nbsp; They have name recognition and they understand &quot;no&quot; (like when they are trying to walk under the couch or slide off the bed or something).&nbsp; Try to get him outside (in a reptarium or something similar) if you can for a little bit each week.&nbsp; My guys love turkey, eggs, rodents, a little tuna fish etc.&nbsp; But start mostly by working with him - let him crawl from hand to hand, you can even let him sleep rolled up in the bottom of your tshirt for a few minutes.&nbsp; I also think it is a good idea to hold him and let him see you closing your eyes for a few seconds so that he won't think he is a prey item.&nbsp; Might sound weird, but it works.&nbsp; Good luck &amp; enjoy your Columbian - I am so tired of hearing that they aren't as good as Argentine because you get what you put into it.&nbsp; I have 4 red tegus too (2 are still very young) and my older 2 were purchased older so I never had that chance to work with them when they were young.&nbsp; Guess what?&nbsp; They aren't as tolerant to handling as my Columbians because I worked with them constantly but didn't get to work with my two older reds when they were young.&nbsp; Also, check out this clip from Frogs (1972) to see how cool these &quot;actor&quot; Columbian tegus are:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWsXSvL3kLs</blockquote>

[QUOTE="MCoakley, post: 95572, member: 2807"] Don't worry - if you work with your Columbian there is a fantastic chance he/she will be really tame. I have two male Columbians that I have been keeping for 6 & 7 years. I worked with them constantly when they were small. Now they are 34 and 39 inches and super tame. They are also very smart. They have name recognition and they understand "no" (like when they are trying to walk under the couch or slide off the bed or something). Try to get him outside (in a reptarium or something similar) if you can for a little bit each week. My guys love turkey, eggs, rodents, a little tuna fish etc. But start mostly by working with him - let him crawl from hand to hand, you can even let him sleep rolled up in the bottom of your tshirt for a few minutes. I also think it is a good idea to hold him and let him see you closing your eyes for a few seconds so that he won't think he is a prey item. Might sound weird, but it works. Good luck & enjoy your Columbian - I am so tired of hearing that they aren't as good as Argentine because you get what you put into it. I have 4 red tegus too (2 are still very young) and my older 2 were purchased older so I never had that chance to work with them when they were young. Guess what? They aren't as tolerant to handling as my Columbians because I worked with them constantly but didn't get to work with my two older reds when they were young. Also, check out this clip from Frogs (1972) to see how cool these "actor" Columbian tegus are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWsXSvL3kLs [/QUOTE]

Verification