sooo....

[marty118]

i literally probably have had the worst first day homecoming experience on history just a second ago. i just received my 1st "hatchling" tegu today and i feel i messed things up already. hes a black and white argentine for
sure just not quite sure how old he actually is? there is a small amount of green left in him
not much tho. anywho, i set his enclosure up lights substrate the whole nine yards let him acustom to the set up all day until i got impatient and decided to handle
him. he allowed me too for a while until i kinda freaked out when he crawled up my shoulder bc i didnt know how i would get him off. so i tried to grab him he bit me and he drops to the floor. would not let me pick him
up off floor and i had to mission impossible to get him back in the enclosure took me 30 mins of strategic planning smh. now he's back in he's more
flighty then before and burrowing to the point i cant find him. did i ruin things before they could even begin?

 

[LizardStudent]

I mean you didn't ruin things forever but you definitely didn't get off on the right foot with a baby who is already nervous and flighty and doesn't know who you are
First, don't try to handle him so early. You just brought it home, its entire environment is unfamiliar and overwhelming, give it a few days. Second, if its going to freak you out if an animal walks on you and doesn't just sit completely still while you handle it, then maybe don't handle it. It can take months of work to get tegus to be calm and trusting around you, so if you're going to freak when its not very calm, you will have a lot of work to do between the both of you in the coming weeks and months. Of course he's going to be more flighty after being grabbed and dropped and advanced upon when he's probably already overwhelmed in his new home. Usually when you first bring any tegu home, they will burrow for days at a time as they get used to the new smells and sounds and slowly get comfortable with their enclosure.
Things are not ruined, he'll get over it eventually, but you certainly didn't make things easier for yourself I don't think. What you should do now is leave it alone - when I brought my hatchling home, I waited probably a week before even putting my hand inside the enclosure for her to smell, maybe a month before trying to actually handle her after gradually gaining trust. This is a long process, and hatchlings are flighty and scared, especially in new environments. Slow and steady wins the race

 

[marty118]

I mean you didn't ruin things forever but you definitely didn't get off on the right foot with a baby who is already nervous and flighty and doesn't know who you are
First, don't try to handle him so early. You just brought it home, its entire environment is unfamiliar and overwhelming, give it a few days. Second, if its going to freak you out if an animal walks on you and doesn't just sit completely still while you handle it, then maybe don't handle it. It can take months of work to get tegus to be calm and trusting around you, so if you're going to freak when its not very calm, you will have a lot of work to do between the both of you in the coming weeks and months. Of course he's going to be more flighty after being grabbed and dropped and advanced upon when he's probably already overwhelmed in his new home. Usually when you first bring any tegu home, they will burrow for days at a time as they get used to the new smells and sounds and slowly get comfortable with their enclosure.
Things are not ruined, he'll get over it eventually, but you certainly didn't make things easier for yourself I don't think. What you should do now is leave it alone - when I brought my hatchling home, I waited probably a week before even putting my hand inside the enclosure for her to smell, maybe a month before trying to actually handle her after gradually gaining trust. This is a long process, and hatchlings are flighty and scared, especially in new environments. Slow and steady wins the race

ok makes sense i have other lizards i've handled first day that's maybe why i felt destined to do it. its the next day and he has still been burrowed. so it's not a good idea to dig for him? i kinda just wanna make sure the little guy is ok

 

[LizardStudent]

ok makes sense i have other lizards i've handled first day that's maybe why i felt destined to do it. its the next day and he has still been burrowed. so it's not a good idea to dig for him? i kinda just wanna make sure the little guy is ok

Do not dig for him, pretty much ever honestly. He needs time to recover from yesterday, but tegus in general regardless of age should feel safe and secure in their burrows and I wouldn't recommend digging them out ever unless there is a reason you need to. You should leave him alone for several days in my opinion. Make sure there is fresh water, offer food if he comes out, but otherwise do not disturb

He is going to be borrowed to the point of you not being able to see him a whole lot - tegus are large burrowing lizards by nature. Its what they do

 

[marty118]

i had no idea it was going to cause all this i would've just left him alone in the first place i thought he escaped the enclosure at first lol. thanks for the advice makes more sense to me now

 

[Debita]

In a situation where they are already freaked out because they don't enjoy change, you have to let him lead you back. He's not going to hate you forever, but it's a set back. Good advice from LizardStudent - leave him alone, and as he realizes he's not dead, attacked by wild prey, or falling off humans anymore, he'll venture out. No one can tell you how long this takes because each Tegu is different. Patience is the key...don't allow yourself to over-think things. He'll come out when he's ready. These are smart animals, he's not going to starve himself to death...he'll eventually surface, and will be very apprehensive.

You'll be fine - you didn't damage his psyche - you just freaked him out at an inopportune moment. Good luck! Let us know how it goes!