Sudden aggression?!

[Mutablekitty]

My B&W Argentine tegu charged me today when he has never done that before, all I was doing was trying to get him to try avocado?

He ate his mice this morning so to me it wouldn't equate to food aggression? but IDK

I'm wondering if he is finally hitting his dreaded teenage stage.

He has been showing more defensive signs that seem out of the blue lately but this is the first time he has actually charged at me. It all started, the defensiveness signs, maybe a month or so ago but before then he was super laid back and didn't show any sign of defensiveness or aggression.

Does anyone know why he might be acting out?

 

[rantology]

How old? They go through puberty when reaching sexual maturity. They can also get territorial/defensive if you recently changed enclosures.

 

[Mutablekitty]

How old? They go through puberty when reaching sexual maturity. They can also get territorial/defensive if you recently changed enclosures.

He is just around 1yr old, it could be the territorial/defensive since even though it has been a few weeks since we moved him in he hasn't fully relaxed just yet. Thanks for your input!!

 

[Godzilla Earth]

It's probably the teenage stage. it happens most often around 12-24 months old

 

[Mutablekitty]

An update: Went to check on him tonight and he had managed to escape. It is a big drop down from his enclosure so I am considering taking him to the vet, but we did find him quickly and got him put back quickly. He was still able to crawl and run (as he avoided us trying to capture him). So I do think he might be fine but I will be keeping an extra close eye on him for the time being.
The way we think he escaped was by pushing the door open, it is secured on both sides but the bottom not so much (its a very wide door) and when you pull on it from the outside it does have a small gap (same as if you pushed from the inside) but he would have been really trying to escape or explore to push open the gap. Since he didn't try to escape much in his previous enclosure I didn't think it would be too big of a deal. I was wrong (unfortunately) and now we have made a way to close the gap so it can't be pushed open. Atleast not by a 1yr old tegu.
I can't truly explain how it felt when we realized he got out, my heart sank.

 

[Walter1]

Their curiosity seems boundless. Encouraging that he seems to have weathered the fall.

 

[Debita]

Good you got him back! Their puberty requires a lot of patience. It is a time when they really feel their oats. I put my Tegus (2) on the kitchen floor where I can block off the exit. So my male just went to the other side of the room where there's a door to the laundry room. One day, I didn't shut it all the way, and of course he and the female both got in there. Luckily, they didn't end up behind the washing machine or dryer, and they both knew they were had. I picked them up and put them back into the kitchen. Every time they're in the kitchen now, they nudge that laundry room door. Every time. This will never be left alone now.

 

[Mich lady]

My B&W Argentine tegu charged me today when he has never done that before, all I was doing was trying to get him to try avocado?

He ate his mice this morning so to me it wouldn't equate to food aggression? but IDK

I'm wondering if he is finally hitting his dreaded teenage stage.

He has been showing more defensive signs that seem out of the blue lately but this is the first time he has actually charged at me. It all started, the defensiveness signs, maybe a month or so ago but before then he was super laid back and didn't show any sign of defensiveness or aggression.

Does anyone know why he might be acting out?

Do not feed your tegu or bearded dragon avocado! It can make them sick or even kill them! It is poisonous to them!

 

[Mutablekitty]

Do not feed your tegu or bearded dragon avocado! It can make them sick or even kill them! It is poisonous to them!

Thank you for your input! I did not give him any avocado because when he charged I dropped it on the floor outside his enclosure.

 

[Debita]

I must be wrong, but I thought I saw the rescue guy from Florida feeding all of his wild caughts banana and avocado, mixed with gnd turkey. Do you know Walter1?