Taming Down a Colombian

[Kambrie]

Okay, so after I got my first Colombian tegu, he escaped and then died. He was really tame and would never try and bite. I got a new one around a month ago, and I am wondering how to tame her down. She tries to bite and she huffs and puffs at me. Got any suggestions?

Also here is a picture of her.

 

[Alldaytegus]

Okay, so after I got my first Colombian tegu, he escaped and then died. He was really tame and would never try and bite. I got a new one around a month ago, and I am wondering how to tame her down. She tries to bite and she huffs and puffs at me. Got any suggestions?

Also here is a picture of her.

try putting a shirt that you wore in her enclosure so she gets your sent also try sitting in a small area like a bath tub with her and just let her walk on you

 

[Kambrie]

Okay I'll try that. Thanks!

 

[m3s4]

Hi,

On this site you can find good info regarding your Colombian here:

Colombian Tegus: A Comprehensive Guide

There are various ways to try and calm down your Colombian but there is no "set in stone" method that will assuredly work.

A lot of it has to due with age. Because of this, you have to be patient.

Obviously you don't want to encourage biting and you surely don't want a 1 year old Colombian snapping at you, so you have to use some common-sense and finesse when grabbing her, petting her or removing her from her enclosure.

Slow, gentle movements when reaching for her should help tremendously and I'd recommend letting her lick before you attempt to touch her every time you actually want handle her.

It may take months of doing this with little progress - that's ok. Most Colombians see themselves as prey items until they pack on some size, get used to their surroundings and just generally calm down.

While neither of my juvenile Colombians will bite, I have one that loves to "huff" and is extremely flighty and one that can be flighty at times. Considering I have an Argentine black and white that's 5 and sleeps with me, they are quite the opposite but it all can all be attributed to size and age.

Neither can be out of the enclosure yet due to sensory-overload, but both can be handled with no problem. I expect I won't see much progress from either for another 6 months or so and I handle both on a daily basis.

Just be gentle, talk to her as much as you can so she gets used to your voice and be patient. Eventually, like most of Gods creatures, if you give her time to settle down, settle in and apply regular interaction and attention, she'll eventually "get it" and put it all together. Until then, consider her still trying to make sense of it all.

Good luck.

 

[Kambrie]

Thank you so much! I was also told to treat her like a monitor and not handle her, Just to gain her trust by tong-feeding. Should I handle her or not?

 

[Aardbark]

That is up to you and her. Some will say yes, some no. Its not a colombian, but I handled my tegu everyday at an early age and now she has no problem being picked up, and is very calm most of the time. Go by her body movements, let her tell you if she is ready to be held or not.

 

[Kambrie]

Do you tell by their huffing and puffing?

 

[dragonmetalhead]

When I got Kodo, I was told he was an Argentine tegu so I treated him as such. He turned out to be super mellow and friendly. When I found out he was actually a Colombian, I didn't change what I was doing. He won't sit still fort long periods and like to explore, but has never once given Any sign of aggression, nor does he feed with the aggressive response many large, predatory lizards do. The Comprehensive Guide will help you out, as will any tegu taming technique that work on Argentines and reds. Time, patience, maybe a few tasty treats, and lots of love will get you a truly awesome pet.

 

[Kambrie]

Thanks!