taming question for the old pros out there

[nat]

thanks for that video bobby, my tegu is about the same size and perhaps a little wilder than the one in the video, but it gives me a lot of info. Thanks! I would also like your opinion on wether or not its a good idea to use a feeding bin on an animal that you are trying to tame.

 

[VARNYARD]

thanks for that video bobby, my tegu is about the same size and perhaps a little wilder than the one in the video, but it gives me a lot of info. Thanks! I would also like your opinion on wether or not its a good idea to use a feeding bin on an animal that you are trying to tame.

You are more than welcome.

As for the feeding bin, I think it is a must; tegus can have a very strong feeding response. It is not real bad at this age, but you do not want a grown tegu thinking that you are the source of the food. They can and will bite you if they think this. And never hand feed tegus, you never want him to think your hand is where the food comes from.

The food needs to be in the bin before you put the tegu in there. This way he looks to the bin for the source of the food, and not you.

 

[DaveDragon]

I guess we're lucky. I feed our Adult tegu's rodent's (once a week) in a bowl on the kitchen floor. I puth them there and put the bowl down in front of them. No problems. Regular feeding is in there enclosures. Most of the time before they wake up.

The big Red was very cage/food aggressive when we got him. Shortly after he moved from the dog crate he had been living in (rescue) he calmed down. He's like a big old dog now.

 

[DaveDragon]

Nice vids!! That's how we pick up our 9 month old that we only see a few times on the weekend.

Is that a long sleeve sweatshirt you're wearing?? Is your blood a little too thin for this weather??

It was 5 degrees this morning when I left for work. Now that's cold!!! Except if you live in parts of Canada. I worked with a guy who lived in an area where it got down to -60 degrees once!! Now THAT'S cold!!!!

 

[VARNYARD]

It has been a bit cold here, that is why I brought all my babies inside.

 

[DaveDragon]

It has been a bit cold here, that is why I brough all my babies inside.

Just busting em' on ya!!! Every picture I've seen of you you've been wearing a t-shirt! I wear t-shirts all year round. In my younger days I used to shovel snow in a t-shirt, as long as there was no wind.

 

[COWHER]

bobby those are awesome videos!!! absolutely ground breaking!!!!!

 

[Mike]

Nice videos Bobby.

 

[dorton]

Nice vids Bobby, maybe someone new/potentially new/or even currently own but does not handle them correctly will find that helpful and keep them from the death grip handling method.

 

[VARNYARD]

Thanks guys, I hope it is put to good use, and it can be referred over and over.

 

[Swtbrat]

I'd like to see how to handle a Tegu thats bigger and not fully tamed and in a 8 foot cage.
How would you get under him and lift if he is tailwhipping and jumping all over? :cry:

Brat!

 

[DaveDragon]

I'd like to see how to handle a Tegu thats bigger and not fully tamed and in a 8 foot cage.
How would you get under him and lift if he is tailwhipping and jumping all over? :cry:

Brat!

Especially if he's facing you, like in a fight.

When we got our big Red he was living in a dog crate. That didn't make him very happy. And no substrate. Very food aggressive. I gave him a towel to hide under. It was a struggle to get him out and food bowls in and out. He would charge most of the time. Once we got him into a big enclosure with 8" of mulch he calmed quickly. His rat once a week is fed in a bowl on the kitchen floor. No exceptions. Getting a hungry aggressive Tegu out was fun. I'd just open the door and wave him out and he'd eventually come out. If he was sideways sometimes I'd grab him, but the threat of being bit was alway there. He never did bite me. Lunged (very aggressive!) at my feet a few time when he was in the cage! We've had him 4.5 months, now he's like a big old dog. I trust him the most out of all of them even though he's much bigger and could do far more damage.

Our 3 year old male Blue Tegu, that we got 2 months ago, was very cage aggressive also. He lived in a big (4ft x 1.5ft) animal cage, wide open all around with maybe 3 inches of mulch. Whenever I'd go to take him out of change his bowl I'd get charged. He can leap forward or straight up 18" to 24"!!! He nearly got me many times but I was very attentive and watched him closely, and I'm just a little faster than him! Since he got into a full size enclosure he's calmed some. But the last 2 weeks it seems he's finally accepted me. I gave him a nice warm bath and he snuggled in a towel with me for 20 minutes. Since then he's let me do whatever I want to him. Maybe with a little struggle but no aggressive behavior. He comes out every day and walks around and eventually sleeps under the couch when he cools off. He sleeps all the way in the back so I have to put the front of the couch on blocks and try to coax him out. 3 days ago he wouldn't come out so I had to go in after him, facing me. I shoved my hand under the couch as far as I could reach and pet his head and mouth. He closed him eyes. After 5 minutes I grabbed him by the neck and slowly pulled him out. I never would have done that a couple of weeks before. Last night we watched him making a nest under the couch!! Making digging motions trying to pull in whatever he could find! I let him stay under there for a half an hour and pulled him out.

I've read that alot of aggressiveness is actually fear. If you're reach down from above you're obviously a predator and trying to eat him. What his response going to be??!! Until he trusts that he's not your next meal he's going to do something to defend himself. If they're not comfortable in their "home" that can make them afraid or aggressive too. Having started with a baby "spaz" Tegu and then getting (3) adults, some with less than optimal backgrounds, their aggressiveness with subside with age and getting comfortable in their environment. It just takes time and being calm with them. Naturally, a house full of yelling screaming kids isn't going to make a calm Tegu. We moved our 9 month old into the living room where there's alot more noise than when he was downstairs. He noticeably not happy with the arrangement. I haven't been able to get him out, he just runs back under his substrate. He'd better get used to it, he's going to be there until the spring when I have time to build him a full size enclosure.

Sorry for being so long winded, I just wanted to tell the stories.

 

[Swtbrat]

I enjoy stories.,And pics too. :wink:
I can't get enough reptile pics.

Brat!

 

[VARNYARD]

These are the points on this I made on the Taming the beast thread:

Tegus are very curious; it is best to use this to your advantage when getting them to become calm pets. The more you fight with them, the more they will fight back. I use a method I refer to as ignoring them to tame them. I have used this many times with great success, this has also worked on the older untamed adults. Letting them come to you can use this method. I have walk in enclosures, I use this by spending time inside them working or reading books. I just do not act like the tegu is even in there, they see me, but I am not trying to invade their space. They will learn that I am no threat and come over to investigate me, it is like the old saying: (curiosity kills the cat). They find out that I am not a predator looking for a meal, nor any kind of threat to them. They will come to learn I am a friend and not a foe. You can use this same method in your home, you need to make sure there is nothing that you tegu can harm itself on, this needs to be a tegu safe area. When your tegu comes to you to investigate you, do not make sudden moves or try to grab him. Just reach down and pet him the first few times, I would not even try to pick him up the first few times. When you do pick him up, think of them as your puppy, when you pick him up, do not grab him behind the neck or around the belly, just reach under him. Hold him with a light grip. Also, the first few times you do pick him up, do not raise him high off the floor, give him a chance to move from your hands and he will learn he is not restrained. You want him to choose to have your contact. He will never learn this if he is man handled; he will also remember the fights. Tegus are the same as a puppy, they don't like to be grabbed either. Instead reach under them with a loose hand and be gentle. Also when handling them. Let them move through your loose hands, just keep putting one hand in front of the other until he calms down and stops moving. Just remember, the more you grab them and try to restrict them, or chase them, the longer it will take for him to trust you and become tame. The more interaction you have with him, the better. But this does not mean the contact you are making with him is making him do what you want, remember force will be responded to with fight of flight. Just try to handle him with a very slow hand, in a calm manner.

The same thing works with larger animals, I do not pick them up the first few times they come to me. I do not try to invade thier space of force them into contact with me. If you are working in an 8ft x 8ft cage, you have plenty of room to go in and just hang out in the same area as the tegu. Just read a book, and let the curious tegu come to you.