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My Tegu has calmed down a lot since his puberty stage, I think. I really haven't given him the chance to prove himself, but he certainly doesn't throw a fuss when I touch or pick him up.
..actually in that regard he's actually a lot like his pre-puberty self.
He did bite me a few months ago though, so now I wear shoes and gloves whenever I handle him, or he's free roaming around my room. I especially get anxious when he starts smelling my toes....

That aside, I feel more comfortable with him that pretty much any other animal I've had. I used to have a juvenile blue land crab (Cardisoma guanhumi) who was an absolute MONSTER. I had a red eye crocodile skink who just never got used to anyone and was always stressed out/paranoid/flighty on the very few times I ever got to see him (nocturnal animals are boring).

The only exception is my rubber boa. That is the most adorable, inoffensive, yet pitiful and defenseless animal I've ever laid eyes on. Well, that and maybe a dwarf puffer.

...got off topic there. When Taco gets big enough to crush a rat's skull I may find myself needlessly wary of him. I have (or think I have) learned his body language well enough to avoid an incident. It's not his defensive postures that worry me; he rarely tail-wags and when he does, I simply take 1-2 steps back and he stops. Its when he starts sniffing me or something I'm wearing intently. Three times he's bitten me following an intense investigation of... something. Once because my hands smelled like pizza (my fault), once because there was apparently something on the back of my neck, and once because I apparently spilled something on my shirt. I guess that last one wasn't technically a bite on me.
Of course, when he's that size, I'd still place 10x the amount of trust in him as I would an equivalent sized cat/dog, and 100x the amount of trust as something like an argus monitor/ferret.

<blockquote data-quote="M4A2E4" data-source="post: 90022" data-attributes="member: 2373">My Tegu has calmed down a lot since his puberty stage, I think. I really haven't given him the chance to prove himself, but he certainly doesn't throw a fuss when I touch or pick him up...actually in that regard he's actually a lot like his pre-puberty self.He did bite me a few months ago though, so now I wear shoes and gloves whenever I handle him, or he's free roaming around my room. I especially get anxious when he starts smelling my toes....That aside, I feel more comfortable with him that pretty much any other animal I've had. I used to have a juvenile blue land crab (Cardisoma guanhumi) who was an absolute MONSTER. I had a red eye crocodile skink who just never got used to anyone and was always stressed out/paranoid/flighty on the very few times I ever got to see him (nocturnal animals are boring). The only exception is my rubber boa. That is the most adorable, inoffensive, yet pitiful and defenseless animal I've ever laid eyes on. Well, that and maybe a dwarf puffer....got off topic there. When Taco gets big enough to crush a rat's skull I may find myself needlessly wary of him. I have (or think I have) learned his body language well enough to avoid an incident. It's not his defensive postures that worry me; he rarely tail-wags and when he does, I simply take 1-2 steps back and he stops. Its when he starts sniffing me or something I'm wearing intently. Three times he's bitten me following an intense investigation of... something. Once because my hands smelled like pizza (my fault), once because there was apparently something on the back of my neck, and once because I apparently spilled something on my shirt. I guess that last one wasn't technically a bite on me.Of course, when he's that size, I'd still place 10x the amount of trust in him as I would an equivalent sized cat/dog, and 100x the amount of trust as something like an argus monitor/ferret.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="M4A2E4, post: 90022, member: 2373"] My Tegu has calmed down a lot since his puberty stage, I think. I really haven't given him the chance to prove himself, but he certainly doesn't throw a fuss when I touch or pick him up. ..actually in that regard he's actually a lot like his pre-puberty self. He did bite me a few months ago though, so now I wear shoes and gloves whenever I handle him, or he's free roaming around my room. I especially get anxious when he starts smelling my toes.... That aside, I feel more comfortable with him that pretty much any other animal I've had. I used to have a juvenile blue land crab (Cardisoma guanhumi) who was an absolute MONSTER. I had a red eye crocodile skink who just never got used to anyone and was always stressed out/paranoid/flighty on the very few times I ever got to see him (nocturnal animals are boring). The only exception is my rubber boa. That is the most adorable, inoffensive, yet pitiful and defenseless animal I've ever laid eyes on. Well, that and maybe a dwarf puffer. ...got off topic there. When Taco gets big enough to crush a rat's skull I may find myself needlessly wary of him. I have (or think I have) learned his body language well enough to avoid an incident. It's not his defensive postures that worry me; he rarely tail-wags and when he does, I simply take 1-2 steps back and he stops. Its when he starts sniffing me or something I'm wearing intently. Three times he's bitten me following an intense investigation of... something. Once because my hands smelled like pizza (my fault), once because there was apparently something on the back of my neck, and once because I apparently spilled something on my shirt. I guess that last one wasn't technically a bite on me. Of course, when he's that size, I'd still place 10x the amount of trust in him as I would an equivalent sized cat/dog, and 100x the amount of trust as something like an argus monitor/ferret. [/QUOTE]

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