Tegu with a "tickly tail"?

[Draco D Tegu]

Ok so I am a fairly new tegu owner, been here I think like 2 months. In that time my guy has almost tripled his size. He will NOT eat out of his tank, I have tried and tried, leaving him in the feeding bin for about an hour or even a little more. I come back and look and he's asleep, crickets & bugs using him as a trampoline....... Other than that, that's the only issue I've had from him, and that I resolved by feeding on a large plate and removing the food when he has moved off the plate. Bad way to go about it, but I dunno what else to do.

No issues handling him or getting him out of the enclosure at all (except I have him in a tank on a stand right now while I build his new habitat and it's so tall I have to use a step stool).

But....he's ALWAYS had what seems to be a ticklish tail. If I stroke his tail at the base of his tail or the sides, he huffs and gives me a half hearted whip. He really gets mad!

I feel that there should be no part on a pet that I shouldn't be able to handle/touch in case there is ever an issue that requires attention (ie cuts, bruises).

Is this a normal reaction with Tegus?

If so, does anyone have any suggestions (other than just keep repeating petting his tail)?

Any thought would e greatly appreciated.

 

[Jefroka]

The tail area is usually a sensitive spot for many lizards.

Mine is as tame as they come and he will hunch a bit when I caress him at the base of his tail.

I have come to think its more of a reflex action with my gu than an aggressive action and don't worry about it.

With that said, trust your instincts and your lizard's responses. If he visibly looks uncomfortable when you touch him in a certain spot, don't prolong his discomfort.

Hint: they seem to particularly like being caressed on their jowls.


...Jefroka

 

[Draco D Tegu]

Yeah he's a goober with getting his jowls scratched, he'll sit there for hours.

 

[slideaboot]

The tail area is usually a sensitive spot for many lizards.

Mine is as tame as they come and he will hunch a bit when I caress him at the base of his tail.

I gave my 3 foot Extreme an enema yesterday...

Needless to say, he was a bit "sensitive" in the tail area as well.

 

[CaseyUndead]

My tegu has been known to swing his tail away from me if i mess with the end of his tail much(like sometimes when i check to make sure he doesn't have any skin stuck), but he never whips his tail *at* me. When he was little he was really touchy, though. He would jump or wiggle away any time i did something he didn't like.

I have also noticed that he liked the jowls rubbed, though! Whenever i want him to sit with me for awhile, i rub his jowls

 

[Draco D Tegu]

Well he's gotten a little bit better over the last day or two, especially since he has been having some trouble shedding his tail skin, I used a soft toothbrush to scrub his tail during his bath.

One other question, is it normal for them to want to burrow while they're out? I usually carry my guy around with a towel because I am afraid I will hurt him putting him back in his tank or carrying him around because he wiggles a lot and I am afraid I will drop him and harm him. (working on getting wood together for his enclosure so I can make a front opening cage instead of a top opening tank).

Lately if I have him out sitting on my lap, all he does is start nosing around like he would in his substrate to hide.

Is this normal for them? Or is he insecure and trying to hide? Or is he just comfortable and is viewing me as his home?

 

[CaseyUndead]

I think that's normal. They like to dig. My tegu still tries to dig into things when he's out. He even tries to dig under doors sometimes(of course there's no way he'd actually be able to fit under there, lol), and in the corner of a room he will try to dig into the carpet. He likes to dig under this beanbag chair thing i have, to... He pretty much tries digging a little into anything. Even in his enclosure where he has mulch all over to dig in, he tries to dig under his tub of water, and ends up spilling it.

 

[Jefroka]

Its not so much that they are trying to dig, they are trying to burrow and hide.

In the wild tegus are targets for anything that wants to eat them and yes they do have predators trying to eat them.

They are always on the go, trying to stay out of sight and harm's way.

Their instinct is to try and burrow so they are not exposed to predation.


...Jefroka