What to do if tegu bites u

[BlakeYerian111]

Hey my adult tegu niped me it barely broke skin but it bled I cleaned the blood and waited for it to stop bleeding and put hydrogen peroxide on it and I was scared of should I go to the hospital for infection or and I probably good

 

[Josh]

You're probably good but maybe you can give us an update. @BlakeYerian111

 

[Debita]

I had a bite from my adult male - it was horrific, and I believe it penetrated to the top knuckle bone of my thumb. Several punctures on the palm side.... I never went to the hosp - but it does swell up. If I didn't see the swelling go down, or if infection started to appear, I would have gone. A little blood, and small break of the skin just isn't a worry to me....clean it up, and keep going! JMO

 

[Josh]

Glad you were ok debita. That sounds intense!

 

[Debita]

Thanks Josh - I just have to say...it wasn't his fault. He wasn't being aggressive. He was trying to grab the mouse in my hand that i had dangled many times before, but this time he waaay over shot the mark! So - the mouse was in his mouth, and he wasn't going to let go of that, or anything attached to it! Meanwhile - after a bit of gasping and possibly a swear word, I pried his jaw open with my left hand. To this day, I wonder if he kind of let me, because I think he knew something was off. Lol It hurt a ton, swelled up to twice it's size, but I just cleaned with hydrogen peroxide and put triple antibiotic on it.....many times.

 

[Sharkbait]

Hey my adult tegu niped me it barely broke skin but it bled I cleaned the blood and waited for it to stop bleeding and put hydrogen peroxide on it and I was scared of should I go to the hospital for infection or and I probably good

Cleaning the bite area with betadine very well then rinsing is a good idea and watch for swelling. Swelling with redness needs professional medical evaluation.
ER tech here.
I own 14 tegus with different personalities. I highly recommend feeding outside the cage so they don't get aggressive when you open the door. They learn to come out to where you put the food.
I do have 3 very wild crazy tegus who will never be trusted to run free in my garage. These were purchased as adult wild caught adults from a trapper in Florida by a young man who watched a video by this trapper that made wild caught tegus look easy to tame.
I've had tegus since I was 14. Now an old man. I Always bought babies and played with them around the clock and learned not to feed in their cage. Most of my tegus are surrenders to a local reptile shop that gives them to me.

 

[Debita]

OK - thanks for the info. My male that accidentally bit me is a wild caught from Florida (Rodney Irwin) and I've had 2 of them. Great animals - the younger the better though. I got my male at the beginning of his guberty, and the female much younger. She was a cake-walk compared to him. I would recommend Rodney's animals all day. He is doing a great job down there.

 

[BlakeYerian111]

You're probably good but maybe you can give us an update. @BlakeYerian111

Ya I'm good it hurt for like 3 days after

 

[rats]

Cleaning the bite area with betadine very well then rinsing is a good idea and watch for swelling. Swelling with redness needs professional medical evaluation.
ER tech here.
I own 14 tegus with different personalities. I highly recommend feeding outside the cage so they don't get aggressive when you open the door. They learn to come out to where you put the food.
I do have 3 very wild crazy tegus who will never be trusted to run free in my garage. These were purchased as adult wild caught adults from a trapper in Florida by a young man who watched a video by this trapper that made wild caught tegus look easy to tame.
I've had tegus since I was 14. Now an old man. I Always bought babies and played with them around the clock and learned not to feed in their cage. Most of my tegus are surrenders to a local reptile shop that gives them to me.

I agree with the recommendation to clean with Betadine. If you don’t have that on hand, rinse it or let it bleed a little to wash out germs, then use sterile gauze to stop the bleeding with pressure, apply Polysporin or Neosporin (antibiotic gel) and put a bandage (“Band-Aid” type) on. This is standard procedure for any injury your pet may give you. If it should turn red and swell up, have a doctor look at it, as it may be infected.

 

[CorduroyEW]

I wash bites with soap and water then call it a day. I have never had an infection or complications.

If the bite isn't bad enough to need stitches and there are no broken bones then you don't have much to worry about.

 

[InkedTeguQueen]

I had a bite from my adult male - it was horrific, and I believe it penetrated to the top knuckle bone of my thumb. Several punctures on the palm side.... I never went to the hosp - but it does swell up. If I didn't see the swelling go down, or if infection started to appear, I would have gone. A little blood, and small break of the skin just isn't a worry to me....clean it up, and keep going! JMO

Was the swelling painful?

I was accidentally nipped by my 11 y/o Argentine tegu because I stupidly tried to help a blueberry into his mouth that got caught on his tooth. ‍
It initially was fine, didn’t hurt. Cleaned it up with peroxide and put a band aid on it for a few hours. Realized the next day it was very slightly swollen and red. I figured it might be filling with pus so I kept running it under cold water and with more peroxide. Eventually it was fine, all day yesterday no noticeable problems. Then my dumbass laid on it last night while going to sleep so I woke up in the middle of the night with it burning, red and pretty well swollen. I cleaned it with more peroxide, iced it and now just took 2 aleve to help.

He only nipped me a little, right above my cuticle, and under the bend of my middle finger.

TLDR; Tegu accidentally nipped me. Nervous the fire feeling in the tip of my finger, although no pus, is alarming. Was getting better in 2 days and then I slept on it. Now hot and in pain.

 

[RB185AFM]

Thought I was a big mouse. He gave a good tug and let go.