New to Tegu's

[bigmike]

I purchased a 2 month old Red Argentine Tegu in Jan of this year. His name is Capone) He was active for about a week and then went into burmation. I let him go until may and then received advice to start waking him up and handling him. I took the advice and had to basically chase and capture him in order to handle him. (I soon found that this was the worst thing I could do) I was referred to a vet that deals with reptiles and they said he checked out fine. They gave him a shot to "jump start" his eating and growing phase but that only lasted a few days. He would only eat egg and then went back to sleep. I called the vet again and they referred me to a local breeder who also checked him out and said he looked fine. The breeder said it is past the burmation season but if he wants to sleep, let him sleep. I took his advice and Capone finally became active about two weeks ago.

Due to his irregular burmation I took him to a completely different vet that specializes in exotic reptiles. Once I was in the office with this vet I knew I was in the right place. He checked alot of things that the previous vet did not and actually showed me how Capones nose and jaw were a little soft due to a calcium deficiency. After a full examination, including stool and urine samples, the doctor said Capones size and health looks good and all I need to do is correct his calcium issues. he sent me home with a calcium suppliment that I am supposed to give to him 1-2 times a day.

Last Saturday started his 3rd week out of burmation and he is eating and has doubled in size. I have been feeding him ground turkey with vitamin and calcium supplements mixed into it, along with grapes and various melons. I had to start taking him out of his cage again so I could give him his calcium shots with the suringe but it was still and chase and capture situation. He would breath heavy and sometimes arch his back when I opened the door and put my hand in the cage. Occasionally he would open his mouth but he has never lunged at or bit me. After a few minutes of being out he was calm and friendly. He will climb up on my shoulder and sit there while i cook, walk thru my hands with out running away, nuzzle between my arm and chest when I am watching TV, and fall asleep in my hands while I am petting him. Then once I put him back in his cage, it is a challenge to even pet him.

Well I am reading about Tegus on a regular basis and decided to stop forcing him out of his cage and try the approach of letting him come to me. I am putting his liquid calcium from the vet in his daily food and putting the food dish in his cage while he is sleeping before I go to work. When I get home i open the doors his cage and sit down on the floor talking to him, changing his water and going thru my mail. He will lay right there at the door but if i get close to him he gets up and moves out of range. His eating this week has slowed down and he is starting to go to sleep earlier then normal. (up to 2 hrs earlier so he is buried and asleep when I get home)

At this point I am looking for some extra clarification as to how to get him tame and trusting enough for me to handle on a regular basis. Some omf the information I have received is conflicting. I have been told I should handle him daily and feed him outside of his enclosure, but how do I do that if he is buried and asleep when I get home I am not supposed to force him out of his cage?

His enclosure was custom ordered and is 6ft long X 3 ft deep X 2 ft high. Hot side is about 110, cool side 85 - 90, and humidity ranges from 50 - 70. He has a UV light and 100 watt basking light, hide (half moon log) under his basking light and large water bowl.

I have had reptiles in the past and in addition to Capone I have a 2 yr old male Beardie. I am serious about my animals and take good care of them but Capone has be baffled at this point. Any helpful words of wisdom will be very appreciated.

 

[Dirtydmc]

Never force him. Catch him gentley. Pick him up with hands as loose as possible. Do it daily. When he squirmed out, try again. Just get it done. Don't dig him out of his hide. Make that his safe zone. The day of the enclosure is yours. Leave a shirt you have worn in his tank. Change it out daily. Keep your scent on his tongue and in his nose. Try to daily rearange stuff inside his enclosure without trying to touch him. Do it while he' out so he see's that you arent trying to pick him up. Anything to get him used to the idea that you aren't a threat. He will come around. I did it in a week with tank. Am still working on it with dexter. I'm on week two. Had him out tonight. He was mellow as soon as I put him on my lap.


Hibernation. Leave him alone. Keep fresh water in there. Keep a little food too. Don't ever force him awake. He will hate you. How do you feel when someone wakes you up?

 

[TeguLouie]

i, myself, am a new tegu owner, but the advice i have received is that it is ok to feed him in his enclosure until he gets comfortable enough for you to take him out. just lay down some newspaper or something so he doesnt eat the substrate.( i use a tupperware lid.) if he is asleep when you get home and doesnt wake until after you leave, you can put food in his cage before you head off to work. i have found out food will keep for about 12 hours on the cool side. as for getting him to come to you, it sounds like you are doing everythig right. dont chase him but just lay your arm in his cage and let him come to you. thier natural curiosity will make him come explore. when he crawls onto your hand the first few times dont move, just let him crawl on then off. after he realizes that you arent going to snap him up the second he touches you he might lay down on your hand. at this point you can slowly pick him up but if he makes to run, let him, and just lay your hand back down. this way he understands that he can still get away and you wont hurt him. his thing is that you are a predator in his mind and if you chase or grab tightly it is going to scare him and possibly break bones if he/you moves wrong.

i hope i answered your questions, or at least some of them. anyway this forum is definetly the place to get all of them answered.

 

[james.w]

Cool side is too hot. What are you using for UVB? Handling comes with time and patience.

 

[bigmike]

Cool side is too hot. What are you using for UVB? Handling comes with time and patience.

Reptisun 10.0

 

[james.w]

Coil or tube?

 

[bigmike]

i, myself, am a new tegu owner, but the advice i have received is that it is ok to feed him in his enclosure until he gets comfortable enough for you to take him out. just lay down some newspaper or something so he doesnt eat the substrate.( i use a tupperware lid.) if he is asleep when you get home and doesnt wake until after you leave, you can put food in his cage before you head off to work. i have found out food will keep for about 12 hours on the cool side. as for getting him to come to you, it sounds like you are doing everythig right. dont chase him but just lay your arm in his cage and let him come to you. thier natural curiosity will make him come explore. when he crawls onto your hand the first few times dont move, just let him crawl on then off. after he realizes that you arent going to snap him up the second he touches you he might lay down on your hand. at this point you can slowly pick him up but if he makes to run, let him, and just lay your hand back down. this way he understands that he can still get away and you wont hurt him. his thing is that you are a predator in his mind and if you chase or grab tightly it is going to scare him and possibly break bones if he/you moves wrong.

i hope i answered your questions, or at least some of them. anyway this forum is definetly the place to get all of them answered.

Thanks for the feedback. I feel like it is getting better but his sleeping and eating habits keep changing. I guess consistency will be the key.

---

Never force him. Catch him gentley. Pick him up with hands as loose as possible. Do it daily. When he squirmed out, try again. Just get it done. Don't dig him out of his hide. Make that his safe zone. The day of the enclosure is yours. Leave a shirt you have worn in his tank. Change it out daily. Keep your scent on his tongue and in his nose. Try to daily rearange stuff inside his enclosure without trying to touch him. Do it while he' out so he see's that you arent trying to pick him up. Anything to get him used to the idea that you aren't a threat. He will come around. I did it in a week with tank. Am still working on it with dexter. I'm on week two. Had him out tonight. He was mellow as soon as I put him on my lap.


Hibernation. Leave him alone. Keep fresh water in there. Keep a little food too. Don't ever force him awake. He will hate you. How do you feel when someone wakes you up?

Thanks for the feedback. I will try the daily t-shirt method. Hopefully it will speed up the process.

---

Coil or tube?

Tube

 

[bigmike]

Cool side is too hot. What are you using for UVB? Handling comes with time and patience.

James,

It has been over a month since my original post and although progress has been made, I have some new questions.

Capone is eating well and still growing. He sheds regularly and is finally on a schedule. After my last post, my work hours changed. I would put foot in his cage when I left for work (he was asleep in his hide)and by the time I got home he was back in his hide asleep. Since it is not good to disturb them in their hide, I changed his schedule so I could spend time with him. I had my wife start turning his lights on at 11am and now for the last week or so he has been up when I get home. (about 8pm)

I have been in his cage daily for 30-60 minutes. He has started coming closer to me, licking my hand and even walking over it. The other day he tried to get one of my fingers in his mouth so I have increased his food and he hasnt done it since.

Some days he is ok, others he moves away, and at times he will raise up and roll his tail slowly. (like a warning) He hasnt been aggressive but maybe a little curious. Tonight he started to walk out of his cage onto my leg so I tried to pet him and he backed back into his cage.

I am kind of confused and how to move forward. I see people saying never feed a tegu in his cage, but on the flip side I am not suppose to force him out. Kind of confusing. My primary concern is his health and keeping his stress level down, but I also want to build trust be able to handle him and let him roam the house like I do with my Beardie (I know they cant roam together)

I know I am making progress but want to make sure it continues. If I leave his cage open like I did tonight and he decides to climb out, what should I do and what is the best way to get hoim back in without hurting the trust factor?

I know my questions my be pretty simple but I just want to make sure I do things right for both of us. You have great feedback from other people and seemed like an honest and realiable resource. Any help will be greatly appreciated. If you would rather call that email, my cell is 951-897-6948.

 

[Sirhc401]

I had the same concerns as you when I first got my red tegu. And rather than getting mixed up advice I decided to try it my own way which worked really well. HOWEVER, I will not say my way is any better than what other say, because here is the main thing, you need to learn your tegus personality and find out whY works best for your tegu. What I did for Odin was make him learn that handling is always a positive experience. How? Simple. If he was hiding I would pet him and though it made him uncomfortable it got him to come out of hiding, then I would dally take him out of his cage, yes he would freak out but after getting a good grip and supporting as much of his body I could I would let him calm down and take him to his food, but rather than another enclosure I had his food made already and took him to his dish and he got to eat while in my hand. So he started to figure out I take him to food. I didn't start this till a few weeks after we got him. Before that I was doing just what you were doing. Now Odin will climb on my arm and I'll take him to food. I'm also starting freeroaming with him. I think he will enjoy it. He is always out and about now trying to get out of his cage. Hope I answered more questions. Lol.