Tegu bites

[Chesapeakeherper]

So I am planning on getting a tegu this spring when hatchings become available. Thought I had the wife convinced but yesterday she went on YouTube and saw a video of a tegu that bit the end of a guys finger off. Now she is freaked out. I told her that this video was of wild tegus but she is still concerned. Was hoping that some of you guys who have had tegus for a while could calm her concerns. How likely is it that a tegu will bite if handled daily from a hatching and if you don't feed in his enclosure. Any insight you guys could provide that I could show her would be great.

 

[TeguBuzz]

Very unlikely that they'll bite so long as you raise him/her correctly. Feeding within the enclosure is perfectly acceptable and it has resulted in no aggression whatsoever when it comes to my gu's. I wouldn't worry if I were your wife, wild gu's are a different story.

 

[JohnMatthew]

While they tend to calm down quite easily and stay that way there is always a risk of being bitten, that's just something you should be prepared to deal with should you or your GU make a mistake in handling. One of the bonuses of starting with a baby tegu is you'll learn to read the lizard while they're relatively harmless. Bites are much less likely if you know what their variety of actions and postures represent. I have worked with tegus since 2008 and haven't been bitten yet(knock on wood). You need to learn your lizard and know when he/she needs space. People seem to be most at risk when their GU hits puberty(someone with a tame tegu gets slack in handling and fails to recognize signs of attitude). They usually get over their "terrible ones" pretty quickly though, just be prepared for a short attitude adjustment should it occur. Nesting females can also be hell-on-wheels but if you're just getting 1 for a pet this probably isn't something you need worry about so much. I'll list a couple of the more common behaviors so you'll know what to look for when interacting with your GU.

1)consecutive quick flicks of the tongue - This is usually a precursor to a test bite(your hand probably smells like something they want to taste).

2)arched back and head down - This is the typical "don't mess with me" posture and a precursor to a variety of actions depending on how you respond. It basically means they want more distance between the two of you. If you approach too quickly when they're showing this be prepared for anything from their beating a hasty retreat to tail whips, bite attempts, huffing/bluffing, etc..

 

[TeguBuzz]

To add to what John said... Keep an eye out for "snake tail", looks kinda like a twitch of some sort, very distinct, usually means they're about to charge you down, my males never did it but my red girls did it a couple times when nesting.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

JM pretty much said it,.. to add to it, any animal can bite especially when it's injured or feels threatened. Some are just more powerful and can do more damage than others. With that said I never tell people my pets don't bite, dog, snake, tegu or what ever. They have a mind of their own with a mouth and sharp teeth so they can. Depending on which one they're asking about they're more or less likely to get bitten.

If the occasional nip does happen they're less likely to be upset or as up set than if you told them it doesn't bite.

Some times taking one for the team just comes with the territory or the situation at that time. When dealing with animals it's not if you'll get bit but when.

 

[Dana C]

I have a Red female about 6 months old. When she is sweet she is very,very sweet and when whe is bad, she is horrid. Well she isn't really horrid but I can sure tell when she has an attitude on a given day.
That is all about learning the individual animal.
Today for example she went rapidly to my hand for attention when I opened her tank and went up my arm and wanted down. She fought me all the way to the bedroom where I let her roam with supervision. She went back fine however once she got the wanderlust out of her system. She comes to my hand for scratches and belly rubs. She crawls all over me when I sit on the floor and often never goes past arms length away. Other days, she wants no part of me.
It always to help if you start handling when they are cool and slow so they can warm up in your arms, on your neck or whatever. After they have basked awhile they are, in my short experience much more fiesty.
Of course two of mine are very young and the big boy Gordo, I have only had for a very short time and he is groggy with hibernation so I can'
t really read him yet.

---

I have heard that the first year is sort of Tegu adolescence. So far it seems that way.....My girl that I just spoke about is wearing much to make up and the little boy is starting to listen to rap. Go figure.

 

[laurarfl]

haha Dana. I have an adolescent that likes to sneak out....seriously.

I have kept tegus for 6 yrs and have only been bitten by adults twice. Once was a warning bite by my territorial female. I uncovered her mulch and she grabbed my hand. I stayed still and she let go after a few seconds. A few puncture holes, but nothing bad. The next time was when I was feeding my adult red with a spoon. He looked at the fork and then grabbed my hand. He chomped and chewed a few times, I tapped him on the nose and he let go. It may have broke the skin, but nothing serious. The finger tear video is the most extreme example, very sensational, and it really gets your attention. But think of the damage a dog can do...or even a cat. Any animal can bite. Proper precaution and handling is always in order.

 

[Dana C]

Seven years ago I had a B&W that was nasty when I first got him. He bit through a leather garden glove and just broke the skin on my finger. He calmed down after a month or so of trust building.
My girl a few weeks ago, came to my hand and licked it and nuzzled it and bit me. The bite wasn't a serious, "I am going to hurt you", thing it was more like "I wonder what you taste like". It really wasn't hard. It was more of an experiment thing. She has never done it again and I don't expect her too either.

 

[dragonmetalhead]

The only times I have ever been bitten by pet lizards of any species is when food is involved. As long as your fingers don't smell like food, your tegu isn't too likely to likely to bite. If you intend to hand-feed your tegu, I recommend using pieces of food large to hold at one end while the lizard and grab the other without including your fingertip. That being said, until you know your tegu well enough to trust him/her I wouldn't recommend hand-feeding. The video that your wife saw is an EXTREME example and the guy was foolish enough to stick his hand in between two fighting animals; a pet tegu properly socialized will not give you that sort of problem.

 

[tupinambisfamiliaris]

To add to what John said... Keep an eye out for "snake tail", looks kinda like a twitch of some sort, very distinct, usually means they're about to charge you down, my males never did it but my red girls did it a couple times when nesting.

I just saw my 2 year old blue doing the "snake tail" thing this afternoon. He's never bitten me, but was acting a bit strange. I've recently started to feed him fewer rodents and more turkey. This means I sit and watch him eat to make sure he doesn't fling the meat into the mulch and ingest the cypress. It also takes a bit more coaxing than the rodents, which perk him right up. I'd never seen anything like it before. He was being a little flighty at first, but in the end he went over to the bowl flicking his tongue and snaking his tail and polished off the turkey. Learn something every day.

As for biting, I've only been nailed once. It was by a juvie Argentine and it was 100% keeper stupidity. I insisted on feeding lots of insects even when he got bigger. At that point the tegu was polishing off 4 dozen crickets in one meal. It got tedious. I'd put 3 or so in the cage and went for more thinking he was occupied. Wrong! My free hand was just above the top of the cage. He jumped like a crocodile and bit off a little less than half of my fingernail. It hurt and it bled a lot. Tegu teeth feel like graters, almost like they shave right through the flesh. In the end it was all good. I cleaned it up and started feeding outside the cage. He never bit again, b/c I learned my lesson.

 

[txrepgirl]

To be honest with you there still is a chance that the Tegu will bite sometimes. We have five Tegus and we do not feed them in the enclosure. I handle them alot and even hand feed them sometimes. They are so tame that we can take naps with them. I do recommend feeding the Tegu before you want to handle it ( if it's a baby feed it until it's full ). Always wash your hands before handling the Tegu. If you notice that the Tegu starts to lick you alot and maybe starts to huff a bit he/she might bit ( it happened to me ). One time I was taking a nap with our biggest Tegu ( Leonidas ). I woke up because he was moving around. He started to lick my face. I knew he was hungry but I ignored him ( I just got home from a long shift ). He bit me on my mouth and chin with one bite. It wasn't bad at all. What bothered me more was the itching when the small wounds started to heal. Another Tegu we have ( blue/red hybrid Spatzi ) bit me on my thumb and was just hanging there ( I tried to get him out of the enclosure ). The bite wasn't bad but it did leave a small scar. In the four years that we have our Tegus I got bit about ten times from different Tegus. Most of the time it was because I had to force feed them some meds. My son never got bit and my boyfriend maybe twice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PYKDp8KiX8&list=UUDZB6YrBIhrBvKeaSM5-T-g&index=67&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc4hpnfx1YY&feature=related

 

[Chesapeakeherper]

Thanks everyone for the responses. A lot of good info. I am certainly aware there is always some risk of being bit by any type of animal. I definitely still plan to get a gu this coming year.

 

[Lavin45]

My little lokie she's 19 & 5/8 in head to tail ( I go by this because the ass hole who had her didn't have a age) and she "bit" me for the first time yesterday and in all actuality it wasn't hard at all almost as if she was giving a love bite like cats do. But I know it was because she had just got done eating and forgot to was my hands. She's always a little feisty after eating so just remember never hand feed and make sure there is nothing on your hands they could smell and mistake as food !

 

[Michael Graham]

I have two Colombians that are less than a year old. I've never been bitten nor tail whipped. They don't seem like violent creatures whatsoever. They used to run if they were spooked haha. As for now, they are fed in an enclosure and they don't free roam in the house. I don't have any issues with their tempers at all.

 

[TiamiTegu]

If I may butt in, (sorry), I just got bit by my tegu for the first time. He's about 3 and 3/4 years old, and only had a slightly-nippy stage around adolescence. Excluding that part of his life, he hasn't even attempted to bite me before today. He was getting a little feisty, so I put him back in his cage. After about an hour, he seemed to mellow out, so went back to pet him, that's when he struck.

He's been house-roaming for the past month or so, but this is the first time he's show any aggression towards anyone or anything. It could be a one-time thing, but I'm not sure. Any opinions on what to do?