Tegu hand biting experiences

[Zaelis]

Wondering how common it is for young (around a year old) Tegus to bite? Obviously it will vary from individual to individual, but I'm worried I'm doing something wrong, causing him to bite. I don't THINK this is aggressive behavior, as he doesn't show signs of aggression before biting. He's really calm around me now, roams the house, doesn't mind being held for short periods/if I hold him against me/on my shoulder so he feels more secure. Outside of the occasional bite, he's an angel, and my only other complaint would be the occasional mess outside of the bathroom.

But occasionally, if I'm late feeding him, he'll lunge for my hands, or sometimes will chase feet. This has only happened very few times, but the most recent time he did a good deal of damage to my fingers. He grabbed hold of my pointer and middle finger, chewed hard, shook, and tried to pull my hand with him as he walked.

I feed him from a bowl, so he shouldn't recognize my hands as being the source of his food. Though occasionally he see's me setting the bowl out for him to eat, could that be the cause? Or could he just be pissed whenever I'm late giving him supper. I know they're very timely animals, and well, I'm not great at the timely bit.

I'm also wondering if this is the attitude ridden "teenage" stage they go through? He has taken a liking to a black pair of sneakers, and makes sure to find and chew on and "kill" them each afternoon.

I'm considering wearing leather welders gloves whenever I'm holding his food dish and setting it down, maybe that would make him less aggressive to bare hands? I don't want to have to wear gloves around him all the time if I can avoid it. Maybe I just got a 'gu with a bit of attitude.

 

[Zyn]

How much are you feeding him sounds hungry

 

[Zaelis]

I generally let him eat until he's full and won't eat anymore. But on this particular occasion, I was a few hours late on delivering supper, so likely why he decided to try and eat me instead.

 

[Walter1]

Food aggression.

 

[Zaelis]

Food aggression.

Any idea what I could be doing to cause this? Would it be feeding him too late, or the fact he sometimes sees me with his food dish?

 

[Walter1]

Any idea what I could be doing to cause this? Would it be feeding him too late, or the fact he sometimes sees me with his food dish?

Feed a dog, they see you as the source of food. Feed a carnivorous lizard and they can be apt tobsee youvas food. Some members here successfully hand feed a lot of thectime. Others, such as I, dissacociate myselfe from their food by using a bowl and placing food in it while they are at rest.