Advice for 7 mo old blue tegu

[flowerfarmer]

Hi, About 3 weeks ago, I brought home a 7 mo old blue tegu. Initially, he was very tolerant of me, feeding from tongs, letting me get close, etc. In the last week, I moved him into a larger enclosure and now he hides if he sees me across the room. I'm not totally surprised or concerned about this, but I'm wondering how assertive to be with showing him I'm not a threat. Generally, I would not take an animal out of its hide unless it was mandatory, but I'm new to tegus and have seen lots of conflicting information with how much you should force a new animal into interaction. Any wisdom or experiences much appreciated.

 

[WillowBuffalo]

Hi, About 3 weeks ago, I brought home a 7 mo old blue tegu. Initially, he was very tolerant of me, feeding from tongs, letting me get close, etc. In the last week, I moved him into a larger enclosure and now he hides if he sees me across the room. I'm not totally surprised or concerned about this, but I'm wondering how assertive to be with showing him I'm not a threat. Generally, I would not take an animal out of its hide unless it was mandatory, but I'm new to tegus and have seen lots of conflicting information with how much you should force a new animal into interaction. Any wisdom or experiences much appreciated.

Something that helped me out a lot when Merlin was really young was to wear an old t-shirt for a few days in a row without showering and getting it really gross and smelly. Sleeping in it, sweating in it, and basically just getting it super infused with your smells and pheromones and putting in your Tegu’s enclosure/burrow/hide. It helps them get really comfortable with your scent. After a day or two Merlin was wrapping himself up in it like a comfort blanket and was much less apprehensive about me afterwards.

Also, (I know this is not for everyone and can be controversial) but I gave my Tegu as much supervised free-roaming time as possible. Obviously you need to make sure the room is safe and there’s nowhere for them to escape.
I never forced interaction but would just hang out near him while doing my own thing, but over time my baby just got more and more comfortable being around me on his own terms.

It also took him a while to get comfortable with baths and he hated them at first, but eventually bath-time became an enjoyable bonding ritual for us both and he grew to love it.

Hope this helps! Tegu’s are all individuals and what works for one person might not work for another but these things helped me out a lot. Patience is key!