Hello, I just bought a tegu from Backwater Reptiles about a month ago, and he/she (not quite sure the gender) is beautiful. Diesel is around roughly, I want to say, 5-6 months old, and about 1 1/2 -2 feet. When I had diesel for the first week, he was very flighty and scared, often hiding in his enclosure. I used the sit-together-in-a-bathtub and shirt methods, and he got relatively used to me. I could carry him around, and he would fall asleep in my hood, lap, or on my shoulder while I would stay up late working on essays, presentations, or projects. But, for the last two weeks, Diesel and I were separated, as I went off to New York to attend a program at West Point for a week. I then came back and went straight to another camp for Virginia Girls State, so two weeks away from Diesel. While I was gone, my mom and my little sister took care of him.
When I returned, I was welcomed with an even MORE flighty tegu than he originally was, and does not like to be handled as much as he used to be. I have to use the hand in front I hand technique to hold him. My mom said he was fed perfectly fine everyday, and she was very gentle with him. My little sister claims she didn’t handle him much and was gentle with him too, with the occasional losing him in a room when taking him out. I do have suspicions, since whenever my sister is near diesel, diesel seems to freak out, but he was like that when I first got him. He has changed a little, wanting less interaction and is much more fidgety. What happened? Is there a way I can reverse the way diesel feels? What should I do about his interaction with people? And other techniques I can use without disrupting the way he sees me as an owner? Does e not recognize me perhaps? He seems to be alright with being pet, and he is very curious and mobile.
I would also really like to teach Diesel to walk on a leash, come by name, ect. Is there a possible way to still make this happen despite his age? Thank you for reading this!!
When I returned, I was welcomed with an even MORE flighty tegu than he originally was, and does not like to be handled as much as he used to be. I have to use the hand in front I hand technique to hold him. My mom said he was fed perfectly fine everyday, and she was very gentle with him. My little sister claims she didn’t handle him much and was gentle with him too, with the occasional losing him in a room when taking him out. I do have suspicions, since whenever my sister is near diesel, diesel seems to freak out, but he was like that when I first got him. He has changed a little, wanting less interaction and is much more fidgety. What happened? Is there a way I can reverse the way diesel feels? What should I do about his interaction with people? And other techniques I can use without disrupting the way he sees me as an owner? Does e not recognize me perhaps? He seems to be alright with being pet, and he is very curious and mobile.
I would also really like to teach Diesel to walk on a leash, come by name, ect. Is there a possible way to still make this happen despite his age? Thank you for reading this!!