Member1421
Member
- Messages
- 51
Hi all!
New to the community, but have had some early success with my little guy I thought would be of help. I've read in several forums the benefits of sort of ignoring the tegu in its enclosure and performing routine maintenance to let them know that every time we enter their world it is not a bad thing. So without getting too lengthy, I have conversations with Ted about this, that and the other thing, while digging around deep and turning his substrate over in the enclosure. The digging, tunneling and scooping substrate out in front of him seems to pique his interest and I think mimicking his daily digging and burrowing has benefits.
As I've continued to do this, he doesn't even run off his basking rock anymore when I go in there, and I've only had him 3 days. To maintain this trust what I do is when I go in and dig around, I put a small cork bark flat next to his basking rock that is nestled right up against it. He knows it's there, but I do nothing with it until we've talked and dug around a bit. In the beginning I had to sort of push him toward it by bringing my hand from behind him, but today he nearly walked right onto it without having to do much. Once he gets on it I remove it and him from the enclosure to start out hanging out time. I keep this cork bark flat with us wherever we go and let him walk around on it to help get him used to it as well.
Maybe this doesn't seem like the greatest thing in the world, but not chasing him or grabbing at him like a giant trying to end his life, this method seems to have produced positive results early on. Hope it helps!
View attachment 15133
New to the community, but have had some early success with my little guy I thought would be of help. I've read in several forums the benefits of sort of ignoring the tegu in its enclosure and performing routine maintenance to let them know that every time we enter their world it is not a bad thing. So without getting too lengthy, I have conversations with Ted about this, that and the other thing, while digging around deep and turning his substrate over in the enclosure. The digging, tunneling and scooping substrate out in front of him seems to pique his interest and I think mimicking his daily digging and burrowing has benefits.
As I've continued to do this, he doesn't even run off his basking rock anymore when I go in there, and I've only had him 3 days. To maintain this trust what I do is when I go in and dig around, I put a small cork bark flat next to his basking rock that is nestled right up against it. He knows it's there, but I do nothing with it until we've talked and dug around a bit. In the beginning I had to sort of push him toward it by bringing my hand from behind him, but today he nearly walked right onto it without having to do much. Once he gets on it I remove it and him from the enclosure to start out hanging out time. I keep this cork bark flat with us wherever we go and let him walk around on it to help get him used to it as well.
Maybe this doesn't seem like the greatest thing in the world, but not chasing him or grabbing at him like a giant trying to end his life, this method seems to have produced positive results early on. Hope it helps!
View attachment 15133
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