Help please! behavioral issues

[Sevendust6]

hello, i have had my tegu for nearly 5 months now. age wise i believe he will be one year in july. I recently built him a large custom enclosure and he has been in there for about a week.

My issue? Although he does not hiss, bite, or show any aggression....he still doesn't seem to grasp that i am his owner/friend and not a predator.

I say this because he walks very cautiously around me, and at times will run very quickly away or back into his hide box in the cage. I don't know what im doing wrong. I do not remove him from the hide box or force him in any way, i have followed bobbys taming instructions (including the ignoring menthod, the
hand walking, no grasping, no fighting, etc.).

I am obviously quite dissappointed that despite my efforts, he is still so very skiddish. We have had moment where he calmed down and sat with me for a bit, but that is rare.

I guess my question is, what are your methods or ways of handling? does anyone else have this problem? and is there a certain age or is it a maturity thing that will eventually cause them to relax and what not?

please note that once i touch him or hold him, he slows down ..there is no struggle. But hes just always moving out of my hands depsite my petting and hand walking. i dont want to have a scared large tegu one day. please help

thanks

alex in pittsburgh

 

[txrepgirl]

Hi sevendust6. Do you have a enclosure that opens from the top or the front ? Do you have any pictures of him so I can see how big he is ? How many inches is he ? If he isn't to big you could put him into a pillow case ( that he can use as a hide and feel save ) and put him on your lap. Try to just put your hand on him but don't pet him. Unless he seems very relaxt. When you hold him are his feet in the air ? Some Tegus are scared when their feet are in the air and don't want to hold still.

 

[themedic]

if he wants to walk, let him walk why dont you buy him a harness eventually he will realize hes not going to get away and just give up.

even if he tries to walk away atleast he will be getting a good workout!

 

[Sevendust6]

hello, thanks for the reply. I will post a picture later when i can take one, but i can tell you he is about just over a foot snout to vent. Th enclosure opens up in the front as a hinged gate.

Also, no his feet are grounded when i pick him up. I read in bobbys instructions to support all the limbs, so i do.

As far as the harness goes, i thought that wasnt recommended for tegus because they don't like to be restrained? i could be wrong and if that would be an option i would be open to it. I just hope he doesnt despise me for putting him in one!

I never heard of the pillow case idea...can u explain that a bit more?

anything else you can offer me would be great and that goes for anyone else too! thanks to all

hopefully i can get him under control before he gets too big

 

[txrepgirl]

Your welcome. Awww. He is still little. That is a very good thing. Never mind the pillow case then. I thought he was a bigger Tegu. Since he is still that little I would try to use my shirt trick. I put on one T-shirt so I don't get scratched up and then a Hoody. I don't recommend putting on two T-shirts because he could climb out of your arm part fast. With the Hoody or a long sleeve shirt he can't escape as easily. Tegus feel save when they get to hide. Since you are going to be the hiding place now he will feel save, stay warm and he gets to smell your body and will get used to you faster this way. When I do this I lay down on the couch or the bed and just put my hand on the baby ( I have a male and female baby ). When I can tell that theya re relaxt I slowly and gently stroke their head, neck and back. I don't get to close to the tail yet because most of them get scared when someone gets to close to the tail. I usually do this until they start to move around and don't want to be in there any more. I had them in there for one hour before. Sorry for making it so long. Hope this helps. Oh, one more thing. How big is the enclosure. Maybe he is scared because it's to big for him.

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[Sevendust6]

thanks again. i will definitely try this shirt method. he will be one year old in july btw, in case i underestimated his size. hes not small, but hes def not huge. his jowls arent really even there yet.

as far as the enclosure goes... its 4 ft by 3.5ft by 2.5 ft high , is that too big? im sure he will grow into it in no time at all haha

one more question though...how do you handle making yours go to the bathroom? what is your regimen or process? mine just goes anywhere he wants. it would be nice to change that lol\

thanks

 

[themedic]

if your hinges make noise or your latch makes noises when the cage opens this may alarm your tegus, mine still get alarmed and will always probably get alarmed.

tegus have really good hearing, mine were eating and a car honked as soon as they heard it they stopped eating and there heads lifted up like they were curious.

maybe try putting your shirt in the tegu cage let him get aquainted with your scent. try hand feeding him although this isnt recomended people say the tegu will associate your hand with food but through my experiences these past couple of months id say they are smart enough to distinguish the different between a finger and a mouse.

you want to create a bond with your tegu, i usually feed my tegus on a bench and while they eat i give them a fresh bowl of water, and i clean out any fecal matter out of the cage. this is good interaction technique you can also do everyday with your tegu eventually he will fall into routine and not even be skittish around you.

 

[themedic]

also, i pet my tegus before i straight up pick them up, usually when i start petting them they can more less figure out im just there to interact with them and not there to hurt them once they losen up and start walkin around i place my hand under them and pick them up if it ever starts to want to get away i quickly put my other hand in front and i just bring them out of the cage before they can dismount off my hand.