HELP!!!! Tegu has turned on us

[booyea797]

Hey everyone I'm in need of some help please are tegu Bubba was being good for a long time but now all of a sudden hes turn we put r hand in the cage for feeding time or play time he launches at us and bites us and doesnt let go I need help if i cant get this under control im going to have to sell him and i just can't do that he was tammed now all of a sudden hes being wired please help

 

[frost]

well if you have been feeding him in the cage he has probably developed a food aggression/cage aggression. my b/w does that all the time but once i get him out hes fine. he just thinks that anything that goes in the cage is food. i take him out but he still is like this. it will just be something you'll have to work on.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

More info would help.

How old is he?
What size enclosure is he in?
How long have you been working with him?
How much and how often do you feed him?

It may be just something that you have to continue to work through. They have off days or weeks just like we do, they also get over it and things go back to normal. It's something that could happen at any time and any age.

 

[booyea797]

I dont feed him in the cage he is bin fed

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i got him last .. july i believe he about due for his new cage hes in a 50 gallon but he didnt hit another growth spurt yet sense febuary i feed him every other day or everyday i work and so my gf will feed him as well we used 2 b able to just r hands in no problem at all everyday i was with him for at least 30 min its sad

 

[got10]

Do your hand smell of food when you go to take him out. And is he aware BEFORE your hand goes in the cage ?

 

[naturboy87]

just dont let him punk you just like a dog if he can win he will ...

 

[booyea797]

Thanks guys and the food is in the box then i go wash my hands with dawn soap and scrub it good and then get him would it hurt if i feed him before his light is on when he is still docile because the other problem with him is that he likes to jump crazy all over and destroy everything I need a new cage but I cant build it right now Im trying to just buy a temp cage a little bigger for him i hope that would help anyone willing to sell a cage within the chicago land area or wisconsin etc ill pay top dollar

 

[JohnMatthew]

He could just be going through puberty.. Though I'd be cranky too if I were an intelligent, active lizard in a see through 50 gallon aquarium.

 

[m3s4]

Sounds like he's getting territorial. If you don't change up the way you and he relate, this will very likely develop into a bad situation - Mr. teenage bad-boy lizard, will grow into a larger, more powerful, more pissy version.

This situation isn't a "do this it works" type of deal.

This is where you have to be careful, patient and acutely aware of his body-language for obvious reasons - unless of course you don't mind welts from whips, claw marks that resemble juggling cacti, and a few little teeth holes on your hand.

The thing that has to be rehearsed over and over again, is your willingness to go inside of his "territory" and snap him out of this new found possession of his.

How do we accomplish this? Socialization - lots of it. First however, you have to be able to approach him - in his territory - differently then you have been.

You need try different tactics so that your reaction (grabbing him) doesn't = his reaction (attacking you)

I don't know how much you interact with him, or how much you hold him but I'd definitely do much more of both.

He isn't a lost cause, nothing ever is. You just have to change up the way things are getting done over on tegu street - where he's now the bully.

Oh and a bigger, better cage for him would probably be a very good idea. Since you can't build one right now - look on Craigslist.com, Ebay or any number of enclosure suppliers. For $300 you can have an awesome set-up that should last the life of any tegu - that being one that is at least 6x6x2.

Good luck and have fun - consider this new challenge a bonding experience that will see a new owner and a new tegu emerge at the end of the road.

 

[monstruo-the-tegu]

i would suggest getting really thick welding gloves and feed her outside the cage my tegu which is probably just as old as yours did that but then i started feeding him outside the cage and he was fine. and now i will see my tegu run to the doors so he can go eat

 

[m3s4]

i would suggest getting really thick welding gloves and feed her outside the cage my tegu which is probably just as old as yours did that but then i started feeding him outside the cage and he was fine. and now i will see my tegu run to the doors so he can go eat

Bro - you probably want to read an entire thread before posting. He already stated he feeds his tegu in a bin, not an enclosure.

 

[booyea797]

Thanks guys for everything ill keep u updated the worst part is now is his sleeping schedule changed he used 2 stay up from noon till like 10 at night now hes up at 8 and out by 5 and im still at work any way i can change this??