My first Tegu

[ColdBlooded1]

I recently got a tegu baby from craigslist, I'm told the birthdate is Feb 2021, but the person was kind of shady so who knows. I was also told by the person that the breeder could not sex them, so gender is unknow. Finally, I was told it is a b&w argentine, but this little bugger can get quite aggressive, totally freaks out at a hand coming into pick up out of cage, tail whipping ,huffing, posturing, hissing. ....now once out, baby is ok, sat in my hand and ate some food off of a plate in the kitchen, sits on my hand/arm much calmer than at the point of getting out of the enclosure.
Here are some pictures of the baby, can anyone tell the type? I thought b&w argentines were green on the head as babies, but this one is not.

 

[rantology]

Hard to tell how big it is from the pictures- the babies don't keep the green for but a few weeks so it's possible that it's already lost the color. Give him/her a few weeks to acclimate, right now they will be the most skittish and want to hide a lot. They mellow out a lot more as adults after puberty. For now be patient and gentle- try throwing a piece of clothing you've worn with your scent on it in the hide. Make experiences as positive as you can

 

[ColdBlooded1]

This baby is small, I put a piece of college ruled notebook paper here so you can get an estimate.
Is doing great taking food from tongs, is a great eater and is ok with my hands in the enclosure moving stuff around, cleaning water dish, ect, just not trying to take out. I did the water in tote that Joey from Rose City Tegus suggested and that worked out great, we went outside for about 30 minutes and baby was calm, both in the water and crawling up my hand and arm to be in the sun.
I wonder what type of tegu? Is this an argentine b&w?

 

[rantology]

Yes, looks like one to me. Has the signature double loreal scales and looks pretty normal! congrats on joining the tegu family

 

[ColdBlooded1]

Thanks! I am looking forward to days forward bonding with this little guy/gal. I'm not sure of the gender.
Is there a thread on here with adult enclosure ideas? I have a 5x3x3 I was going to move the tegu to soon, but I know it's way too small for adult tegu.
I was thinking about getting the 8x4 from Animal Plastics, I figure if I order it now, I will get by the time tegu baby is big enough. Or are there better options?

 

[rantology]

Sure are! There are lots of options, take a browse through the Enclosures section and see what people have done. AnimalPlastics is an option but they currently have insanely long lead times - I personally had a not-so-great experience with them regarding that recently which lead me to cancel orders and look elsewhere (to each their own of course, their products are great if you can actually manage to get your hands on them). There are other options like Kages, Grow Tents, and of course custom building something on your own amongst others (LifetimeHabitats look awesome too though I don't know anyone who's had experience with them)

 

[ColdBlooded1]

My 5x3x3 is a Kages and the doors are flimsy, I think any stronger snake or lizard could push them right out if they put enough force on them, they are flimsy plastic material. I have a animal plastics smaller one and it's nice, the doors are thick glass and sturdy.
Thanks I'll check out the Enclosures section!

 

[Debita]

Looks and acts like a Black/White Argie to me!! They are very active - some might say aggressive when moving to a new home, but usually subsides within a couple weeks.... Don't forget to expect that same behavior to return at around a year (so - Feb 2022) as he/she goes into puberty. Not all do - but most have some hormones to work out. I did have a female that didn't change at all, but had a male that ran me ragged with his antics. Now, he's very easy going, but it took a long time. So hang in there!! He/She will adapt sooner or later! Congrats!

 

[ColdBlooded1]

Thank you so much Debita, you made me feel better. The little poop tail whips when I get to close to him/her in the enclosure, but comes running to me when I have food, does tolerate me cleaning the enclosure and cleaning/changing the water.

 

[Debita]

You're welcome - yeah, those tail whips can leave a welt once they're an adult. Out of the whole 3 years that I've had Skully, he gave me the worst welt ever just last week! He gets anxious just before being placed back into his house - I try not to give in to him, but it depends on me being in a hurry or not. Best thing is not to give them their way when they do that - I try to hold on to him until he stops his snit fit.....unless I need to be somewhere! lol

 

[ColdBlooded1]

so i picked up my baby the other day and besides the normal frantic trying to get away, he turned his head around to bite me, and I held him up closer to me level with my face and said firmly 'no bite!' and he stopped! Do they understand commands? He just totally stopped, it was almost as if he didn't recognize me as he was struggling but as soon as i put him up close to me on my level, he just kind of had a look like 'oh, it's just you' ....are they really that smart?

 

[ColdBlooded1]

Debita when will he be sweet like all the tegu's I see in the photos on here?? He won't be pissy his entire life will he???
He did better today when I took him out, he didn't struggle as much or try and bite me and when I had him outside (I was holding him) today, he tried to stay close to my body than scampering out of my hands, so that's good if he sees me as a 'safe' place?

 

[Debita]

Hard to put a time frame on it... There are so many differences with every Tegu when it comes to their anxiety level. Because yours is so young, I'd guess it will be no more than a few weeks, but it's a guess. Some of them are really dominant and can carry on for a long while. We all talk about the patience we have to have with these animals, but we all also talk about how it pays off in the end. Most owners are happy they put in the work, and have a happy relationship with their buddy that after not getting their way, gave in to the patience and live a pretty cushy life.

He/She will see you as their safe place soon enough. Hang in there and it'll happen! And, yes, they absolutely do respond to commands - not necessarily as well as your dog, but they know the difference in your behavior. One of the long-time members told me to yell "no!" to my angry dude a long time ago and it did work.

Do you rub his ears and jowl area? Hard for them to resist that, unless they're hungry.

 

[ColdBlooded1]

o you rub his ears and jowl area? Hard for them to resist that, unless they're hungry.:
I don't yet because he's so small. do they like this when they are babies?
when he is hungry he leaps out of the cage at me to get food. I wish my ball python had this feeding response! I'm just glad he has a great appetite, I'd rather work on not letting them get obese than stressed out because they won't eat!

 

[Debita]

Sorry to take so long - was buying a house. And yes! I give a good ear rub and he loves it. Sometimes he'll pull away once he's had enough, but always closes his eyes and enjoys the moment first! It seems hypnotizing. I would def do it when they're young. Now, he expects it. Most the time, he closes his eyes before I start.

 

[ColdBlooded1]

That's ok, it's nice to have a house.
i just hope he mellows out, he is such a pill and still tail whips and tried to bite at first when being picked up.

 

[Debita]

Are you feeding him by hand? That could be one possibility. But, it's most likely that he/she is just adapting to the new situation still. Some take longer than others. I don't know what makes some of them hang on to their anxiety longer than others, but it does calm down. It took my male forEVER to stop the antics. I thought it would never stop - but they're smart and they do figure it out sooner or later. You won't believe the difference once it changes. It's like night and day. (It was for me)

He won't be this way forever - I've never heard anyone make that claim on this forum. But many have wondered if it will ever end. So - no, he won't be pissy forever.

 

[lisamb21]

Are you feeding him by hand? That could be one possibility. But, it's most likely that he/she is just adapting to the new situation still. Some take longer than others. I don't know what makes some of them hang on to their anxiety longer than others, but it does calm down. It took my male forEVER to stop the antics. I thought it would never stop - but they're smart and they do figure it out sooner or later. You won't believe the difference once it changes. It's like night and day. (It was for me)

He won't be this way forever - I've never heard anyone make that claim on this forum. But many have wondered if it will ever end. So - no, he won't be pissy forever.

I am the one that is always feeding her by hand and I will leave the tent open so she can see that I’m not here to hurt her. So far she will come out and be fine

 

[ColdBlooded1]

Thank you for the encouragement, I"m not sure of the gender yet, but this baby seems to be a dominant male..his jowls are pretty big for a little squirt, and I think I see two bumps underneath but i am by no means an expert there!

You are right though, he is defnitely getting more calm and actually is starting to let me know when he WANTS TO COME OUT! Cool beans..at least i'll be better prepared for his next pissy teenager stage

 

[ColdBlooded1]

Well Peanut seems to love his 'new' enclosure...(he was in a 40 gal, but now is in a 4x4x2 until he outgrows it). I didn't think Tegus were climbers but he really is all over everything and under the dirt, and hanging out on the universal rocks background too. He's curious and bit my phone while I was taking pictures..heheh, I feel the same about mobile phones half the time. Despite being pissy when picking him up, he was never really shy