New owner, rescued tegu.. any info much appreciated

[KayHay0209]

Firstly thank you for taking the time to read and give me some advice! I am currently building my tegu it’s 8x4x4. So I’m getting him/her plenty of room. But when I asked the person I rescued it from they had no idea about anything.. how old it was, anything.. I’m pretty sure it hasn’t gone through puberty yet(so lucky me I get to do that) it also hasn’t been socialized at all and it seems extremely shy.
I don’t want to bother it too much til it’s gets acquainted but I’m also going to be moving it in its forever home.. does that generally cause a lot of stress?when it’s out I give it scratches and he’s totally okay.. I’ve handled it to feed it and it’s never tail whipped or tried to bite.
anyone have any suggestions on how I should get a rough estimate on age? I think it’s about 13-14 inches; And when should I start handling daily? I’m scared it’s gunna go straight into puberty before it grows any kind of trust and then what happens after puberty? Will it become friendly or dislike me because I didn’t try enough? I just want to offer this little guy the best life it hasn’t had yet.

 

[rats]

It's been a week now since you posted, I think you should be handling him at least a few times a week, if not more. It depends on his reaction to you when you go to pick him up. If he's standoffish, then don't pick him up, but if he's OK with it (or better yet, comes to you!) then pick him up and be gentle, talk to him, let him sit on your lap. It's best to get him to see you in a friendly light before puberty It doesn't sound like he's afraid of you, so see if you can develop the camaraderie you want to have with him.

 

[KayHay0209]

It's been a week now since you posted, I think you should be handling him at least a few times a week, if not more. It depends on his reaction to you when you go to pick him up. If he's standoffish, then don't pick him up, but if he's OK with it (or better yet, comes to you!) then pick him up and be gentle, talk to him, let him sit on your lap. It's best to get him to see you in a friendly light before puberty It doesn't sound like he's afraid of you, so see if you can develop the camaraderie you want to have with him.

Thank you so much for the response. I’ve been just reaching in and petting him. I’ve tried to be super patient and let him get used to things cause he’s had a lot of big changes for the better. I sometimes left his door open so he could get used to the smells of the room and today was the first day he came to the door and Started scratching so i let him out and he came and laid with me on the bed. I was so surprised and excited.
I also had a reptile friend come over and gauge his age he said he’s about 18 months to 2 years so hopefully I missed guberty.

 

[Debita]

Sorry to disagree, but at 13-14", there's no way he/she is 2 yrs. old. You will def be going through guberty with him/her. This is still a 3-5 month old at that age as far as I know. I received my male when he was 19" and he went into guberty about 6 months later. They grow fast!

 

[KayHay0209]

Sorry to disagree, but at 13-14", there's no way he/she is 2 yrs. old. You will def be going through guberty with him/her. This is still a 3-5 month old at that age as far as I know. I received my male when he was 19" and he went into guberty about 6 months later. They grow fast!

Did you post a picture?? Or am I just missing it. Oh jeez:/ do you recommend keeping them in a smaller enclosure when he goes through it? Or should I keep him in his 8x4x4?

 

[Debita]

You can do a smaller enclosure if you have to but not if you already have his 8X4X4. You'll do fine - @rats is right about handling as much as you can. It makes a difference in their temperament during Guberty if you've already handled them for almost a year. Patience is huge and it sounds like you understand that.

I have had 3 different Tegus. They all had different personalities, and the aggressiveness of my B/W male was by far the most difficult. But, I got him at a year old, and stepped right into puberty, straight out of the Florida wild. My female that came from the same place was about 15" when I got her, and she didn't display almost any aggression at all. She went along with everything, and absolutely calmed the male down quite a bit.

 

[KayHay0209]

You can do a smaller enclosure if you have to but not if you already have his 8X4X4. You'll do fine - @rats is right about handling as much as you can. It makes a difference in their temperament during Guberty if you've already handled them for almost a year. Patience is huge and it sounds like you understand that.

I have had 3 different Tegus. They all had different personalities, and the aggressiveness of my B/W male was by far the most difficult. But, I got him at a year old, and stepped right into puberty, straight out of the Florida wild. My female that came from the same place was about 15" when I got her, and she didn't display almost any aggression at all. She went along with everything, and absolutely calmed the male down quite a bit.

Thank you, I officially moved him into his new house. I haven’t been able to handle him he’s been adjusting but I appreciate all the comments and help. It means a lot and gives me a little confirmation I’m doing things right.