Normal ?

[Guest]

My rescue has come along way at least I thought. I've had her almost 2 months now. She started to come out of her tank on her own with me in the room. She has let me pet her but for only seconds at a time. Then she would hiss and arch her back but never biting.well for the past few days she's been attacking feet ones with shoes of coarse among many other things. Not sure if she's scared or becoming aggressive. She has been through 2 sheds has definitely put-on weight. She eats everyday she basks I thought we were doing ok and because this is all new to me I'm not sure how to respond to her without pissing her off or making her not trust me..if anyone could advise please.

 

[Toby_H]

Important questions: How old is she? What was her live like before she came to you?

There seems to be quite a few 'techniques' that work well for taming a hatchling... But with older Tegus we aren't working with a "clean slate" thus we have to consider what our Tegu has been through before he/she came to us.

The "trick" I used that I feel worked very well for me with my hatchling was to simply "work" in the cage a lot. I would level mulch, spot clean, clean the water dish and basically look for reasons to have my hands in the enclosure. At first, I would ignore the Tegu. This let him learn that my hands being in the enclosure was not a threat.

As he got comfortable with that, I started crossing his path more and more as I "worked" in his enclsoure. Then I started adding one quick pet now and then.

Many people use the "trick" of wearing a shirt all day... then putting that shirt in the enclosure. This allows the Tegu to get more comfortable with your scent.

I suspect the same "tricks" would work older Tegus, although it may take more time & patience, since the Tegu may have "bad experiences" to overcome.

 

[Guest]

my 2 year old loves to attack shoes.. and if you jump around the room and move your feet alot and quickly while shes out she comes running after feet. ive never had he bite me but i move out of the way. im not sure why she loves feet.. she will also attack her harness and the cats toys (the ones with bells) she does this mainly right before supper time and occasionally on her nonfeeding days, so im assuming she is just hungry when she is doing it because she is a very tame tegu. i dont know if that helps? does she only attack on days when she isnt fed?

 

[Guest]

She's about 2 and was found in a foreclosed home with a B/W. The animals were left in poor conditions rat and roach infested for 4months or so. The red went to one rescue who was able to spend some time with her and the other one was so aggressive they had to find someone who had lots of experience with tegus. I hope that gives you an understanding of what she went through and what I can do from here. I did read your article on how to tame and I have been following directions in the tank however she seems more comfortable with me outside the tank. When in the tank just talking to her she starts breathing faster so I just stop . I do feed her worms and roaches outside the tank while she gets turkey and F/T rodents in the tank but she never sees me putting them there. She does see me putting the worms and roaches down for her. Not sure if anything has to do with her behavior inside and outside of her tank maybe you can shed some light for me or help me to know what im doing right and what im doing wrong. Because at the end of the day it's what's right for her not me.

 

[Toby_H]

I'm glad I asked. I'd take a lot less risk of being bitten by a 2 year old than I would a hatchling

I would encourage you to feed more "processed foods" (ground turkey, fish filets, liver, chicken gizzards, etc) and less whole prey (mice, rats, chicks, etc).

My (3 yr old) Tegu dislikes being picked up, but that's because he big and likes to be on solid ground. So I'd discourage 'holding' her, but encourage 'handling' her, to whatever degree she is comfortable with. When lifting her, try putting her on a towel then lifting the towel. This also gives her claws something to sink into making her more comfortable and your arms safer.

I believe that enclosure size is a critical factor with Tegu aggression. So do your best to have her in an adequate sized enclosure. Of course bigger is always better.

Try the approach of working in her enclosure while ignoring her. At this point she may not know how to interpret direct attention, but she needs to learn to be comfortable around you. Try to move at a relaxed, steady medium pace. Slow enough not to startle her but fast enough to not seem like you are stalking.

I also feed in the enclosure, but do so knowing there are some risks I have to avoid. Cage/feeding aggression is a concern but you seem to have that in mind. It�s also important we keep mulch out of the food (and vise versa). I do this by feeding on a large slightly raised platform that has no mulch on it.

 

[Guest]

Many thanx to the both of you. I do feed her everyday alternating different meats and live worms and roaches. I also have a raised spot where I place her food so she don't ingest mulch, however with the increase in her size and weight I think i might have to upgrade her tank. She's in a 4x2x2. The lady that rescued her didn't think she would grow much more due to poor care, but guess what she's become very big little lady. Again thanx for your help.