Should Tegus Share The Same Hide?

[themedic]

Well you do have a valid point pikey about the aggressiveness.

and yes being outside definetly doesnt help as they pick up on different scents and sounds.

I mean all I can really say is to build a bench for them, if your afraid of putting your hands in the cage then build a bench that connects to the front of the cage when the door is open.

by doing this you accomplish 2 things, bringing the tegu to the food and allowing the tegu to interact with the "outside" world he will automatically shut off his "home defense insticts" and should calm down, if hes still lunging i'd say you have your hands full but with enough patience and persistance any tegu will eventually realize your not there to hurt them.

 

[Pikey]

i agree it takes time, interaction, & loving patience with them


It's weird my biggest one 3 1/2yrs old is the biggest softy of all 4 of them i can climb in and sit on the log next to him and pet him and he dont care (the other male i could climb in & he would charge me, not any more tho)

Here's their pen

This is the Hide they all share (the grass one only the girls seem to like)

 

[mastroj]

Even with dogs and cats, if you corner them and they know you mean business fight or flight response will kick in. My biggest dog when he has done something bad (like eat an entire loaf of bred we just brought home from the store) when I walk into the room he will come up to me and sit down for me to scold him but if I approach him to yell at him he will turn to get away. If I kept after him (I obviously dont do this) I am sure he would attack if he had to. All animals have instincts, just like humans. In the heat of the moment we just react, throw our hands up when something is coming towards us, (even if it is a foam ball), or jump back when a bang goes off, (even if it is my 2 yr old jumping up and down). We all have instincts regardless of how domesticated we are. And no matter how much our pets trust us if they are scared they will protect themselves however they see fit. Which is why we need to show them respect in order to earn their trust.

 

[the enigma]

Nice pics Pikey. Nice to see ya over here.

 

[carcharios]

Don't you worry about hawks taking your guys? Also, did they dig out the hide on the rock themselves or did you insert a tub under the rock for them? Great pen!

 

[Pikey]

i dug out the hides (under the rock & under the sticks covered in sod) but they have all modified the holes I've dug

no i dont worry about the lots of hawks we have up here my smallest 1 is still 3ft (I'm pos a hawk couldn't pick them up & they know it)
I'm more worried of a small bird or squirrel getting in & getting eaten (then the Tegus would get some bugs from them)


@enigma
Yeah i was on here for a wile now but took a break from all the stupid kids that thought they "knew everything" but they seem to have been humbled or just got bored with no1 playing with them....so I'm back

 

[carcharios]

Interesting that you bring up squirrels, etc and parasites. I was actually contemplating feeding my guys roadkill at some point. We have tons of squirrels around here that get hit by cars frequently. I was thinking of trying to get a fresh kill for my two larger tegus but was contemplating whether this was risky or not. In terms of nutrition, I would think it would be the way to go but not sure about disease, etc. I saw some photos online of Bert Langerwerf feeding his guys what appeared to be roadkill. Does anyone else do this?

Also, does anyone know how tegus eat when they're eating in groups? Do they fight over prey like some of the larger monitors or do they share? I've yet to see my two bigger tegus eating simultaneously so I'm curious.

 

[Pikey]

they tend to take turns eating babies tend to eat together sometime agressively.... & i personally do not recommend "road kill" as food

 

[carcharios]

I have some really thick leather gloves that I'm thinking of wearing next time I have to put my hand in the cage for cleaning, etc. I was debating leaving the gloves in the cage when I'm finished so Kimo can get accustomed to them and not think of them as a threat. This way, next time I need to get in their or handle him, he hopefully won't see them as a threat.