Tegu Puberty?!?!

[COWHER]

My arg.b+w tegu was coming along nice when he/she had a 3 of 4 month period where he was just M-E-A-N :mad He was about 23 Inches And it lasted untill he was about 31 inches thats nose to tip o' tail. he is now 33 inches :woot and In the last month has calmed almost over night to being even sweeter than before. It was 60 degrees the other day i took him outside and was expecting the defensive trying to escape ol' Barbossa but insted when i took him into the middle of the yard and went to sit on my steps to my house he followed me walked around me for about 20 minutes then crawled up my legs and fell asleep on my lap!!

So For every one out there who has a tegu that has seemed to have "gone bad" there is hope.
So is it because tegus go through a puberty period where they get feisty that this happened?

 

[DaveDragon]

At what age did this happen?? This seems common.

Our little guy went nuts around 6 months and finally calmed at 8 months. He still wants to run away but at least he's not aggressive!

 

[COWHER]

I got him in July 2007 he had no green. yet was only 12 inches

 

[snakehandler]

Ususally young reptiles act more agressive as they need to defend themselves in the wild.

 

[DaveDragon]

There seems to be some consistency with peoples Tegu's becoming very aggressive between approx. 6 & 8 months.

 

[greentriple]

I would think that 60 degrees outside is a little chill for a tegu, I'd want to crawl up you leg and warm up too.

I can't say much with Tegus, but Iguanas seem to have a similar issue. When very little they try and hide from any danger, they're too small to defend themselves so taking a defesive stance will probably result in being dinner quite fast. At about 24 -36 inches they are still small, but can now deliver quite the whip and bite so they feel a bit more brazen and may "attack" before fleeing for safety. They still see us as large predators and life in captivity as lame so they want to get free. Once they're full grown, they don't have too many enemies and feel much less intimidated by us. I imagine it's similar with tegus.

 

[ApriliaRufo]

There seems to be some consistency with peoples Tegu's becoming very aggressive between approx. 6 & 8 months.

Lol I've seen a few tegus at that age and agree that they definitely go through a teenager phase. Apollo kept taking my keys and staying out late, his grades started dropping, and he refused to listen. Lol. Nah, it's true that they act like that. Apollo has been asleep through his 6-9 months period and came out of brumation in a great mood.

 

[COWHER]

I would think that 60 degrees outside is a little chill for a tegu, I'd want to crawl up you leg and warm up too.

well it was more like 68 degrees and he was basking on a rock in the yard, being it was very sunny that day. actually it was probably the nicest day in any January that I can remember, ever. and his skin was warm to the touch so I wasn't worried about him getting to cold. lol he actually has been doing that lately, I set up a ceramic heater in my living room and let him free roam and he has actually been basking, then climbing on to me, then he gets cool, and goes back to bask, its actually wicked funny :grno

 

[playlboi]

sounds like you got that sucker in check cowher! lol

 

[Nikki Gregory]

My arg.b+w tegu was coming along nice when he/she had a 3 of 4 month period where he was just M-E-A-N :mad He was about 23 Inches And it lasted untill he was about 31 inches thats nose to tip o' tail. he is now 33 inches :woot and In the last month has calmed almost over night to being even sweeter than before. It was 60 degrees the other day i took him outside and was expecting the defensive trying to escape ol' Barbossa but insted when i took him into the middle of the yard and went to sit on my steps to my house he followed me walked around me for about 20 minutes then crawled up my legs and fell asleep on my lap!!

So For every one out there who has a tegu that has seemed to have "gone bad" there is hope.
So is it because tegus go through a puberty period where they get feisty that this happened?

I am so glad I read this. I am going through a very bitey stage with my guy. I’m a little sad and honestly a little nervous he’s going you bite me now when he comes up to me even when I’ve got him outside his cage. Ugh I don’t like it. Did you do much with him besides the necessities (feed & soak) him while he was being mean?