Tegu thinks my hand is food

[Gunner]

Hello, I have had my black and white tegu for a few months now, and I still have not made much progress taming him down, the main problem is that every time I put my hand near him he jumps and bites it. I’m almost certain he thinks it’s food because of the way he acts. I have tried putting my hand near his food and he can clearly tell the difference but if it’s just my hand he goes at it like it’s a cricket. I have been bitten quite a few times now and their starting to hurt now that he’s grown a little. Please help me before he gets big enough to bite off my hand.

 

[Meganmm02]

I would try not to put your hands near his food or he will associate it with food (use tongs or tweezers if hand feeding insects). I had some problems with mine biting and what i seemed to find helpful was just feeding him more often. Another thing that is helpful would be to learn how he acts right before he eats living prey/ bites you. Sometimes when mine is hungry he wants to bite me but i can tell by the way that he is looking at my hand that he is getting ready to and not just looking at it curiously. Immediately after i notice i will pull my hand away from him so he knows he isn’t supposed to and doesn’t normalize the behavior. This has helped me and i haven't been bit in a while. It could also just be that he isn't used to you yet so I suggest if he jumps or whips his tail at you to make sure you dont jump/jerk away from him. Making sure i was confident enough to do that made him stop eventually because he knows its not effective at scaring me away anymore. A great way to get him to let you hold him is to try getting at his level so you dont seem taller than him then instead of grabbing him from above slide your hands under his head until he is standing on you. Ive never been able to get mine totally comfortable letting me pick him up from above so i just make sure to do what he feels most safe with. I hope this helps and you dont lose a finger in the future!