Just to ask an obvious question....are you sure you have an Argentine B/W and not a Colombian? The experiences I have with mine are very different.

I have adult and young Argentines. The adult is hibernating now, but since I'm in FL, she pokes out of her burrow on warm days to catch some UV. The heat is off, so it doesn't matter where her hid is. In fact, she doesn't use her hide and digs down into a foot or two of mulch instead. The young B/W is about 3 months old and isn't sure if he wants to hibernate or not. He still eats and basks, but is not as active as he once was. He also digs under mulch under his hide, but will bask for an hour or so before digging in again. He used to be out for most of the day. Perhaps your little guy is also sleeping more because of the seasonal changes?

My Colombian is very different and hides for 90% of the day anyway. She's about 2 and tame to us, but much flightier than the Argentines. It doesn't matter if her hide is in the cool side or the warm side, she's not coming out. She doesn't hibernate, probably because she lives in state of semi-sleep.

As to your original question, I have removed my tegus and other lizards from their hides when needed and don't seem to have 'trust' issues. I think a lot depends on what you do with them once you get them out. I feed tegus outside of the cage and they don't seem to mind being taken out to eat. I don't make a regular habit of removing them from their hides, though. Usually I can catch them while their basking. Is your schedule such that you cannot catch him outside of his hide at all?

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Hide Replies ]