Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone, I am new to this. Just a quick question, hope someone has an answer for me. My male collard lizard Zeus, usually a very sweet lizard, has suddenly become very aggressive. Everytime I put my hand in the tank to feed or water, he lunges at my hand and tries to bite me. He has bitten me a few times, shaking his head while biting. Does anyone have any information on this problem?

Hi, welcome to the forum Nice to have you

I would start by trying to calm him, enter the cage slowly away from him, maybe the other end, and keep your hand low, and infront of him, or off to the side of him. Dont' make sudden movements or even touch him, see what he does.
** Never approach with your hand coming from above. This is how preditors attack and eat him like large birds, (from above.)

As to WHY he's doing this all of a sudden, don't think anyone would really know that but him Has anyone hurt him in any way while holding him in the past accidently, dropped him, scared him?

Have a cat or dog who may be scaring him, or cat who is tormenting him in anyway and making him feel threatened?

Just sounds as though he's feeling quite threatened by something and feeling the need to attack and protect himself from something. I guess you will have ot observe and see what it might be. Sure hope he calms down for you. Let us know how he does.

Maybe others will jump in with their thoughts.
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PHEve / Eve

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Thanks for the info. Nobody has hurt him, I have no dogs or cats. Just wondering what's wrong with him. I have a female in the cage with him and she is normal.

Might be he's protecting his female from You right now being territorial about it, and attacking you. It's coming into breeding time shortly.

That's the way my males act to other males, when they see them through the glass.
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PHEve / Eve

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Hrm, well this might have answered my question, as Clyde who regularly is docile and has no issue with me handling him. In the last month or so has become rather aggressive and skittish, hopping around the cage at every motion, he's never done this before. So perhaps Bonnie and Clyde being together going on 2 years now, he is being protective, no clue why because Bonnie still turns him down, lol. Clyde hasn't bitten me yet, I say yet because he's due for his once over very soon, lol.

How long have you had them, and do you know how old the male is? It really does seem like a territorial thing with the female and all. Collareds are iguanidae... ya know, like igunanas, and I haven't had a collared bite me but I can give you an iguana story. Maybe they think they same way and this will help:

Our friends had a huge, sweet male iggy named Cream Puff. I was visiting my friends for Easter and went out to visit Cream Puff. I approached the cage slowly speaking sweetly, he understood I wasn't a threat, came to the door... I picked him up, he was nuzzling, all was good. He got heavy so I set him down. I was sitting on the ground with my hands on either side of me, knees bent... he walked under my legs and gave my left hand a very weird look... and before I could finishing thinking "This doesn't look good..." he had clamped down across my index and middle fingers. I heard a god awful crunch and foolishly tried to pull my hand away, ripped my fingers open. I thought he crushed my hand, but no broken bones. I was on the highest doses of Cipro and Augmentin that I could handle for 2 weeks, had to have a hand surgery to remove 2 teeth and still don't have all the feeling in my left index finger (this was nearly 3 years ago).

(moral of the story... i tell long stories) But anyway, there was an escaped pet male that had taken up residence in the neighbor's yard. To this day, we aren't certain why Cream Puff bit me, but we always thought he was getting territorial towards the other male and took it out on me.
This maybe be slightly discouraging, but he bit another friend of theirs in the upper arm about a year later so maybe it has nothing to do with the neighboring male... maybe he was just becoming an angry old man.

Maybe that helps...? I'll spare you guys the gory post bite pics...
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"Were the diver to think upon the jaws of the shark, he would never lay hands on the precious pearl."