Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone, my Tegu mistakes my hands for food and bites me. He is about 18" now, so it doesn't hurt too bad, but when he gets big....

I go into his cage and pet him and talk to him quite a bit, so it's not like he should just associate me with food. And I never hand feed him, he always eats out of his bowl. I always make sure to wash my hands before I touch him as well, so it's not like I have bloody meat on there or anything.

Right now I have just been yelling "NO!" when he does it, but should I spray him in the face with some water, or a water/vinegar mix to correct this? Any thoughts?

Jon

try feeding him out of the cage. if he is fed in his cage. he will start thinking "food time" everytime you open the cage, and thats probably what's happening.

Hi Jon. I hate to sound harsh, but your behavior is what needs to be corrected. You are at fault if your animal bites you. Tegus are not dogs so there is no correction to be made on their part - they are just reacting to you in a way that is natural to them. A dog reacts well to correction because they are pack animals and you have (hopefully) established yourself as the alpha in your little "pack". Therefore the dog wants nothing more than to please you, the alpha. A Tegu is just being a Tegu and has no desire to please you at all so if you counter a bite with a negative reaction, that will probably only foster more of a distrust in the animal. If anything, positive reinforcement should be used when your little guy is behaving. For my Tegu, positive reinforcement would be some "out" time or maybe a pet and scratch session. You may have to experiment with what, if anything works. Exactly when is your Tegu biting? How do you know it's mistaking your hand for food if you're not feeding it by hand? You need to evaluate the situation(s) when you are being bitten and modify your behavior and/or the situation that leads to the bite. I can honestly say that the many, many times I've been bitten by my reptiles in almost 30 years of keeping them, it was my fault. Now that I'm 35, I almost never sustain hits anymore because I have learned (through many, many mistakes) how NOT to get bitten. You have to be able to read your animal and avoid the situation altogether. Tegus are relatively intelligent reptiles so the BEST you can hope for is to gain your animal's trust over time with lots of patience and INSIGHT on your part. Best of luck!

Billy

>>Hi everyone, my Tegu mistakes my hands for food and bites me. He is about 18" now, so it doesn't hurt too bad, but when he gets big....
>>
>>I go into his cage and pet him and talk to him quite a bit, so it's not like he should just associate me with food. And I never hand feed him, he always eats out of his bowl. I always make sure to wash my hands before I touch him as well, so it's not like I have bloody meat on there or anything.
>>
>>Right now I have just been yelling "NO!" when he does it, but should I spray him in the face with some water, or a water/vinegar mix to correct this? Any thoughts?
>>
>>Jon

I hat

Hi Billy, the reason that I think my tegu mistakes me for food is because when he bites me he uses his tongue to smell the same spot on my hand about 5 times and then strikes. So he's sort of deciding, "Is this food? I think, maybe?". At least that's what I think he's thinking. Matthew suggested feeding him outside of his cage so that he doesn't think "food" everytime I open his door. I think that maybe I will try this. So if he does bite me, should I just let him do so without saying or doing anything? Do you think that I should feed him earlier in the day, before I have the daily hour of interaction, so that he is not thinking about food when I go to play with him? Thanks,
Jon

Hey Jon. Well, I think the best thing to do is when you notice him starting this behavior, distract him - pick him up and move him, pet him in his fave body part, step back a little or just move your hand. He's obviously giving you plenty of warning so it's not a defensive strike (that's a good thing!) and from what I've seen feeding bites are generally slow and deliberate unless the prey is moving. I don't think feeding him outside his cage will make a difference since he's not charging you when you open the door and besides, you need to be able to put your hands in there with little or no chance of being bitten when you are changing water, substrate, etc. I think it's better to get them to learn the difference between hands and food. I think spending time with him will make the biggest difference. Sooner or later, he'll figure out that you're not food and you're not a predator. Again, if he does bite you, no, you should not do or say anything other than just relax until he lets go. Luckily, my Paraguayan has never bitten me, but a Colombian I had may years ago got me many times when she was young and had the habit of not only biting but really clamping down multiple times causing very painful, bloody wounds.By the time she was around a year old and 3 feet long, she was dog tame and would never even attempt to bite. I never used any kind of negative reinforcement (nor did I with the niles, mangrove and water monitors I've had over the years) and she just grew to learn that there was no benefit in biting me - she couldn't eat me and I wasn't trying to eat her so there was no point in nailing me. I also think that it's a good idea to have your Tegu well-fed before handling/interaction so it would be a good idea to feed him earlier in the day.Out of curiosity, what are you feeding him now?

Billy

>>Hi Billy, the reason that I think my tegu mistakes me for food is because when he bites me he uses his tongue to smell the same spot on my hand about 5 times and then strikes. So he's sort of deciding, "Is this food? I think, maybe?". At least that's what I think he's thinking. Matthew suggested feeding him outside of his cage so that he doesn't think "food" everytime I open his door. I think that maybe I will try this. So if he does bite me, should I just let him do so without saying or doing anything? Do you think that I should feed him earlier in the day, before I have the daily hour of interaction, so that he is not thinking about food when I go to play with him? Thanks,
>>Jon

Hi Billy, thanks for the info! Right now a feed a combination of: Monitor and Tegu Diet by Zupreem, plain grilled chicken breast, grapes, strawberries, sometimes boiled eggs, in addition to pouring on lizard vitamins and calcium. I have a big cage, so I have begun to try and feed him on one side, and keep the other side for petting. Perhaps this will help. In addition, I always make sure to wash my hands before I pet him, and I put a light coat of skin lotion on my hands to make them small more artificial and less "foody". I think you are right though, and that he will eventually learn there is no point in biting me and thus will cease. Thanks for the help!
JonV

Sounds like you're doing a good job. The only other bit of advice I would offer would be to add some whole rodents (prekilled or f/t preferably) to that diet once or twice a week. Best of luck!

Billy

>>Hi Billy, thanks for the info! Right now a feed a combination of: Monitor and Tegu Diet by Zupreem, plain grilled chicken breast, grapes, strawberries, sometimes boiled eggs, in addition to pouring on lizard vitamins and calcium. I have a big cage, so I have begun to try and feed him on one side, and keep the other side for petting. Perhaps this will help. In addition, I always make sure to wash my hands before I pet him, and I put a light coat of skin lotion on my hands to make them small more artificial and less "foody". I think you are right though, and that he will eventually learn there is no point in biting me and thus will cease. Thanks for the help!
>>JonV