Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well after taking another look at the Tegu in the store today, I had to have him. I did my research and am happy with the purchase, he doesn't bite of void his intestinal tract on me which is a good sign. Although, he does "puff" up when I come near him at first, he's just too cute when he does this!

Still a few more questions though, sorry. I am getting conflicting information when I do my research. In the book I have it says that full sized monitors and tegus only need 1 sufficent sized meal a week? (This can't be right, can it?)

I will start feeding him tomorrow, for now he is just getting settled into his new surroundings, he seems "happy" he's in a bigger terrarium than he was in at the reptile place, so he should be happy?

What are some of your Tegu's favorite fruits and veggies that I can try out with Mig?(I named him Mig after MIG welding, my other hobby is metal fabrication )

I will also try some frozen thawed pinks tomorrow for him. One question, should I "Taunt"place in front of him with a pair of hemostats...) him with the mice, or just leave them in a dish, I can do either or with my beardies, just wondering what Tegus prefer...

Thanks for your time,
Ralph

P.S. I will try to post pics tomorrow, I'm not sure on the sex( I call it a him but not sure) so hopefully you all can help me make a better guess at what it is.

Thanks again!
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0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu
2.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.5 Hatchling Bearded Dragons
1.1 Honduran Milksnake
1.0 Florida Brooksi Kingsnake
1.0 Blood Red Cornsnake
1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Desert Kingsnake
1.0 Western Hognose Snake
1.0 Bull Mastiff

Hi RalphSnakeMan, I feed my tegu every day. I am finding from other tegu owners on this site that the canned cat and dog food I have been using is bad for her though. Jiffypop recommeded a brand called Wysong. I would love to my hands on some of that for my Zil. Zil is about 2ft. Zil is very happy to eat grapes, bananas, apples and oranges. I kind of fix her a fruit salad. I sprinkle reptile vitamins or calcium on it for her. Good Luck with your new tegu!!

Thank you 1tegufan, for the response, Much appreciated!

Okay I will feed him everyday, I left some pinkies in the cage for him last night and they were gone when I woke up this morning, so hopefully he enjoyed them.

One question, he is more aggressive today as opposed to yesterday, when I try to pick him up. Yesterday when I would go to pick him up, he would just "puff up" and make himself look big and he would his for like the first second I picked him up. Today when I go to pick him up he "puffs up" and hisses and he also whips me with his tail. However he does not bite or defecate on me. Once I get him out of his enclousure, he is fine and doesn't seem to mind being handled.

Do you guys think he will tame down with time? Do you think he is just stressed out from being moved around so much in the past week? Is this normal for them to show aggression when first being handled? I know that Rollin said that the only time he was ever bit was the first time he tried to pet him?

PLEASE tell me he is going to tame down!! I want this tegu to be like my best friend and I want to give him the run of my room eventually but that will only happen if he tames down. Please give me some encouraging advise/past experiences with some agressive tegus.

Thank you for your time,
Ralph
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0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu
2.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.5 Hatchling Bearded Dragons
1.1 Honduran Milksnake
1.0 Florida Brooksi Kingsnake
1.0 Blood Red Cornsnake
1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Desert Kingsnake
1.0 Western Hognose Snake
1.0 Bull Mastiff

I have had tegus that would try to bite as soon I entered the room! Others, I could pick up and handle with out so much as snort. He is probably adjusting right now. Give him a little time. All our tegus(mine and my oldest sons) have all tamed down. My son falls asleep with his red tucked next to him and under the blanket. You have to keep working with him and be patient.

Hi RalphSnakeMan, I wouldn't worry about his being aggressive the next day. From your previous posts it sounded like maybe they weren't feeding him enough at the pet store? So maybe when you got him home he was too weak to defend himself against your attempts to interact with him (which to him at this point are threatening because he is not accustomed). But then when you started feeding him properly his strength returned. So don't worry about it, make your interactions slow and consistent and I think he'll tame down. I have had my little guy for 11 weeks and he has gotten very tame already. I have resorted to feeding him twice a day due to suggestions on this forum that perhaps he was not eating enough (and that's why he was biting my fingers about a thousand times a day, you should see my hands).

So feed him plenty while he's growing, form a schedule for interaction and stick to it everyday. Don't worry about him being initially afraid of you.

JonV

Hey, congrats on getting that tegu. I don't know how you convinced your mom.. I wasn't able to get even one reptile till I moved out. When mine were young and growing I feed them every day. Now that they're adults I only feed them one good meal a week. They just aren't nearly as hungry all the time anymore. Sounds like he's ahead of the curve as far as temperament. When I first got Taz he was so scared of us that if he would see us move he'd run back into his hide box. We would have to stay very still on the couch waiting for him to come out. He was like that for the first few weeks we had him.

Hey Rollin, thanks for the congrats!! Much appreciated, yeah your right, I don't know how i talked my mom into the Tegu either, I was suprised when she finally said yes! She thinks he's cute though, she just doesn't like his big serpent-like tongue, she gets freaked out with my snakes tongues, never mind his lol..glad to hear he is above the curve!! He is actually getting better already, he just huffs and puffs up when he sees me, he doesn't whip his tail anymore! Thanks again.
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0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu
2.1 Bearded Dragon
0.0.5 Hatchling Bearded Dragons
1.1 Honduran Milksnake
1.0 Florida Brooksi Kingsnake
1.0 Blood Red Cornsnake
1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Desert Kingsnake
1.0 Western Hognose Snake
1.0 Bull Mastiff