Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
About four weeks ago I got my B&W arg from agama. He/she was still sort of in hybernation when I got him ( going to say him tho I dont know) I left him alone to come out of it on his own, leaving food in there everyday.
He now comes out everyday to eat, bask, watch ect. I pet him whenever he is out. I have started now to try to pick him up.
He does NOT like it, while in my hands he fights me tooth and nail and tail, lol. I hate that I have to hold on to him rather tight to keep him in my hands.
I have searched for taming a tegu. I have found everything but that in caresheets.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am not new to reptiles but I am new to tegus, I really want him to get friendlier so he can come out more often.
Thanks in advance. Also, he will NOT eat pinkies. Turkey, bits of grapes fish and dusted crix but will not touch a pinkie.

I read a great post some time back that recommended putting your Tegu in a small room like a bathroom while you set in there with them. They said to just let the Tegu first get used to the room then start coming in sitting down and just reading a book or magazine. The idea was for the Tegu to get used to you being a non-threatening entity in close proximity. I have been doing this with mine for the last 3 weeks since I got my guy and it seems to be working great. I have to say he wasn’t as tough to start with as yours seems to be. I also do this the same time everyday. He now seems to look forward to getting out to unload in the bathroom and he seems to knows when he gets put back in his house it is time to eat.

St.Pierre made a good post a few weeks ago about feeding mostly dusted crickets and offer fruit until they wont chase the crickets. I think the same post also said too much turkey would make them to fat.

Good luck!

That is definitely something I will try! I will try just about anything to get this little guy/girl to trust me and want me as much as I want it. At least it has stopped tail whipping me when I change his water or clean, amazingly he has never tried to whip me when I am feeding him.
I just want sooooo badly to hold him without fuss and get to know him better.
Thanks!

One question, how do you get him back up from the bathroom floor? This one is very leary, and I fear so much of him just offing his tail. I don't even TOUCH his tail for that reason.
When I do pick him up if I even move in the slightest it gets him going again.

Hey Stranger!! Happy to hear about your new Tegu. Most of the rules concerning taming your Iguanas should work with the Tegu. The tighter you hold them the more they will fight to escape. Be patient, give it time to grow a little, and it will calm down and you'll have a really nice pet lizard. Question? Did seeing my Tegus have anything to do with your decision to get one?

Jiff, you more than anyone in this field has gotten me deep into reptiles
And yes, there at your house I got my first taste of tegu's. I have to say they are awesome. This one just doesn't seem to like me. But I love him!!!!
I have been meaning to call you as I do have room for perhaps another fe ig. I am also considering another tegu, see what YOU started LOL. I draw the line at monitors and gators tho

Yeah, give me a call soon. Are you really sure that you want another iguana? LOL I should have Tegu eggs hatching in the next couple of weeks. Your avoidance of monitors may change after your next visit. I can't wait until you meet my Black Roughnecks! LOL

Miggs is now downstate with Michael. He has a eight foot long cage. He comes here everyother weekend when Mike visits the kids as he doesn't want to leave him home alone
So I have Anna and Monti, Anna has the living room and Monti free roams my room. So I have Miggs old cage or lots of other rooms for and ig to roam I have found that free roams do not really roam. They pick their place to stay, I set up what they need and that is where they stay unless they have to move for food or go into the bathroom to let me know they have to go.
Will give you a call this week end. Hopefully can be up there when the baby tegu's hatch, what kind are they?

Don't worry about yours not wanting pinkies; my smallest doesn't seem to recognize them as food. I suspect that babies are stimulated by movement and that means crickets; LOTS of crickets. Supplement your crickets and your tegu will grow just fine.

As to handling... If you can pet yours, just leave your hand flat in the cage for him to explore and he may just crawl on your hand. If you pick him up, don't hold too tight. There is a technique cslled "hand walking" that I have been using with great success. Just let the tegu walk from hand to hand. He will probably make a break for it, and they can be fast, so you might want to try in with your hands inside the enclosure, or in a secure room. You have to be able to move with them, and catch them gently if they try to depart, but once they realize that they are not restricted from movement and that you are not going to let them fall (or eat them!), they usually calm down. Then, as he walks from hand to hand, start gently closing your hand just enough that you are in essence "petting" him with your thumb as he walks through your hand. That will get him used to your touch. Mine really seem to like having the underside of their jaw ribbed, sort of like you might do with a cat. That seems to also calm mine down, to the point where they will close their eyes and go to sleep. Just remember that to your little tegu, you're one BIG predator; he just needs to learn that you are a friendly one.

Good luck!

Leslie

He will let me pet him at times, he breaths very deeply when I do. Today I decided to give him a rest and just stuck my hand in there and let him lick me, which he did a lot.
Thank you for the post, it was a calming one for me I was getting frustrated, sometimes thinking "poor little guy, I won't hurt you" and sometimes thinking "why the audacity of you not liking me" LOL
He hides a lot and moves everything around constantly when out. I really like this little guy. Just have to have patience, I hear they grow so fast and want to get him used to me BEFORE he can eat me

I got my b/w in early January and he pretty much burried himself untill early april. He was 17 inches. Mine also stands tall, breathes heavy, tail whipps, and sometimes tries to bite me. It does take a lot of handeling, but I can see he is calming down a lot. Just be slow and pet it alot. And yes, mine is growing about an inch a week, now at about 23 inch. Doors that open out instead of up make it a lot easier also. Hope that helps.
Dan

I am sure glad I am not alone in this training stuff. I see caresheets but training is just not there lol.
I just within the half an hour or so, had my hand in his cage, I kept it there for about five minutes, he licked walked around me, licked some more. I scooped him slowly up with my hand, this time kept it totally open. To my amazement, he let me take him out of his cage. He kind of went up my arm some but stayed there. When it looked like he was going to try to jump I put him back slowly. I got to hold him for about five minutes!!! NO tailwhipping or biting, some heavy breathing but that was it.
Maybe there is hope for us after all