Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello fellow tegu keepers, I have a question about my juvenile Arg b/w tegu's behaviour. My tegu who I purchased in may from Bert at Agama International is a little under a year old and about 2ft long. Today I decided to try and let him roam in a my room for a bit, however, when I put him on my bed he immediately started that little tail wriggling they do when agitated (this is the first time he's done it in about a month). I was a little surprised by this because usually I just let him hang out on my arm and he is totally calm, just lays there with his head down. I figured he was just gonna start exploring my bed soon, but instead he jumps off of it and runs right into the bathroom at full speed. So, I went and grabbed him and once again he's totally cool in my hands, no whipping, hissing, or biting. Then once I set him down in his cage he immediately ran to the back of his hide and didn't come out for a few hours. So my question is, has anyone had any similar experiences with their tegus? and if so, were you able to get past this "freakout stage"?

My only thought is that maybe the size of the room was too stressful because when he ran to the bathroom he immediately went to a small dark corner. I'm not sure about this though because his cage is 6 x 2.5 x 2.5 with an open top so you'd think he might be used to a larger area. Anyway, any thoughts or ideas are welcome.

Thanks,
Andrew

Me too...

I just got two from bert and theyre around a foot already, One of them is really melow, the other isnt... but the first time I let the mellow one roam around a little she ran under the fridge, but was fine as soon as I picked her up, but she hasnt done it since.

I do think the large space kinda freaks them out. Maybe they think that for some reason you have let them go, and they just don't wanna get caught again. Maybe they think they are getting moved up to a HUGE cage with other inmates (you're there after all), and they feel vulnerable. I think I will wait until my tegu is full grown before letting him roam. Mine behaved like yours (with the undulating tail) when I took him outside the first and only time. But I just think they are simply afraid and looking for a place to hide. Now, this is where there intelligence can come into play. Yesterday I was letting my tegu roam (my mistake), and he got under his cage where I couldn't get him out. I tried to lure him into this big box using some turkey. The turkey was on this plastic plate, near the edge of this plate, and I pushed the edge with the turkey near the back of the box so he would have to come all the way in, and I could dump the box over and have him. His hunger overcame his fear, and he was almost in the box, when he suddenly grabbed the plate and pulled the plate under the cage! I couldn't see all the way to his head, and by the time I knew what was going on, I barely had time to save the turkey! Vito 1, Bill 0. I guess I underestimated his ability to improvise. It took me over an hour to catch this guy. Clever little critters...
-----
-Bill

1.0.0 Albino California Kingsnake
0.1.0 Colombian Red Tail Boa
0.1.0 Leucistic Patternless Leopard Gecko
0.0.1 Red Flame Crested Gecko
0.1.0 Orange Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Argentine Black and White Tegu

My Home Page

BoidsNTegus@insightbb.com

Try first blocking off a corner of the room with some boxes or soemthing and let him adjust in an area he cant run out of, maybe some area maybe just a little bigger than his cage. Let him hang out in there for a few hours and see how he adjust... you can even try putting a little box of somekind in there as a temp hidebox if he is really uncomfortable.

Also, I would recomend trying to expose him to rooms later in the evening when his light has been off and he is less active, less interested in investing energy to be difficult or try to escape. In the long run he will become more calm when active as well.

Okay, thanks for the replies. I'm glad its pretty regular behaviour, I'll probably wait a week and then try the boxing off idea and put his hide in with him just incase.

Thanks again,
Andrew