Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My baby tegu , while i was holding him with his tail hanging down, started making his tail do short little wags. It was kind of funny, is it some kind of behavioral sign? He did it a lot, and frequently tonight, and i know it was not just my hand shaking!

Any ideas?

David
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Mine does this just before he slaps me with his tail....
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Tegan

This is a sign of aggitation or stress. Your Tegu is telling you that he is scared, tired of being held, stressed, any number of reasons. It is not like a dog saying I have missed you pet me. When they start that it is time to place them back in thier tank to calm them. I do not know how long you are holding him for but try shorter periods of time with him till he settles down a bit. The idea would be to put him back in his tank before he starts wagging his tail so he does not start to associate the tail with being put down. Then he will do it just because he wants to explore. I hope this helps you out. Good luck
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Beau W.

"There are no athiests in foxholes. It is not an argument against athiesm but rather one against foxholes." James Morrow

Hi David,

I agree with beau, the only time I have seen Meego wag his tail (actually his tail moves in a snake-like way, it's quite amazing) is when he is outdoors in the grass. We assumed that it was an indication that he was uncomfortable, or scared in some way. As soon as we brought him back inside, he would stop doing it immediately, he did it a lot when he was small, but now he is a big guy, very rarely.

Hope this helps.

Ley x