Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello. I've posted similar subjects here before about my ferocious 3 1/2 foot blue male tegu. He is still a terror but I now have system on getting him out of his tank without him having much of a chance to get me (trap him unter a big tupperware container and push it into the next room and shut the door) But I was wondering about a new theory I've come up with to try to tame him down a bit. I was wondering if taping his mouth when I let him out and letting him run around with me in the room trying to pet him would help. I know to use not just regular tape, and that I have to be mega careful as not to injure his scales when removing it. I know too that getting the tape on him would be a huge ordeal in itself. I know he'll whip and scratch at me and that hurts but I'd rather get whiped then bitten. I really want to let him walk around the house like my female does but he is so mean!! Of course I'm not going to try this taping theory out without advise and some educated feed back. I really love him (even if he wants to kill me) and want him to be happy. I really NEED to know if this might work, or if it is a horrible and mean idea. Please write back! sorry for the long post
-----
Alone, alone, all, all alone. Alone on a wide, wide sea.
-Rime of the ancient Mariner

I would not use any tape, the adhesive would most likely be poisonous if injested. If you were going to try this method I would buy a leather harness (used for walking lizards) that attached around the chest and front legs, I would then get a lined muzzle (used for small dogs) and rig the two together, this is IF I was going to try this method. I have never had a problem with 'wild' tegus. Lots of holding and attention from a young age tame almost any tegu.

Your idea could work, but it will cause a huge amount of stress on the tegu. A stressed tegu has only so many defenses and if you remove these it could cause serious emotional stress to the tegu. I'd seek further advice before attempting this. Perhaps Stella could offer some advice as they breed blue tegus.
-----
Rick
theTegu.com

New Tegu Community: theTegu.com - Webcam: Tux.theTegu.com

I would not tape his mouth. I would buy some good welders gloves, and begin gently holding him. I would also take one of your sweaty tee-shirts and cut it up. Then I would put it in his hide box. Tegus are very smart. They make associations just like people. He associates his hide with safety, and security. If it smells like you, then he may also grow accustomed to your smell. This along with gentle handling will help him to trust you. I would also limit the amount of mice that you feed him. Feed more insects, and a mouse or two once every two weeks. This usually works to mellow angry tegus.

Best of luck,

Howard.

Thank you for your advise. I have tried gloves and almost had a horrible experience when he grabed onto the tip and death rolled ripping the glove off my hand, which easily could have been my finger with it. He is no little guy, he just shed and is almost 4 feet long! When I let him out I'm the first thing he goes for and you don't need me to tell you how strong and smart tegus are. It is a miracle that he hasn't chomped me yet, but it's just a matter of time. I got him when he was an adult and there is no way that I can contact the person I got him from to see what the deal is with his attitude. I will look into harnesses or a leather muzzle instead of tape. Thank you for you help
-----
Alone, alone, all, all alone. Alone on a wide, wide sea.
-Rime of the ancient Mariner

Please keep us informed. Also, I would love to see some pictures of your Tegus. Feel free to post some here if you have them or better yet, you can just make your own album on theTegu.com
-----
Rick
theTegu.com

New Tegu Community: theTegu.com - Webcam: Tux.theTegu.com

the tape is a terrible idea. so is the harness. harnesses only work on very tame lizards and that is iffy. get the biggest welder gloves you can get. that's your best option. the t-shirt idea isn't bad either. handle him when he's drozzy. if he thinks he's caught, he'll probably settle down and let you pet him. he's more likely to bite when your trying to catch him and settle him down. if you get him while he's drozzy this is less of a problem. wear a coat too. protect yourself. the idea is to catch him and calm him. petting him while he thinks he is free sounds like a good idea, but it doesn't really work that well. this is something that is best to do with tame lizards too. you are big. he's scared of you. if he thinks he doesn't have any choice he'll tame down. the idea is catch him, calm him, and pet him. once u do it once u need to keep doing it everyday. make the catching part quick and painless in future sessions. after several sessions u might want to start trying to hold him when he's active or when he's in sunlight but this is later. later you might want to try a leash. let him loose holding the leash and gently catching him. him. u should work with him at least once a day. i have 1 red tegu and 2 black and white columbians that are completely tame. its best to start when they are young. i also have 2 ornate niles that sre totally tame. one of those is four foot and believe me a four foot ornate nile is bigger than a 4 foot tegu. still older lizards are often less nasty than little ones even when they are wild.

I am not one for forcefully holding or muzzling either, but if thats the method he wants to attempt I would rather him use a muzzle then tape.

This is my method and it works everytime and everyone who has done it correctly has had no problems taming not only their tegu, but other reptiles.

One Way to Tame a Tegu

-----
Rick
theTegu.com

New Tegu Community: theTegu.com - Webcam: Tux.theTegu.com

one way to tame a tegu sounds really nice to me. i like it. there are a few things that i do differently; and there are reasons. if the lizard is small enough, i prefer to work work with bare hands. i feel it is good to get used to the bare hands as soon as possible. this isn't just for the lizard. it's for the handler as well. if he's too big or bites too much u need to use gloves but i would get out of them as soon as u can. it can get scary trying to handle a big lizard without gloves but if u start with him small u get used to him barehanded and u are not so fearful when he gets larger. i think it's important to pick your lizard up because if he gets away you will have to catch him. catching a lizard is a bit of a nervous time. if he isn't used to being picked up, he is harder to catch and is more likely to try to bite you when u do catch him. i let my larger lizards run around loose on a regular basis. lizards like to hide and play chase. when it's time to get them, you need to catch them or dig them out of a hiding place. you don't go stick your hand out and say get on board that's not practical. he's playing or hiding and he doesn't want to go back to his cage now. if he isn't trained to get picked up when u want him to get picked up u have a problem. here's a practical and true case history. i have a red tegu about 13", two columbians about 2'. there all much tamer even the columbians than any lizards i have. i have absolutely no fear of the tegus. i take them out and play with them on the bed while i watch tv for at least fifteen minutes a day sometimes 45. they are perfect darlings well exercised, good eaters, never stressed, never try to escape from their cages. but this isn't my example. i also have a pair of iguana, a male and female. the male is about 4', the female 3'. they have free reign of the reptile room where i promised myself i would keep all my reptiles. it's overflowing though i'm sorry to say. i have to ornate niles that i keep separate. one's a 4 footer. one i keep in a large walk in closet. i handle him every day as i do all my lizards. i often let him run around in one of the larger rooms to explore and have fun. some times it will be the reptile room. i usually watch but i left because i needed to do something. when i came back, i heard a commotion going on inside the reptile room. the big male iguana was taunting the ornate nile. strutting in front of him. while the nile was pretending to hide and sleep and then with a burst of energy he would charge the iguana who would quickly scutter up all the junk i have stored in there away from where the big nile could climb. the female meanwhile was on top of the tallest box in the room not taking her eyes off the big ornate for a single second. obviously my ornate nile was upset. i could have gone looking for my welder's gloves; but, instead, i quickly walked up to the ornate. he tensed a little. i could have stuck my hand out in front of his head and asked him if he wanted to get on for a ride, but then i value my fingers. he looked as if he might try to bolt like the iguana so i bent over and picked him up from under his forelegs with both hands and held him in my arms and began settling him down and petting him. after he was calm, i placed ny cheek on his back. this is sort of a gesture of trust that we have between us. (i only do this with this lizard.) then i took him to his habitat (which is a 10 by 6 walkin closet, and i put him in his water pool where hi left him to settle down for a long soak.

I aquired a couple of Reds that had been kept in a tiny pen for several years and never handled. There was no getting close to them without a tail whip and a fight. It took me about 6 months to get them calmed down. I good pair of electrical or welders gloves is a must. While some people say trying to restrain them is a no-no, I have found it usefull at certain times.

I start by just touching. Put the gloves on and get a spare glove. Use the spare glove to let your Tegu bite on. When he bites it, just let him have his way. Don't fight him or try to pull away. Let him learn that biting the glove will not do him any good. Use the bite glove to keep him distracted. Use your other gloved hand to touch him in the area of his hind legs/tail. Try this for a couple of weeks several times a day. Do not attempt to pick him up. After he gets less threatened by the glove, try petting him without the distracting glove.

Remember that Tegus are terrestrial and can get upset when they dont have all four feet firmly on the ground. start by letting him crawl onto you. If this does not work and if he is still aggressive, grasp him firmly from behind the neck with one hand and at the base of the tail holding his rear legs with the other. Just hold him firmly so that he can see there is nothing to fear. Do this several times a day for juast a minute or two at a time. If need be, you can offer him the chew glove if he is still aggressive.

this method worked for me for several of my Reds. They are not docile but they can be picked up without any worry of getting bitten. Not every animal can be tamed and he may be too much lizard for you. Patience is the key. Good luck.

This is Ricky who was wild when I first got him.

-----
Bennett

beardiedragon.com
Home of the Florida Orange

Thank you Bennet. No offence to all the other answerers to my post, I thank you for your adive and concern, but Bennet seems to know were I'm coming from when I say I have a nastey adult tegu. I will try the gloves some more and let him chomp on me for I while I still like the idea of getting a harness for him. Even though I agree that it isn't a great or very nice idea to force an animal to do anything, I think if I could safely let him run around the house he would be alot happier. Thanx again! I will try to post some pics later
-----
Alone, alone, all, all alone. Alone on a wide, wide sea.
-Rime of the ancient Mariner