Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I don't blame her, I rescued her from an idiot college dude that got her without researching and he was just going to let her go in the wild...yeah, nice huh?

Anyway, she's pissy and mean and only tolerates me sticking any part of my hand in her enclosure if there's a mouse involved. Refuses to eat any form of greens, berries, ect. Just mice and the occasional egg. I love her to death and I don't know why...

Yes, she's a columbian. But I'm not sure if she's a Black and White or Black and Gold...looks more yellow-gold than black to me. What do you guys think?

yeah...that looks like a gold to me. my friend has one and it has the exact same attitude. only eats mice too...has eaten crickets but not much. he props up on all fours if you just look at his cage and starts huffing and puffing. well....good luck..even it it has a not so nice temperament what you did was good. try to work with her and maybe she'll become a bit handleable even if its just to clean the cage or what not.
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1.0.0 arg. b/w tegu
1.1.0 white's tree frog- popeye, jack
0.1.0 southern painted turtle- ms.tortle
0.1.0 crested gecko- crimson
1.0.0 pinto hedgehog- dante

IMO with columbians especially, you should take the monitor approach to calming him. a lot of tegu keepers use perdidtant handling which i dont like. if you talk to some good monitor keepers they will explain thier method. it involves trust more than anything. gain the animals trust. give it time. just let it see you, changing water, cleaning, etc. not touching it. then maybe pet him once or twice while you are in the cage. then allow him to walk ocross you hand in the cage. and with time you may be able to pick him up and let him down on the floor with you. under close supervision of course a broken spirit can be confused with tame sometimes. arg. tegus arent near as fragile with this. but for a skittish columbian with a monitor attitude. i think this is the best approach.

good luck.
and thank you (from your tegu)

if its burrowed dont take it out. you will make him/her feel unsafe and insecure. just let things happen naturally. dont force anything..
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1.0.0 arg. b/w tegu
1.1.0 white's tree frog- popeye, jack
0.1.0 southern painted turtle- ms.tortle
0.1.0 crested gecko- crimson
1.0.0 pinto hedgehog- dante

Colombian tegus are carnivores and will probably not be interested in fruits or vegetables. Calcium-dusted fuzzies, gut-loaded and dusted crickets, and dusted superworms that have been kept in a bed of uncooked oatmeal and given quality fruits and vegetables for moisture will make a nice diet for now. Colombians do not hibernate, so keep the cage temps optimum year round.

Colombians are known for their defensive attitudes, but then again, small Argentines can be downright nasty as well. Don't be in a hurry to tame her, just enjoy regular interaction and let her see you often.

Bill

Oh, I wasn't complaining about the attitude. She came out of a bad situation and I'm just happy I could help her have a happy life. Not really interested in handling her, I've always had chameleons so I can appreciate the "look, don't touch" reptiles. She's sane enough that I can feed, water, and clean her cage no problem.

Thanks for all the tips, they are very much appreciated. I'll just let Jadas think she's the queen...