crazy tegu!!

[Bartman]

i have a B&W argentina tegu that is about 5 or 6 months old and when i first got it at the april expo and the first week he was at my house he was soooo calm and i could hold him whenever...NOW though hes INSANE!! everytime i try to come near him in the tank he huffs and puffs which probably means he doesnt want anything to do with me. He also doesnt come out much. Unless i find him in the malch or around 9, 10am he comes out too. HOW DO YOU CALM A LIZARD DOWN.. i just wish he would now i would never harm him...its so frustrating because when hes older i dont want him to be killer lizard and with his size im affraid he'll do some serious damage to me . If you have any suggestions on how i could calm him down PLZ PLZ PLZ help me and i would be very happy. Has this ever happened to someone else and have you be able to calm the lizard down.

thanks in advance

[Tim and Julie B]

Hi Bartman. I am currently working with two golden Tegus. They react in the same way. Huffing and puffing. The only way to calm them down is to handle them. I try for once every two days at the least. If you are not comfortable picking them up I would suggest some kind of heavy glove like a snow boarding glove. Grab it quickly around the front legs. After awhile it is no big deal. You wont even need the glove. By the way be warned they bite HARD. I experianced this first hand the other day and have the swollen knuckle to prove it. Please do not let this deter you from handling him. You will want to handle him as much as possible while he is small. The last thing you need is a bad tempered four and a half foot lizard. Like I said after awhile it is no big deal! It is good to have another Tegu keeper on the forum! Tim

[Bartman]

thanks...im a bit confused though because a lot of people have told me force handling is too stressfull for them but i think i should probably listen to you since you have 2. so your saying i should grab it pretty much right behind the neck and just hold it for like that for a little? are all tegu's like that when there young?

sure is good to have another tegu keeper though

[Bartman]

IT WORKED!!!!!!!!

i wore the gloves and he tried snapping at me 2 or 3 times and than he realized that biting does nothing and than he walked on my hand and saw that i would harm him...i was affraid to take him out of the tank incase he tried to run but we had really good progress...THANKS SOOOO MUCH i cant thank you enough

im gonna do this everyday for like 10 minutes and he'll see that i aint doin nothin to him.

THANKS AGAIN

[Tim and Julie B]

Hey I am glad to help but try taking him out of his comfort zone once in awhile. Just get a good grip first. Even the little ones can shake like you wouldn't believe. Tegu's do spend a lot of time in the substrate though. But are an interesting species to keep. A good alternative to a monitor. Have fun! Tim

Check out Gary D's blk & white http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showt...threadid=14987

[unBOAlievable]

After a lot of handeling they calm down nicely but always becareful no matter how tame theyn are around feeding time. Food overpowers all senses and they can become instantly aggressive. Even my cute little Oreo here gets me from time to time.

[Tim and Julie B]

Oreo! Haha that's really funny. I guess there are more Tegu keepers on this forum then I thought. That's a great looking Tegu.