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Thread: New Gold Columbian Tegu Kramer did a leap of faith from 5 feet!!

  1. #1

    Default New Gold Columbian Tegu Kramer did a leap of faith from 5 feet!!

    He's 2 years old, 2 1/2 feet long Golden Tegu. He's eating mice, crickets, bananas, strawberries and turkey. He's extremely tame other than huffing when i pet him or nervousness when i try to pick him up. He closes his eyes when i pat his neck and head. I've had him 2 weeks. Today he ate a thawed mouse. When i went to pick him up he got super skittish, so i waited. I went to pick him up again, lifted him and he started to run and jumped 5 feet down to the laminate floor. WILL HE BE OKAY? especially after eating?

    He's walking around fine, flicking his tongue, 110 degrees basking spot, high 70s to low 80s ambient temp.

    Also what advice do people have calming the extreme nervousness. when i sometimes pick him up hes fine, others he starts to squirm and jump.

    TY

    Last edited by DeadlySiren; 07-01-2011 at 02:08 AM. Reason: added photo

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Central FL
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    Consistency and patience with these guys. My Colombians are jumpers so you have to watch for that. As for taming, it's best to start in a small area since wide open places are a bit intimidating. Also, did you feed a still frozen mouse or a thawed mouse? Reptiles are ectothermic and need their food to be defrosted.
    Laura R (FL)
    1.0.0 Colombian Tegu
    1.4.0 Argentine B&W Tegu
    1.2.0 Red Tegu
    1.2.0 B/WxRed Tegu
    1.0.0 Green Ameiva (yet another teiid)
    7 other lizards
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    3 FL box turtle
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  3. #3

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    its a pretty small area, But do falls from that height hurt them? 5-6 feet seems so high for a lizard lol he's wonderful so far, but im just upset that i mightve lost the trust ive built so far! Ive never dug him up or moved his hide. I sprayed inside the enclosure, he always huffs lol even when im petting him but not much. he calms right down lets me pick him up. I find when he's outside of the tank exploring he tends to get super sketchy if i walk near him even if i try to go in front of him! Thats when he starts to run. i find it much easier to hold him from enclosure. Putting him back inside seems to be alot more difficult. Do u have any tips for when its time to go back inside? My instincts say patience
    Last edited by DeadlySiren; 06-29-2011 at 05:40 PM.

  4. #4
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    I also want to ask about that mouse... was it really unthawed, as in still frozen?? That's terrible for a cold-blooded animal. It's not like you or I eating a nice popsicle; eating an unthawed meal can be very harmful for them. If it wasn't a typo, then you need to make sure all of their meals are completely thawed before feeding it to them.
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  5. #5
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    Welcome to the site,.. and congrats on the new Gu. Like Laura said patience and consistency is the key with these guys. Also slow movements,.. not too slow but not too quick either,.. until they get use to you and your presence.

    I don't know if I missed something or if it was a typo but your original post says that you fed a unthawed mouse,.. which means that it was still frozen. Hopefully that was just a typo and the mouse and any following meals will be thawed before feeding for reasons previously stated.
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  6. #6
    Join Date
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    By the way,.. do you have any pics of the new tegu.
    0.1.0 BP (Spiral) aka Rita Wayward
    2.1. Dogs (White Boys "Powder", Paw Paws "Achilles" & Panini)

    " 14 July 2010,..Always Remembered"

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Well, you are probably over 5 ft tall and he's on the ground, so if you walk by, that's pretty scary. His instinct is to run and hide from something that will eat him.

    Here's what I did when I got my Colombian years ago. By the way, the huffing is normal and mine still puff even though they are tame. I rather like the sound. Anyway, I put the enclosure in a place where the tegu sees people but isn't stressed. For us, that was the back of what was our office/living room (a huge 32 ft open FL room) When we saw she was out, we opened the cage lid and sort of let her calm down a bit. At first we used gloves and reached in to get her. She was little and our first tegu, but we didn't know what to expect. We used the scented T-Shirt trick. We took her to a small enclosed area and fed her on the floor while we were sitting to watch her. I was home a lot during the day and had two kids to help corral her. We let her crawl toward us and on us. We let her walk around the laundry pile and bury. My daughter would read a book with the tegu under a blanket with her. Lots of time in small places. Food was out of the cage so that being out of the cage came to be a good thing. After some time (months) she would come over to us in her cage when she wanted out and then crawl up our arm. If we broke this habit for more than a few days, like being on vacation, she would be touchy for about a week or two again.

    Colombians are a bit skittish by nature. They like to climb and jump, and they can be pretty fast. Both of my adults still want to climb to the top of your head, and you have to watch that they aren't going to fly over to some bookcase as you walk by with them. They still eat on my kitchen floor, but the dog can walk by or people, and they don't run away. If they get scared or their is just too much going on, they run a few steps over to my dining room table and watch. I think if you come from the point of view that this is a shy lizard that is afraid of being eaten, then the taming process becomes clearer. It wants to be in an area where it feels safe...not wide open, not a lot going on. And handle it every day for faster results. Start in a small area, then go for larger as it feels comfortable.

    I can't really answer the question about the fall and injury. If the lizard jumps onto carpet and lands safely, then it is fine. If it lands on tile, that is a bit harder. Of course, if it lands the wrong way or hits something on the way down, the chance of injury is increased. I try not to let mine get up high enough and not to get into launching position. I like to keep them with their feet against my chest or stomach and gently holding them. If you hold tightly, that is scary and they squirm.
    Laura R (FL)
    1.0.0 Colombian Tegu
    1.4.0 Argentine B&W Tegu
    1.2.0 Red Tegu
    1.2.0 B/WxRed Tegu
    1.0.0 Green Ameiva (yet another teiid)
    7 other lizards
    1 little gator
    3 FL box turtle
    1 Sulcata tortoise
    16 snakes
    5 fuzzy pets
    4 little frogs
    a bunch of creepy bugs
    and a partridge in a pear tree

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Hi DeadlySiren. Welcome to our Tegu forum family and congrats on your new Tegu . The other members above took the words out of my mouth. Please let us know if you need any help on how to thaw out a rodents or warm up the other foods like the ground turkey. This is what I did to calm down my Tegus.

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  9. #9

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    yes it was definately thawed! opps super typo! Thank you for all the information everyone!! I'm Ashley! He snuck under the bed when i let him out. Instantly found a spot to slip over and under. Smart little guy My boyfriend built a barrier so he couldn't get underneath the bed. I had to unscrew the board to give him a way out. I lured him out with his lrg thawed mouse. We fixed that sneakspot today. Going to work with Kramer in the morning! Ty Laura R and Txprepgirl! Nordica and Bubblez! Will post more pictures soon!
    Last edited by DeadlySiren; 07-01-2011 at 02:39 AM.

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