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Thread: Tail whipping and biting

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    St. Paul Minnesota
    Posts
    7

    Default Tail whipping and biting

    My new baby tegu is eating good and very active in his enclosure. I got him or her on Thursday so i'm assuming he's just getting use to his surroundings but all he does is try to whip me and bite me when I try holding him. I put my hands in the cage often so he can get use to it but maybe i'm just stressing him out more by trying to hold him so early. Lemme know.thanks

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    San Antonio,TX
    Posts
    9,505

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    He just does this because he wants to tell you to back off. But if you do that then he knows that he is in control and will keep doing it because it works. I know alot of people don't agree with me and some things work for some people and their Tegus but not for other. I just reached into the enclosure and got our Tegus out from day one. Right after I got them out I put them in between my shirts ( Hoody and T-shirt ). Tegus feel safe when they have a place to hide. They also like the warmth of the body. After a few times doing this they calmed down and I coulc reach in there and just get them out the nicer way . It worked on all six of our Tegus and our black throat monitor. But like I sad. Just because it worked for my so many times doesn't mean it's something for you.

    My shirt trick. This is Venus. It's her first day home.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVyU44yDH4E

    7 days later after using the shirt trick every day.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZDb-y1VxiU&feature=plcp

    This is Shakespeare on his first day home. So you can see the tail whipping lol.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKeyLPl4aCc&feature=plcp

    This is after I used the shirt trick with him for almost a hour.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UscbESzNseg&feature=plcp
    Rich is not how much you have, or where you are going, or what you are.Rich is who you have beside you.

    Our videos :

    http://www.youtube.com/user/txrepgirl

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    95

    Default

    To get him more comfortable with you, put a dirty shirt that doesn't have cologne or deodorant on it and put it in his cage and leave it in there for a day or 2. He will most likely play in it so use an old shirt. Also, just sit in the room where he can see you without you being threatening and read a book. Maybe out loud.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    San Antonio,TX
    Posts
    9,505

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    This one is a good idea, too. some people also sit in the bathtub ( no water ) and let the Tegu roam around in there and let him/her crawl around on you.
    Rich is not how much you have, or where you are going, or what you are.Rich is who you have beside you.

    Our videos :

    http://www.youtube.com/user/txrepgirl

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    London, UK
    Posts
    51

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    It's taken about a month for Peach to let me stroke her in her Viv, but as TXrepgirl says, you have to use positive reinforcement - if they have their own way, they win. When I get her out, yes, she tail whips me constantly until I sit on the sofa, but she's stopped trying to bite me since I let her bite every one of my fingers. Just don't respond to them, even if it hurts.

    Peach doesn't like coming out of the viv, but were now at the stage where it takes about a minute to get her out as opposed to 30 minutes. And once she's out she'll wander but then come back to me.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    San Antonio,TX
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    Onother reason why alot of Tegus whip with their tail is because they don't like to have their feet hanging in the air when you pick them up. It's like they are trying to balance them selfs with the tail. Our Zeus wraps his tail around me like a snake lol. Leonidas just whips me until I hold him close to my chest or in my arms where his feet can rest on. There is also a higher chance for the Tegu to bite you when you let him bask for to long and he gets very hungry. They go for anything that moves when they are very hungry. If you let him bask just for a little while and then feed him he might not want to bite you.
    Rich is not how much you have, or where you are going, or what you are.Rich is who you have beside you.

    Our videos :

    http://www.youtube.com/user/txrepgirl

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Buhl, I*daho
    Posts
    311

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    Give him some time to adjust. For some tegus it takes a few days and with others, it can be weeks or a couple of months. Don't rush it. Just sit there and talk to him for week. Then for a few days, talk to him with you hand in the enclosure after you have fed him. A full tummy makes a world of difference. Move on to touching him very slowly and not from above but from the side so he can see your hand. When he gets comfortable enough to close his eyes when being stroked, you are almost there.

    T. merianea, Gordo
    T. rufescens, Eva
    V. Ionedes, Nyuse Kinabo, (Swahili - Black Gift from God)
    Standard Poodles - Millee & Sonny Boy
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  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Auburndale FL
    Posts
    225

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    with weasley i left him a lone for the first week i had him... and as stated above i never showed fear i just reach in and grab him... never by the tail mind you... it took him several months to chill out and not wiggle all over the place when i would take him out... now he is like OH IM GONNA SOAK COOL! we have a routine he is comfy w/ and i add little things now and again to help him adjust... now he chills in the tub for 30 minutes or so... til the water gets cool then he lets me pick him up and he eats and as he is basking i pet his chin and he will close his eyes and just sit... (dana c its good to hear i am taking that as a really good sign) so it just takes time i have had weasley since march and he and i are just now getting to where he likes me... so patience is key w/ tegus i believe since they are so smart... and small ones truly believe you are gonna eat them or drop them ... as your tegu grows he will become more secure as well... so be patient and let him come to you and when you think its never gonna happen it does and you are like OMG this tegu is the best pet ever!
    Gnat
    "I am patient with stupidity but not those who are proud of it"~Edith Sitwell
    "Nothing brings people together like a mutual hatred"~ Henry Rollins

  9. #9

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    I agree with everyone here, patience and persistence. My bearded dragon was the same way. I just picked her up everyday and didn't put her down until she stopped squirming. Now she begs me to take her out and will sit on me for hours. I plan to use a similar strategy with my Tegu.

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