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Thread: Rough day with Reptar *sigh*

  1. #1

    Default Rough day with Reptar *sigh*

    So frustrating ! So this is my second consecutive day of try to take him out of his enclosure to eat. He huffed a little but let me take him out of his cage but once I lowered him to the feeding box he jet around my living room (behind counters and couches) I was picking up and moving everything trying to chase him . He bit me about 4 times that round but I was using the sweater trick so he didn't get my skin. He finally let me pick him up and I put him by his food which he just sat still at and stared at until he attempted to run away again I got bit about 5 more times lol ! He then let me pick him up again so I just soaked him and he pooped out a piece of cypress :/ which sucks because I'm trying to feed him outside the cage but he wouldn't eat (he did the first day) and I'm trying to avoid feeding him in his cage for that reason alone that he already had pooped out a piece of cypress which means he could have gotten impacted . Anyways , now I have to leave for work and I just threw some food on a plate in his cage and of course he came back out and ate :/ . He's a 4 month or 5 month old Colombian so I'm sure that explains everything . I'm just worried about an Impaction. Should I keep trying to take him out tomorrow after this big set back today ?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Corpus Christi, TX
    Posts
    48

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    I know that it was a rough day, and I'm sorry to hear that he bit you however, I would still feeding outside of his enclosure, I would not put food in his enclosure if he does not eat in his feeding bin. It will not hurt for him to go a few days without eating, he will eat when he is ready. but please be patient and good luck.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Northern Nevada
    Posts
    98

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    Try feeding him in the bathtub.

    Also, what I did with my Argentine was to sit in the tub with him, and just allowed him to crawl wherever he wanted for about an hour at a time. I did not try to put my hand near him until he was crawling around on me on his own. After about a week, he realized he could crawl on me and I was not going to hurt him. Once he was ok with me, I started trying to get him to climb on my hand and played the treadmill game.

    Since he went into brumation about September (I got him mid-July) I have been worried that we would be going backwards, but everytime he wakes up, he seems to still be fine =)

  4. #4

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    Awesome, well some tell me to feed in his cage until he is warmed up to me more and others say to take him out anyways and feed him. I will try the bath tub trick I just worry because he huffs and puffs and stresses his little self out even when I move slow and careful which I always try to do around him. Also after that day he runs away from me (some times not every time) when I open up his enclosure. It sucks because I want to hang out with the little dude very bad but I know he's just young and it takes time. I guess on a good note he eats like a monster and the first day I fed him outside the enclosure he ate a lot probably the most ever so I dunno why he was being such a brat the next day

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    San Antonio,TX
    Posts
    9,505

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    How tall is the feeding box ? I recommend a bin that is tall enough where he can't get out and it should be a dark color. The clear ones make the bin look bigger and it might scare him. When you put him in the bin step back far enough to where he can't see you. Once he calmed down enough he will eat if he is hungry enough. Like Greg mentioned. Tegus can go without food for a while. He will not eat in the bin if he knows that he is going to get his food in his enclosure. If you want to you can try my shirt trick. I used it on all of our Tegus and the black throat monitor. I did it before I fed them to calmed them down. When your Tegu hides between your shirts he will feel save ( because he gets to hide ). He also will like the warms of your body.

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


    This is our Shakespeare. He didn't want to eat in the bin either. I tried feeding him some salmon and he ate it.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt0rmd7zbtM
    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

  6. #6

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    Thanks Txrepgirl ! I actually used your shirt trick and sweatshirt trick. Thanks to you I didn't get bit on the actually finger but on the hand while my hand was in the sweatshirt sleeve. I will also get a new feed box because now that I think about it he might have freaked out because I changed the box the second day I fed him out of his enclosure and the box was much lower.

    My only issue is days like this when I work at 10 am and I try to pet and pick him up but he walked back in his hide and hid from me and I didn't have time to wait until he came back out so I had to leave the food in his enclosure and by the time I get home he will probably already be back in his hide to sleep so I hope daysx like this don't set me back because I'm not able to take him out.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Auburndale FL
    Posts
    225

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    first rule of tegus is (we don't talk about fight club?no kidding) don't stress each one is different and they take LOTS OF TIME i have just gotten to where weasley fell asleep in my lap for the first time ever in life and i have had him since last april so almost a year... take your time and do what you think is best and what makes sense for you and your tegu... don't rush him you may not see forward movement in your relationship with him for months these animals are super smart and they will learn to trust you... i have started working with weasley and showing him all those things he does to make me back off aren't gonna work... breathing heavy... yep still gonna pet you... and see no one died... open mouth yep still gonna pet you... see no one died... eventually they will be like AHHHH mouth agape and then they look at you like oh yeah that doesn't work... whatever... start small ... small amounts of interaction... and work up from there you don't wanna get hurt and you don't want him to not trust you cause you shoved him in a sweatshirt and it smells funny... lol just take it slow... rome wasn't built in a day... tegu trust isn't earned in a day... like i said we have been going almost a year and he finally relaxes enough to close his eyes with me... i have posted 1 billion times how do i get him to love me and i always hear patience... it is the truth... all you can do is take it slow and wait... they eventually come around and the bigger they get generally the less threatened they feel and the happier they are to be with you... but not all are the same... sad to say in the end you might just have a tegu that doesn't wanna be your friend... when you have had him 5 years and he still acts like he does now.. you will know he just is a jerk.. but we love them anyway... silly big lizards that they are... ps i feed mine in the tub and after a good feed we soak in warm water... he likes that a lot
    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

  8. #8

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    Thanks so much Gnat you are so right ! Just gotta be patient and I am being very impatient. I knew this going in that they would be a rewarding challenge so I just need to take a deep breath and stick with it thanks !

  9. #9

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    **Update** For the past few days since the incident Reptar has been running to his cave whenever I open the cage or hiding from me when I move stuff around in his cage. Today like everyday once again I opened the cage to try and pet him and instead of running he rapidly licked my fingers and let me pet his chin and jowls. He huffed and puffed just a little and mostly when I pet him on the top of his head or back( I'm finding out he hates this right now probably won't when he gets to know me more though). I pet him for a while and he seemed a little more comfortable with me again. I was on the way to work so after I pet him and talked to him for about 10 min I put some food in his cage and left. I'm really trying to work more twords feeding him outside the cage but he comes out a little before I have to go to work so I don't have time to take him out and spend time and feed him and by the same I get home around 4 or 5 pm he's back burrowed in his cave . This tiny progress excites me though

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Reno, NV
    Posts
    266

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    i know its hard sometimes...my columbian went weeks without eating when she was a baby so i fed her in the tank so she would eat normally...i know how it is.. ive tried all the bathtub tricks and the ontlything that i do is get a big huge platter so when she eats its dont get on her substrate

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