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Thread: Handling a hatchling tegu

  1. #1
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    Question Handling a hatchling tegu

    I was trying to handle Kronos today to get him out of his cage to feed him but he is still very flighty when ever I put my hand near him, he would tail whip and sprint away. Should I just try and grab him? Or give him some more time to adjust? I got him Tuesday. and handle him for a couple minutes then put him in his cage and left him be for the rest of the day, he would run and hide when I came in the room but come back out then go back in after I moved around a lot. Wednesday I tried interacting with him but he stayed under his hide so I adjusted a couple things in the cage an he just kinda watched me from under his hide.Today I tried to put my hand near him to pick him up an then he would tail whip and bolt, I picked up his hide, which was probably a bad idea an he bolted away again. At that point I put a shirt in the cage and his food on top of it so he wouldn't eat the substrate. I watched him eat with the cage open and he didn't mind coming out to eat in front of me. I left my shirt in the cage so he could get used to my scent. Should I just give him more time to adjust? I would really like to feed him in a feed bin instead of his cage. Thanks.

    DSCN0089.jpg This is the board he hides under and the one I picked up.
    1.0.0 Black & White Argentine Tegu-Kronos
    0.0.1 Normal Corn Snake
    0.0.1 Colombian Red-Tailed Boa

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Handling a hatchling tegu

    Yea give him a week or two just leave your hand in the cage and let him walk on it

    from Samsung Galaxy S3

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by chitodadon View Post
    Yea give him a week or two just leave your hand in the cage and let him walk on it
    Alright I'll give that a shoot. Just continue feeding in the cage on a shirt or something so he won't get impacted?
    1.0.0 Black & White Argentine Tegu-Kronos
    0.0.1 Normal Corn Snake
    0.0.1 Colombian Red-Tailed Boa

  4. #4

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    I have a hatchling. I gave him a week without handling him, making sure he felt settled. They are so curious by nature. So I just put my hand in, he huffs up tail whips a bit, then starts looking at my motionless hand. It takes him about 10 seconds, and he relaxes and had to come over and check this thing out, LOL.

    He crawled over my hand a few times licking. However, now that he got comfortable, he will immediately now climb my arm right out of his cage, so I have to be careful.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by FTWTegu View Post
    I have a hatchling. I gave him a week without handling him, making sure he felt settled. They are so curious by nature. So I just put my hand in, he huffs up tail whips a bit, then starts looking at my motionless hand. It takes him about 10 seconds, and he relaxes and had to come over and check this thing out, LOL.

    He crawled over my hand a few times licking. However, now that he got comfortable, he will immediately now climb my arm right out of his cage, so I have to be careful.
    Wow that's awesome! Hopefully mine will do that too in a week lol thanks for the advice! Where did you get your hatchling from?
    1.0.0 Black & White Argentine Tegu-Kronos
    0.0.1 Normal Corn Snake
    0.0.1 Colombian Red-Tailed Boa

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Handling a hatchling tegu

    It will do it

    from Samsung Galaxy S3

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by chitodadon View Post
    It will do it
    That's relieving, I saw a post that said if you don't handle it for the first week - 2weeks it will be scared of you for the rest of it's life an I was worried that might happen. So I was really trying to avoid that if you know what I mean lol
    1.0.0 Black & White Argentine Tegu-Kronos
    0.0.1 Normal Corn Snake
    0.0.1 Colombian Red-Tailed Boa

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Handling a hatchling tegu

    That's not true u have to let the tevu adjust to their new place just sit ariund the enclosure talk to him and sot your hand in the enclose and akways clean and spray the enclosure so he sees u r not a threat

    from Samsung Galaxy S3

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by chitodadon View Post
    That's not true u have to let the tevu adjust to their new place just sit ariund the enclosure talk to him and sot your hand in the enclose and akways clean and spray the enclosure so he sees u r not a threat
    That's what I've been doing today, takin it easy an doing things in my room in front of the cage so he constantly sees me moving around. I clean his poop up, switch the water out and take his food in an out an he runs an hides under the board an kinda watches me. I haven't put my hand there yet or anything like that, should I? Thanks.
    1.0.0 Black & White Argentine Tegu-Kronos
    0.0.1 Normal Corn Snake
    0.0.1 Colombian Red-Tailed Boa

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by reptidude View Post
    Wow that's awesome! Hopefully mine will do that too in a week lol thanks for the advice! Where did you get your hatchling from?
    I got him at a local reptile convention from some guys from San Antonio - who had just bought them from some breeder in Florida - so he was definitely a hatchling -but very vivid in color and busy as a bee. So healthy in fact that I bought him and had no plans to get one just yet.

    I swear I am not lying -this little guy in a three week period, has quadrupled in weight. He is ravenous. He eats superworms like 8 in one go - shakes the heck out of them, then has learned to drop and regrip them right beside their big nasty jaws, and he crushes the heads first -you can hear it crunching. Then he drops them and down the thing - immediately looking for the next one.

    I fed him grapes, tomoatoes, superworms, eggs, and now he is downing two large pinkie mice along with 5 superworms. I'll limit the pinkies to a couple a week. I just found some good lean ground turkey I'll try next with some scrambled eggs.

    The thing is I can't see how he could have grown so fast- he was a sliver of a lizard when I got him, and he didn't eat for three days. He is now about the size of a large leopard gecko and longer.

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