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Thread: Columbian tegu taming tips?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
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    Default Columbian tegu taming tips?

    Does anybody have any good taming tips for Columbian tegus?

    This one is for you Angelrose :wink:
    Note: I am speaking from my own experience, so if it dose not work for you I am sorry but it did work for me.

    Tegus kept me happy in a dark time in my life. So if you say I am crazy for loving these animals, who cares what you think.

    1.1.1 Cuban Rock iguanas Nabila
    1.2.0 Argentine Red Tegus
    1.2.0 Bearded Dragon
    Coming soon!
    1.1.0 Extreme Chacoans Tegus
    1.3.0 Argentine Black and White Tegus.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
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    I love reptiles beause they are reptiles and I respect them for what they are. I don't have any expectations of them fetching my slippers for me.

    I understand colombian tegus have many more predators throughout their entire life. I see them as defensive not aggressive. I read 'skittish'. I say 'spunky'. I place all my tegus in an area where they can watch me and daily activities if 'they' want to. they get used to my prescense and if 'they' do not see me in a threatening way then they will come to me. I have no tricks.

    colombians tegus will not be argentine tegus and argentine tegus will not be colombian tegus. that is why I have both . if there was another kind of tegu I would have that one also. however, I do love a good challenge.

    I hope this helps Alek. I can only try to explain it.

    here are some pics I posted in the past with my 'angel' and my daughters.

    http://www.thetegu.com/postlite5943-angelrose.html=pics
    1.0.0 Argentine Tegu
    0.1. Colombian Tegus
    1.0.0 Genetic Stripe Reticulated Python
    1.0.0 Albino/Lav Reticulated Python
    1.0.0 Normal Dwarf Reticulated Python
    0.1.0 Dwarf Platinum Reticulated Python
    0.1.0 Dwarf Tiger Reticulated Python
    0.1.0 Normal Burmese Python

  3. #3

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    lol, i think alek secretly bought a pair of columbian tegus and wants to know how to tame them.
    1.1.0 Arg B/W Tegu Joker n Groxy
    1.0.0 Australian Water Dragon "Spyro"
    1.0.0 Red Eared Slider "Turdy"
    0.0.0 White Dwarf Hamster "MiMi" R.I.P.
    1.1.0 Black&Albino Kingsnakes "Pearl & Hannibal"

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Edmonton, AB
    Posts
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    If it for what it worth...

    I notice people with cheap animals tend to manhandle their animals, while those with more expensive ones let their animals choose how they want to be handled. From what I seen, people don't treat their $30 Colombian tegu as well as they do with their $175 Argentine tegus. Yet the $90 Colombian get treated better than the $60 Argentine... so I am not sure anymore these days... however the dollar value do change how people treat their animals.

    In my experience, there is no such thing as "training," but rather the animal training the person. Daggit, my Colombian, trained me to pick him up a certain way -- show him a flat hand, and he will climb on. Any other way of picking him would provoke him to try and bite or tail-whip. People think I trained him, but it is the other way around. I know how to read him, I didn't do anything to change his behaviour like a lot of people do with their animals. For this reason, I think that is why a lot of people had bad luck with Asian monitors and Colombian tegus.

    The biggest thing is getting the animal to TRUST you.

    The other thing is use a big cage. Small cages seem to provoke more aggression in lizards in general. Mine is about twice the length of the tegu width-wise, and four times the length length-wise. This translate into 6'x3' right now... so in the future... I am looking at a 12'x6'; however I can't afford that space, so I am hoping he will be more forgiving once he get older.

    Unless the fact my vocabulary is similar to a drill SGT whipped him into shape... Hmmmm... :lol:

  5. #5

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    yea, it's true, i used to let anoles loose in my room and not give em a second thought. for catching escaped crickets. but they actually did very well. till they got out.

    ohh yea, also just so you know large lazy tegus can climb baby gates. weird huh?
    1.1.0 Arg B/W Tegu Joker n Groxy
    1.0.0 Australian Water Dragon "Spyro"
    1.0.0 Red Eared Slider "Turdy"
    0.0.0 White Dwarf Hamster "MiMi" R.I.P.
    1.1.0 Black&Albino Kingsnakes "Pearl & Hannibal"

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Location
    Pennsylvania
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    Quote Originally Posted by worldeater
    lol, i think alek secretly bought a pair of columbian tegus and wants to know how to tame them.
    I wonder ?
    1.0.0 Argentine Tegu
    0.1. Colombian Tegus
    1.0.0 Genetic Stripe Reticulated Python
    1.0.0 Albino/Lav Reticulated Python
    1.0.0 Normal Dwarf Reticulated Python
    0.1.0 Dwarf Platinum Reticulated Python
    0.1.0 Dwarf Tiger Reticulated Python
    0.1.0 Normal Burmese Python

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Pennsylvania
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    Quote Originally Posted by Souggy
    If it for what it worth...

    I notice people with cheap animals tend to manhandle their animals, while those with more expensive ones let their animals choose how they want to be handled. From what I seen, people don't treat their $30 Colombian tegu as well as they do with their $175 Argentine tegus. Yet the $90 Colombian get treated better than the $60 Argentine... so I am not sure anymore these days... however the dollar value do change how people treat their animals.

    In my experience, there is no such thing as "training," but rather the animal training the person. Daggit, my Colombian, trained me to pick him up a certain way -- show him a flat hand, and he will climb on. Any other way of picking him would provoke him to try and bite or tail-whip. People think I trained him, but it is the other way around. I know how to read him, I didn't do anything to change his behaviour like a lot of people do with their animals. For this reason, I think that is why a lot of people had bad luck with Asian monitors and Colombian tegus.

    The biggest thing is getting the animal to TRUST you.

    The other thing is use a big cage. Small cages seem to provoke more aggression in lizards in general. Mine is about twice the length of the tegu width-wise, and four times the length length-wise. This translate into 6'x3' right now... so in the future... I am looking at a 12'x6'; however I can't afford that space, so I am hoping he will be more forgiving once he get older.

    Unless the fact my vocabulary is similar to a drill SGT whipped him into shape... Hmmmm... :lol:

    I, thank you ! you spelled it out better then me.
    1.0.0 Argentine Tegu
    0.1. Colombian Tegus
    1.0.0 Genetic Stripe Reticulated Python
    1.0.0 Albino/Lav Reticulated Python
    1.0.0 Normal Dwarf Reticulated Python
    0.1.0 Dwarf Platinum Reticulated Python
    0.1.0 Dwarf Tiger Reticulated Python
    0.1.0 Normal Burmese Python

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Edmonton, AB
    Posts
    26

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    Quote Originally Posted by angelrose
    I, thank you ! you spelled it out better then me.
    Technically, I never wanted a tegu... but then I saw Daggit and JUST had to get him. Although I did research tegus while trying to decide to go with a tegu or monitor. So, I applied a lot of the monitor "taming" process to Daggit.

    So... what next? Can't get Blues here in Canada yet, unless I can find a US distributor that will do the CITES process, so... Ackie monitors... then Argus... then who knows!

    Reptiles are not your friends, but they will tolerate your presence if you respect them; something that Colombians and monitors don't get enough of. Enough said!

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