tegu bites

[nepoez]

Hi all,

I've had pretty good luck with my sav, never tried to bite. Except when he was a baby once he kept rubbing his head on my finger then slowly bit it a little but let go. Seems he knows it's not food after.

My tegu however, whenever he's hungry if I stick my hand anywhere near him he'll lunge and my hand and bite it or try to eat it. I got bit 4 times so far and today it drew blood, hope I don't get gangrene or something, I washed with soap right away.

They say tegu's in general are usually tamer than monitors, I got it the opposite. This tegu is a maniac lol. I guess I'll just have to wear gloves when I'm cleaning or working on the cage. Just thought I'd share.

p.s. I know this is a monitor forum, but there's no tegu section and I figure they are somewhat similar in terms of the interest group? Hope you don't mind me posting tegu stuff here.

[MizCandice]

Ive read alot of posts of people stating simillar things with there tegus, I cant really share any advice from a monitor owners stand point but Id definately watch for heat swelling and redness on or around the bite...

[murrindindi]

Hi, I`d like to ask how you usually offer the food items (I assume you use tongs), but do you wave the prey around to some extent to get the lizards attention, or to get him/her to "run" (exercise)?

[nepoez]

Hi, I`d like to ask how you usually offer the food items (I assume you use tongs), but do you wave the prey around to some extent to get the lizards attention, or to get him/her to "run" (exercise)?

Hi. For the sav, I use a tong and he will run at it and I don't wave it. I put my arm in the cage holding tong and food. Then as he gets near I just keep moving it so he ends up continuously running and leaping for the food. When get's too tired then I let him rest, or eat, or do it again in a few mins.

For the tegu, I tried doing the same thing but he doesn't fall for it. He's sneak around the food and try to dash for it but as soon as he misses it, he'd sneak around again he won't just keep chasing it. So I basically let him jump for the food a few times to get some hunting exercise. Although, he is usually roaming around all day looking and digging holes to find food anyways.

I put my hand in there today not to feed him, but to do some stuff, and he just went and tried to eat my hand. My sav always knows it's my hand and it's not food.

[V87]

Hi. For the sav, I use a tong and he will run at it and I don't wave it. I put my arm in the cage holding tong and food. Then as he gets near I just keep moving it so he ends up continuously running and leaping for the food. When get's too tired then I let him rest, or eat, or do it again in a few mins.

For the tegu, I tried doing the same thing but he doesn't fall for it. He's sneak around the food and try to dash for it but as soon as he misses it, he'd sneak around again he won't just keep chasing it. So I basically let him jump for the food a few times to get some hunting exercise. Although, he is usually roaming around all day looking and digging holes to find food anyways.

I put my hand in there today not to feed him, but to do some stuff, and he just went and tried to eat my hand. My sav always knows it's my hand and it's not food.

I would personally try and not always feed the Teg in its viv as u will find this response will continue and a adult Teg bite is nothing to laugh about all the way to the hospital ...

[murrindindi]

Hi again, I think you are encouraging the Tegu to "attack" by making it jump for the food (in effect you ARE "waving" the item around), and the movement triggers feed mode. I will disagree with V87, I do not advise feeding in a separate container (if that`s what he meant)?
For the time being I would simply place the food on a saucer and leave it in the tank, even if that means having to do it before the lizard is heated up properly or still resting in the burrow/hide. He/she needs to learn that your hands don`t necessarily mean food. You can also try "clicker" or similar training; whenever you offer food make a small noise so the lizard associates that with feeding time.

[nepoez]

OK yikes... I think he has become trained to associate me as food.. even when I or my wife put our face to the glass he'll jump to the glass...

I'll try the plate method. How long do you think he'll unlearn that my hand = food?

[murrindindi]

OK yikes... I think he has become trained to associate me as food.. even when I or my wife put our face to the glass he'll jump to the glass...

I'll try the plate method. How long do you think he'll unlearn that my hand = food?

I expect at least a couple of weeks or so. You must keep at it, forget trying to give the "exercise when feeding" (it`s a negligible amount anyway).
They learn what you teach! ;)

[nepoez]

should I put my hand in there with gloves so when he bites it he'll know it's not food?

[Kayla_NBRescue]

How old is your tegu? anywhere from 5 months - 1.5 yrs they go through a very grumpy puberty stage? Also how long has this behavior been going on? Some tegus will get an increased appetite and become very feisty wanting more food right before they start to slow down for winter.

[formica]

interesting - my Sav learnt pretty quickly that my arm and the tongs are not food, at first he would grab the food and tongs, but now he's very careful only to take the food, even when I'm making him chase it up and down. I also use the tongs to 'stroke' his back while he is eating, aswell as poking around in his enclosure, he definitly knows the diffrence between the tongs, and the food that they sometimes holds