So i did a thing....

so, i did a thing. I now have a argentine black and white tegu. He's three and a half months old. I got him for $150 which i think is a pretty good deal and i was expecting him to be missing toes or something. Got here and he's in all good shape. I've got him set up in a 40 gallon breeder tank for the month of november and then he will be going into his 4 ft by 8 ft tank that is in the process of being built. Like i said, everything about him seems good except for one thing. The little bugger is terrified of me and very very flighty. When i got him he immediatly whipped himself around untill he got out of my hands and i had to chase him around the room. It's very difficult to even reach into his tank to change his water or clean up poo. He waits for the lid to be slightly ajar and then tries to jump out, hitting his head on the lid. Has anyone had similar experiences with one of these guys? thanks for you help!

I had one for bit (we ended up giving him to a friend who had the room that we didn't at the time... still miss the bugger and will be getting another now that we DO have room!).

Babies can be like that. Sounds like he didn't have a lot of socialization at all. When we got ours, I would sit in front of his cage and let him see me. Once I'd been sitting there for awhile, I'd put my hand in his cage and just rest it in there for awhile. If he came up to it great, if he didn't, also fine. The goal is to get him to understand that you aren't going to eat him, and that you're actually pretty cool, especially when you bring treats lol. I think we even put a dirty t-shirt of my husbands in with him for scent training. He mellowed out very, very quickly, and was soon sleeping in the pockets of our sweatshirts :) Just take your time and be patient - you're a LOT bigger than him.

Good luck!

These lizards are smart, they are nothing like a snake. Avoid force handling as it breaks trust. I would leave him alone and open the cage as little as possible for the next month. I would only go in to clean, provide food and water. Then in a month when you move him into the permanent cage leave him alone again. Let him get used to you reaching in the cage and not going for him. Eventually you will build up trust with the animal. Force handling will lead to a flighty lizard that when full grown can do some damage.

To piggy back on the previous replies, something that you can do to let the lizard know you mean no harm is to simply grab a folding chair and sit in front of the tank for about 10 minutes a day or so.

This is similar to when you go into water/feed but in this instance you aren't bothering the lizard at all with any noise or vibrations. Just sit there and observe. Then go about your day. Not sure how well it would work with a tegu but I've done it with anoles to get them to be less afraid of viewers as well as to calm down really jumpy frogs that could injure themselves by smacking into the glass.

Thanks everyone. Now if i can just catch him when he's not hiding in his burrow..... :)

Mine was honestly skittish for quite a while until she put on some size. Also going into the full sized cage helped a lot, more room, equaled more chances to feel secure and hide without trying to get out of the cage. Now I can prop my doors open and she will hang half way out and never tries to dart.

Update: The tegu, now named "Geo" is slowly but surely calming down for me. He now will let me poke around his tank and he doesn't try to bite or run from me. Thanks for all your help!!