Update on my sister's evil red tegu :P

[SlitherinSisters]

He's still a little bit evil, but he's getting much better! He stopped biting, but still tries to whip you when you grab for him. I think he's more of my parent's pet than my sisters, but don't tell her I went home on Friday and actually held him!!! I haven't held him since October when we picked him up from the Tinley. My dad had to get him out for me and I was wearing gloves because I didn't trust that he stopped biting, but I held him!

Here are some older pictures of him (about a month or two ago)


This one makes me laugh. He likes to be a sand monster and rise up out of the ground when you look in his cage. That side of the cage is just mulch stuff that he hides under.


Here is one I took on Friday when I was visiting. He's huge! It's with my phone and he's in shed.


Anyhow, I thought I would update the progress on him. He's getting really big, and a bit more tame. Dad was thinking maybe he whips because of the tank set up and you have to reach down to get him? I don't have any idea, but he is getting better about letting you pick him up. He used to lunge at your hand to bite! Eventually they are going to build him a big cage, but this one fits him for now. It's 6 feet long. Also, does feeding in the cage cause them to be aggressive or is that all opinion?

[dragonboy4578]

Wow he has grown.... He looks good.

[SlitherinSisters]

Wow he has grown.... He looks good.

Yes he has! Every time I go down there I say "good grief, he's even bigger!" I make it down there about once a week (my horse is still down there ) and I swear he grows every week!

[Strange_Evil]

Beautiful Tegu,love his reds! I will be getting mines soon and have been doing some research, I read that feeding inside the enclosure it's self does not make them really aggressive some say it makes them territorial ,it is the hand feeding that gets them aggressive because then they start to associate your hand with food.

I plan on feeding in a dark feeding bin and to always put the food in first then sit the tegu in.

The main reason owners do not feed in the enclosure is fear of impaction ,ingesting substrate while eating or they smell the scent from the previous meal and start to eat the substrate.

If you want you can just place a big plate with the food on it in the enclosure and let him eat.

[bubblz]

He's growing nicely and looking good .
To answer your question feeding in the cage as well as feeding live food can make them territorial, food aggressive and or increase their feeding response. To where they will want to go after things that move like fingers, toes, graduating to hands and or feet as they get bigger. I could be wrong but that doesn't look like an FT pinkie to me.

With the tail whipping being a poss set up issue,.. they can try lowering their hand into the tank on the opposite side from him and approaching slowly at his level. To see how he reacts and or letting him come to them before trying to pick him up. Also when they go to pick him up use the palms up method instead of over hand. Since your hand over them mimics that of a predators claws or mouth. Which will trigger one or the other of the fight or flight response.

One thing I noticed just from looking at the pics is the tank is dry and tegus require humidity to aid in shedding just like Bps. Not enough humidity and they have retained pieces of shed that can cut off circulation to their toes and tail. If they drop or lose a part of their tail it will regenerate (not the same pattern or color) but their toes will not.

They grow fast when they don't hibernate and his body length is already longer than that tank is wide. I give it another 2mths no more than 3 and he'll have difficulty just turning around in there.

Thetegu.com and tegutalk.com are 2 great sites they should check out for info.

[SlitherinSisters]

I'm not sure what they do to increase the humidity when he's in shed, but in the last pic there is water built up on the side of the tank. I'm not sure how humid it is when he's not in shed.

Those are live pinkies, I know they were talking about switching to f/t but they weren't sure when to try it. Do you think he would eat f/t right now?

Oh gosh you are right about his size and the tank. He's growing like crazy and the width is going to become a problem! Holy cow. I'll have to forward them the info and tell them to start working on the new enclosure!

[bubblz]

He'll take f/t meals now,.. the only thing I fed live was crickets, mealworms and things like that. As they get bigger they're no longer interested in them so food aggression wasn't an issue. Probably the mind set of why works so hard for something so small and of little nutritional value especially when better food is brought to them on a regular basis. Which I wouldn't argue with .

I keep mine on a primarily whole prey diet with raw meats (from seafood to ground turkey) and fruits in between for lighter meals. Which reminds me Reds require more fruit in their diet than other tegus. So start him early on a variety of foods if they haven't already,... the sooner the better. It makes them easier to feed as they get older instead of just sticking to one thing or the other, they are less picky.

[SlitherinSisters]

He'll take f/t meals now,.. the only thing I fed live was crickets, mealworms and things like that. As they get bigger they're no longer interested in them so food aggression wasn't an issue. Probably the mind set of why works so hard for something so small and of little nutritional value especially when better food is brought to them on a regular basis. Which I wouldn't argue with .

I keep mine on a primarily whole prey diet with raw meats (from seafood to ground turkey) and fruits in between for lighter meals. Which reminds me Reds require more fruit in their diet than other tegus. So start him early on a variety of foods if they haven't already,... the sooner the better. It makes them easier to feed as they get older instead of just sticking to one thing or the other, they are less picky.

Cool thanks!

Seafood sounds really interesting! They have been trying different fruits/veggies, but I can't remember what. I'll have to check out those sites and tell them to start trying f/t and a variety of fruits/veggies!

[mommanessy247]

haha that 2nd pic is awesome...lunch on the doorstep. or breakfast or dinner depending on when the pinky was put in there.
do the lizards that eat pinky's kill them first somehow or do they just gobble 'em down.
sorry for turning the thread into a feeding discussion i was just curious.

[bubblz]

They kill them first since like snakes they usually swallow head first. They actually chew whole prey before swallowing it. Kind of like tenderizing since they crush the head and rib cage before eating it.