Of the available options to socialize a reptile I always opt for the more patient and gradual results; IE enticing and encouraging them to come to me instead of approaching them. It starts with food but you eventually separate the two concepts (person contact and food) and have an animal that is very easy to approach and pick up for transport or handling. I have found that for these bigger and very smart reptiles like my Savannah monitors and Tegu (Ikora is such a handsome Topaz baby, you do incredible work!) this approach adds trust on top of familiarity/socializing, and in stressful situations they will stay more calm and handleable despite outside influences. An animal that knows you but doesn't trust you may bolt at the earliest moment if something startles them, but one that trusts you will feel secure in your hands if startled and - while tense - won't try to escape. It's a small thing but can make a world of difference. :)
Just wanted to say this really helped me. I've got an aggressive one but she calmed way down once I just showed her she needs to just relax. It was really important because she had bad stuck shed on her toe and the last inch of her tail. I got all of it off thanks to this video.
He’s this size and we’re recently having an issue where he’s immediately jumping out of the enclosure as soon as the door moves because he’s so excited about food. He also started lunging at my hand through the glass of the door today. I realize we have to socialize him but I can’t even get my hands on him before he’s already out of the cage and it’s a wild goose chase to get him back in for the next hour. Going to try a couple things from this video
Great advice man. I’m a Huge advocate of hands on instead of just letting the animal be. In my opinion, that’s sets up bad habits and can make it harder in the long run.
I love your videos! I was watching videos in preparation to owning a Tegu and breeding some in the future but have noticed your incubation video is perhaps outdated? It seems your containers are put together differently compared to a few years ago.
Always nice to see updates. The issue Im having with my 1.5 year old isnt like this though. My girl lets me pet her, pick her up and interact with her with no troubles. The issue Im having is her biting me because she thinks Im food. If we are just hanging out together, and I make a movement that to her I guess looks lie a mouse, she with nom on me. Even if I am still, she will come up to me, lick my leg (or anywhere) and then give me a bite. Its not aggression or defensive, its simply a food response. And she does it on an empty AND full stomach. I have given her giant plates of food, that make it look like she will explode, and she still always has food on the brain. She is 1.5 years old, but shes the size of a 3 year old, and she brumated. I dont really now how to discourage this behavior. I work from home, so I spend hours with her every day. I wash my hands a lot so they smell like soap, but she still goes for them based on movement. Do yo have any ideas?
Same problem here. Did you find any solutions? Only thing I’d suggest is doing target training whenever feeding, switches food response from your hands to the target
@@jabari8950 I have been giving her a little more space, and when working in her cage I have been wearing gloves. She completely ignores my hands and feet if they are covered. She is getting more active, and spends the day crawling around every corner of my room. My new issue is, she climbs up on my bed to poop and pee. She definitely thinks my bed is hr bathroom. Its the only place she goes.
Thank you for all the work you’re doing! I love seeing you with your family and the tegu’s! My family and I are learning the beauties of owning our tegu Ziggy. We’ve recently moved Ziggy to her(?) new inclosure 8x5x3.5. She has a hide that she love being under. My question, should I keep that space for her to feel safe or should I be able to pick up the hide and interact with her? Thank you Vinny
I was at a reptile show in Sacramento CA recently. This booth had an all white tegu. Do you have those? I'm glad I saw this video. I just took another young tegu in and he lunges at me. I've been tossing a towel over him and your right. Out of the cage he's very social. Thanks again.
I prefer the feisty ones. They end up having the most amazing personalities. I have a big boy who, for a whole year would try to bite me (with little to no effort) every day. He did this when he got 48" long. But I worked through it and now he is such a sweetheart, he's honestly the best Tegu I could imagine. It makes me sad that Boofie is already brumating. 🦎❤️
It’s like you sent my high black pair already trained and tamed down lol. They both know their feeding routine already. Also one after the other they have slowly started enjoying interactions/rubs and seem to actually seek out attention when their enclose opens and they notice it’s me. Awesome job! 💪🏻
Need a lot of advice abt him love him and not willing to give him up yk want him to be loving life he’s kinda moody a lot but it ain’t cage aggression ever since that thing came out he’s been totally different
My 8 month old black and white male doesn't bite, but it sometimes will flip out when I start interacting with him in the cage. Once he's out though, he's great. He will chill on my shoulder for as long as I let him. The only issue is it startles the hell out of me when he does flip out.
I've seen people target train a tegu, they train a tegu to expect food only when shown a specific object instead of whenever you show up at their enclosure. Have you ever tried this? What do you think of it?
I actually do this with my little guy from Joey. I use a red solo cup that I wiggle in front of the glass before I open it to show him it’s food time and he always runs up and gets excited, but if I open the glass without the cup he just chills and watches me. He really is the most amazingly incredible and intelligent little guy and I can’t thank Joey enough @rosecityreptilestx is absolutely amazing at what they do.
100% can work! This topic could use its own video. I have seen people intentionally target train and I have also seen where it can happen accidentally by just being consistent. Tegus are smart and they love food haha.
You may answer this ..Hopfully someone will ..i have approximately 11 mth old red ..I think female ..Shes still skitish ..She will walk over to me be very nervous ..I can't pick her up as she starts struggling ..ive had her 4 mths and im with her everyday for hrs as i work from home and shes in my office..ive been quiet ..ive talked to her ..i don't want anything to be negative for her so ..i genuinely dont know what to do..its like im halfcway there but not getting any further..it took me ages to get her as she will be my forever tegu ..So i suppose my question is will she calm down eventually..
Hello! How do I get rid of my 10-month old Tegu’s feeding response? I‘ve always fed him outside his enclosure, but he always gets excited when I open his enclosure to bring him out. He nips on whatever is in front of him (my hand, snake hook, etc.) I have to pick him up from behind to avoid getting nipped. Once he’s in my hand though, he calms down and doesn’t bite anymore. He’s still small and manageable so the nips and bites dont really hurt for now. I want to get rid of this behavior before he gets big! Help! 😅😅😅
I have a red adult. And it’s in an enclosure with top and front openings and on a stand. The problem I’m having is I want to interact with him, but he is so cage, aggressive that I can’t even open up the front like he wants to bust out and eat me. And with him being an adult I know that when he bites my ass it’s gonna extremely hurt and it’s going to rip me open. Right now I am at my wits end with this lizard. I still try to interact but now I’m at a point where I can only open up the top and he is literally trying to jump out of the top.
I have an adult male and he will full on attack me and even chase my hand trying to bite me. I’ve been working with him for about a month now and still won’t calm down. Help!!!! lol
Clint has a video on feeding with a visual cue. It’s great. Snake Discovery also does the same with Rex. When they are the cue, they know it’s feeding time. If it’s not there, it’s not food time. They’re super smart and understand after a few times.
I see a bunch of “taming” videos where the owner is wearing a glove. I get it if your taking an adult but for juveniles I think if you’re wearing a glove to avoid getting bitten then tegu isn’t for you. It shows that you don’t trust the animal.
i spent some time with my tegu on my lap , he is a bit bigger then ones in video , he tried to bite my crotch , needless to say back to enclosure 😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣and despite the size he is super strong and can easily escape my hands if i dont have a firm hold on him , great vid
Been having to do this with Harley since I got her same age as joker but not worked with near as much but she is getting amazing super fast great video :)! 💜💚
@@blobmanyaa9350 I didn't understand your question at first. Is your enclosure front opening? Sometimes they are just more skittish as babies and gain confidence as they grow. Keep up your handling, sounds like your doing great.
Animals can sense fear. They’re very intuitive creatures. Great video from Joey the tegu whisperer!!!
Of the available options to socialize a reptile I always opt for the more patient and gradual results; IE enticing and encouraging them to come to me instead of approaching them. It starts with food but you eventually separate the two concepts (person contact and food) and have an animal that is very easy to approach and pick up for transport or handling.
I have found that for these bigger and very smart reptiles like my Savannah monitors and Tegu (Ikora is such a handsome Topaz baby, you do incredible work!) this approach adds trust on top of familiarity/socializing, and in stressful situations they will stay more calm and handleable despite outside influences. An animal that knows you but doesn't trust you may bolt at the earliest moment if something startles them, but one that trusts you will feel secure in your hands if startled and - while tense - won't try to escape.
It's a small thing but can make a world of difference. :)
Just wanted to say this really helped me. I've got an aggressive one but she calmed way down once I just showed her she needs to just relax. It was really important because she had bad stuck shed on her toe and the last inch of her tail. I got all of it off thanks to this video.
He’s this size and we’re recently having an issue where he’s immediately jumping out of the enclosure as soon as the door moves because he’s so excited about food. He also started lunging at my hand through the glass of the door today. I realize we have to socialize him but I can’t even get my hands on him before he’s already out of the cage and it’s a wild goose chase to get him back in for the next hour. Going to try a couple things from this video
How did it turn out?
Finally a new video!!
Thank you 😊
Great advice man. I’m a Huge advocate of hands on instead of just letting the animal be. In my opinion, that’s sets up bad habits and can make it harder in the long run.
I agree. Appreciate it!
Great video Joey. Keep up the hard work man really appreciate it.
I love your videos! I was watching videos in preparation to owning a Tegu and breeding some in the future but have noticed your incubation video is perhaps outdated? It seems your containers are put together differently compared to a few years ago.
Thank you for Great video very helpful ❤
Great! Happy it helped
This video made me happy, such beautiful tegus.
Always nice to see updates. The issue Im having with my 1.5 year old isnt like this though. My girl lets me pet her, pick her up and interact with her with no troubles. The issue Im having is her biting me because she thinks Im food. If we are just hanging out together, and I make a movement that to her I guess looks lie a mouse, she with nom on me. Even if I am still, she will come up to me, lick my leg (or anywhere) and then give me a bite. Its not aggression or defensive, its simply a food response. And she does it on an empty AND full stomach. I have given her giant plates of food, that make it look like she will explode, and she still always has food on the brain. She is 1.5 years old, but shes the size of a 3 year old, and she brumated. I dont really now how to discourage this behavior. I work from home, so I spend hours with her every day. I wash my hands a lot so they smell like soap, but she still goes for them based on movement. Do yo have any ideas?
Same problem here. Did you find any solutions? Only thing I’d suggest is doing target training whenever feeding, switches food response from your hands to the target
@@jabari8950 I have been giving her a little more space, and when working in her cage I have been wearing gloves. She completely ignores my hands and feet if they are covered. She is getting more active, and spends the day crawling around every corner of my room.
My new issue is, she climbs up on my bed to poop and pee. She definitely thinks my bed is hr bathroom. Its the only place she goes.
Thank you for all the work you’re doing! I love seeing you with your family and the tegu’s! My family and I are learning the beauties of owning our tegu Ziggy.
We’ve recently moved Ziggy to her(?) new inclosure 8x5x3.5. She has a hide that she love being under. My question, should I keep that space for her to feel safe or should I be able to pick up the hide and interact with her?
Thank you
Vinny
Hi, i've been wanting a tegu for a long time but I haven't been able to find anyone that sells them so I was wondering if you ship to France?
Amazing video man, super helpful
Should the basking spot be on the hide side or away from it? Ive seen it done both ways.
I like to have two hides. One under the basking platform and one on the cool side. If I had to choose one I would have it on the cool side.
I was at a reptile show in Sacramento CA recently. This booth had an all white tegu. Do you have those?
I'm glad I saw this video. I just took another young tegu in and he lunges at me. I've been tossing a towel over him and your right. Out of the cage he's very social. Thanks again.
I prefer the feisty ones. They end up having the most amazing personalities. I have a big boy who, for a whole year would try to bite me (with little to no effort) every day. He did this when he got 48" long. But I worked through it and now he is such a sweetheart, he's honestly the best Tegu I could imagine. It makes me sad that Boofie is already brumating. 🦎❤️
It’s like you sent my high black pair already trained and tamed down lol. They both know their feeding routine already. Also one after the other they have slowly started enjoying interactions/rubs and seem to actually seek out attention when their enclose opens and they notice it’s me. Awesome job! 💪🏻
That's the dream! Glad they are doing so well.
Hi, i've been wanting a tegu for a long time but I haven't been able to find anyone that sells them so I was wondering if you ship to France?
@@DioYoga69 not at this time, sorry
#rosecityreptilestx, I’m wondering how do I help my tegu he has this red ball coming out from underneath of him???
Need a lot of advice abt him love him and not willing to give him up yk want him to be loving life he’s kinda moody a lot but it ain’t cage aggression ever since that thing came out he’s been totally different
My 8 month old black and white male doesn't bite, but it sometimes will flip out when I start interacting with him in the cage. Once he's out though, he's great. He will chill on my shoulder for as long as I let him. The only issue is it startles the hell out of me when he does flip out.
I've seen people target train a tegu, they train a tegu to expect food only when shown a specific object instead of whenever you show up at their enclosure. Have you ever tried this? What do you think of it?
I actually do this with my little guy from Joey. I use a red solo cup that I wiggle in front of the glass before I open it to show him it’s food time and he always runs up and gets excited, but if I open the glass without the cup he just chills and watches me. He really is the most amazingly incredible and intelligent little guy and I can’t thank Joey enough @rosecityreptilestx is absolutely amazing at what they do.
100% can work! This topic could use its own video. I have seen people intentionally target train and I have also seen where it can happen accidentally by just being consistent. Tegus are smart and they love food haha.
@@burrowingbeardiesexotics4595 that's amazing to hear! Thanks for sharing.
That was very helpful thank you sir
No problem!
You may answer this ..Hopfully someone will ..i have approximately 11 mth old red ..I think female ..Shes still skitish ..She will walk over to me be very nervous ..I can't pick her up as she starts struggling ..ive had her 4 mths and im with her everyday for hrs as i work from home and shes in my office..ive been quiet ..ive talked to her ..i don't want anything to be negative for her so ..i genuinely dont know what to do..its like im halfcway there but not getting any further..it took me ages to get her as she will be my forever tegu ..So i suppose my question is will she calm down eventually..
Hello! How do I get rid of my 10-month old Tegu’s feeding response?
I‘ve always fed him outside his enclosure, but he always gets excited when I open his enclosure to bring him out. He nips on whatever is in front of him (my hand, snake hook, etc.)
I have to pick him up from behind to avoid getting nipped. Once he’s in my hand though, he calms down and doesn’t bite anymore.
He’s still small and manageable so the nips and bites dont really hurt for now. I want to get rid of this behavior before he gets big!
Help! 😅😅😅
I have a red adult. And it’s in an enclosure with top and front openings and on a stand. The problem I’m having is I want to interact with him, but he is so cage, aggressive that I can’t even open up the front like he wants to bust out and eat me. And with him being an adult I know that when he bites my ass it’s gonna extremely hurt and it’s going to rip me open. Right now I am at my wits end with this lizard. I still try to interact but now I’m at a point where I can only open up the top and he is literally trying to jump out of the top.
I have an adult male and he will full on attack me and even chase my hand trying to bite me. I’ve been working with him for about a month now and still won’t calm down. Help!!!! lol
Lol my issue is pray drive ! My female Chacoan goes nuts when it’s feeding time !
You need some grabbers haha!
Clint has a video on feeding with a visual cue. It’s great. Snake Discovery also does the same with Rex. When they are the cue, they know it’s feeding time. If it’s not there, it’s not food time. They’re super smart and understand after a few times.
I see a bunch of “taming” videos where the owner is wearing a glove. I get it if your taking an adult but for juveniles I think if you’re wearing a glove to avoid getting bitten then tegu isn’t for you. It shows that you don’t trust the animal.
Doing it with a glove is better than not doing it at all.
I got a 20 lb feisty gu not gunna give up on him
👍🙏👍🙏👍🙏👊👊😍😍😍😍 Very nice
i spent some time with my tegu on my lap , he is a bit bigger then ones in video , he tried to bite my crotch , needless to say back to enclosure 😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣and despite the size he is super strong and can easily escape my hands if i dont have a firm hold on him , great vid
No dude wear some crotch pads LMAO putting em back after they bites is reinforcing them that a bite = home
@@josecat436 😧😧😧😧😧😧thats hilarious and yet possibly true 😂😂😂😂
@Kennynyc1 it’s definitely true for defensive snakes. The key is to act indifferent and they’ll learn that biting doesn’t work for them
💜💚💚💜
Been having to do this with Harley since I got her same age as joker but not worked with near as much but she is getting amazing super fast great video :)! 💜💚
Thank you!!
what a tegu thats afraid to be picked up in enclosure
It happens all the time with young tegus and some that were not worked with much.
@@RoseCityReptilesTX i handle mine all the time a he is great being handled just removed from enclosure
@@RoseCityReptilesTX i got him front you about 3 months ago i handle every day for about a hour and half later in the day so idk
@@blobmanyaa9350 I didn't understand your question at first.
Is your enclosure front opening? Sometimes they are just more skittish as babies and gain confidence as they grow. Keep up your handling, sounds like your doing great.
@@RoseCityReptilesTX its a front opening but its a very large enclosure its hard to get even remotely on the same level as him since its 8x4 ft