Tegu Training

[SilentCartographer]

well, the savanna is a baby, the tegu is a juvie and the other 2 tegus dont belong to me, the water will be a baby as well, but i'm thinking about buying a 3 ft. Dumeril's monitor, the pet store near me has a sale on them, so i'm thinking about it, any comments on dumeril's?

[NicoleRussell]

the only thing I know about them is that they require fairly large swimming areas (therfore good filtration is a must) and fairly large enclosures (about the size of a tegu cage)....as far as personality I have no idea. Yoou can write to Robyn at PE and ask he seems to be the local monitor expert.

[SilentCartographer]

yeah i'll definately email them and see what they think, do you know anything about Peach Throats? a friend of mine says they're aggressive and nasty, do you know if this is true? btw my Tegu is eating like a monster now, and pooping like one too lol and he is getting more and more relaxed by each passing day, i just got home from work and took him out of the cage, he walked all around my bed and just relaxed, he used to just dart off and disappear before, and i would have to find him and hold him, now he just surveys the area and chills!! any other monitor species you know of that make good pets? anything but Ackies, they're too small, i want something big

[NicoleRussell]

Peaches *can* be nasty but not as consistently as niles. Some people claim to have GREAT peach throats---more in fact then anyone with a healthy nile. Black throats are very popular and sweet. Savannah Babe here at RTB I believe has a timor monitor which she says makes a nice pet--but has "special" requirements--but I'm not sure what they are. You can PM her or Faze (her husband) and they can tell you more about they're experience with them.

[SilentCartographer]

yeah i hear the same, i'm coming home tonight with either a Dumeril's or a Water, which one yould you prefer in your personal opinion?

[NicoleRussell]

I have a weakness for water monitors---if you can afford to house one and feed one---then go for it...just be sure and post some pics

[SilentCartographer]

yeah i think i might get the water, i wasnt able to make it there before they close today so i'll go later in the week, but housing it in the future will be a hard thing to do, my tegu has gotten alot calmer, i think he's finally used to his surroundings, he eats like crazy and doesn't act flightly like he used to, pretty cool but i still want to handle him and get him as used to me as possible, and train him to learn his name, so you use food for a reward, but do you slowly take the food away from the training? i heard this, but wouldnt it push them away from learning to answer to their names? another thing, how do you bathe your tegu? what do you clean him with? and how do you do it??......

[NicoleRussell]

I personally do not use any soap or detergents on my reptiles--I just allow them to soak in the sink or the bathtub (bathtubs are great because tegus do swim) in water that allows them to swim but not struggle. Tegus will usually poop as soon as they hit warm water so expect to let all the water out and refill. I allow them to soak for up to 1/2 hour. Then I dry them and rub them down with oil.
I still hand feed my tegus -- they are very sweet creatures in my opinion. I have heard though that some tegus will begin to associate your hands with food and if thier feeding response is strong they can do some real damage. You will get to know your animal. Keep him well fed---never allow him to be really hungry and you should have no problems.