[blasteryui]

I've had this little columbian tegu for almost a week hes 6 months old, when hes in his tank he is always burrowed, when I put food in there he will not come out and eat it. I HAVE TO HAVE TO dig him out and put him infront of his food and even so he barley eats, every other day seems to be. Somebody told me not to dig him out but if I dont he won't eat his food. Since hes burrowed a lot doesnt that mean hes not getting his proper basking light. Right now hes basking cause i took him out for liek 10 mins, its been like 5 or 10 mins of him basking see how much longer tell goes down. Edit, as soon as I posted, he's done basking... lmao

 

[fastbaz]

you need to let him settle in and please dont dig him out they do that in the wild and if you keep digging him out any trust that you want to build on will not happen give him a bit of time and he will settle down then take things slowly columbians do have a bit of a reputation of being a bit more skittish than say an argentinian anyway..good luck

 

[C_Strike]

dont dig them up, they really do not liek that, and it will only make your working relationship deteriorate. they are very sleepy animals, and will spend the majority of the time under the substrate. mine will ignore food quite often, and will bask for a few hours each day generally, but dont be suprised if they dont some days.
Beautiful lizards, can be a bit more hassle than others due tho their sketchiness.
congrats on your buy btw

 

[blasteryui]

dont dig them up, they really do not liek that, and it will only make your working relationship deteriorate. they are very sleepy animals, and will spend the majority of the time under the substrate. mine will ignore food quite often, and will bask for a few hours each day generally, but dont be suprised if they dont some days.
Beautiful lizards, can be a bit more hassle than others due tho their sketchiness.
congrats on your buy btw

Does yours come out now and want to be held? Can you dig yours up? Or is yours always under the substrate? What about feeding? If hes under his substrate how do I feed him crickets or fruits or anything, do I dig him out, or when I see him out should I try like I really don't know.

 

[blasteryui]

Does yours come out now and want to be held? Can you dig yours up? Or is yours always under the substrate? What about feeding? If hes under his substrate how do I feed him crickets or fruits or anything, do I dig him out, or when I see him out should I try like I really don't know.

Does yours come out now and want to be held? Can you dig yours up? Or is yours always under the substrate? What about feeding? If hes under his substrate how do I feed him crickets or fruits or anything, do I dig him out, or when I see him out should I try like I really don't know. Also how do I feed him crickets I can't leave them in his enclosure can I? I'd never find them. When hes moving around on the substrate and is not burrowed can I handle him? I tried taking him out just now, showed him some fruits and meat and he just licks it for like 10 mins but won't eat. I put him in his enclosure with the food I put him infront of the food, he just keeps licking it then he walks away from it and either basks or goes into the substrate. Hes eaten like twice I think since I've had him.

 

[Razaiel]

You've only had him less than a week - please just let him settle. He will come out on his own, there is no need to dig them up it's very stressful for them.

I don't have a colombian but have an adult Argentine - he is 5 years old and was an adult when I bought him - and he still hid away solid for his first week with us - all 52 inches of him! :lol2: Now he scratches on his glass to come out.

LIke said, let him settle and let him get to trust you and enjoy your new lizard

 

[blasteryui]

You've only had him less than a week - please just let him settle. He will come out on his own, there is no need to dig them up it's very stressful for them.

I don't have a colombian but have an adult Argentine - he is 5 years old and was an adult when I bought him - and he still hid away solid for his first week with us - all 52 inches of him! :lol2: Now he scratches on his glass to come out.

LIke said, let him settle and let him get to trust you and enjoy your new lizard

Okay do you mind answering my questions I asked above your post, on the feeding anf such!

 

[Razaiel]

I very rarely feed mine in the viv as he's kept on forest bark substrate and I worry about him ingesting it by accident, so he has his food in the kitchen. I didn't comment on food because I don't keep colombians only an Argentine so don't really feel qualified to say about what they eat, apart from the fact that I have read colombians aren't fruit eaters. When I give mine giant locusts (it's all his big mouth can cope with) he has them in our enclosed porch. Sorry this isn't really much help to you, but if your tegu is kept on soil/sand substrate then he should be fine having his insects in the vivarium same as I used to feed my sav in the viv and he would have much fun hunting them down and digging out any that had burrowed into the substrate.

 

[blasteryui]

I very rarely feed mine in the viv as he's kept on forest bark substrate and I worry about him ingesting it by accident, so he has his food in the kitchen. I didn't comment on food because I don't keep colombians only an Argentine so don't really feel qualified to say about what they eat, apart from the fact that I have read colombians aren't fruit eaters. When I give mine giant locusts (it's all his big mouth can cope with) he has them in our enclosed porch. Sorry this isn't really much help to you, but if your tegu is kept on soil/sand substrate then he should be fine having his insects in the vivarium same as I used to feed my sav in the viv and he would have much fun hunting them down and digging out any that had burrowed into the substrate.

I'm using mulch as a substrate, columbian tegu and argentine tegu have the same food diet execpt as you said I heard columbians eat less fruit. My question is though when do I feed him and how? Do I only feed him when hes out and not burrowed like how and when do I feed him, if hes borrowed all the time how do I feed him, because everybody tells me not to dig him up.

 

[fastbaz]

our argentinian is fed every other day and has a small rat or sometimes a chick or whole sardinf he hates fruit he has some adult locust but doesnt like them that much and really prefers his rat we have had him since he was 3 months old and he is 2 1/2 now..... he gets fed in a dog bowl placed in his viv had it evr since he was a baby and gets fresh water daily usually basks for about 1 or 2 hours then burrows under his susbstarte i use coconut husks broken up into small pieces seems to be okay ..good luck

 

[superjacko]

put the food in the viv in a large tray, and leave it for a couple hours.

 

[TommyK]

Hey Blasteryui,

I am having a similar issue with my new tegu. How did things work out for you? Just a matter of patience?

 

[Ssthisto]

Hey Blasteryui,

I am having a similar issue with my new tegu. How did things work out for you? Just a matter of patience?

Unfortunately, if I remember rightly, Blasteryui was unhappy that the tegu (an Argentine, not a Colombian) did not very rapidly become tame and friendly like a dog, and sold her.

If your tegu is spending a great deal of time hiding, I'd personally adopt a hands-off policy - let the teg learn that the giant hairless monkey isn't going to grab it and manhandle it all the time, that the giant hairless monkey appears in the company of food and water and other nice things....

 

[TommyK]

Unfortunately, if I remember rightly, Blasteryui was unhappy that the tegu (an Argentine, not a Colombian) did not very rapidly become tame and friendly like a dog, and sold her.

If your tegu is spending a great deal of time hiding, I'd personally adopt a hands-off policy - let the teg learn that the giant hairless monkey isn't going to grab it and manhandle it all the time, that the giant hairless monkey appears in the company of food and water and other nice things....

Thanks so much for the response! I'll keep the "hands off" policy and see if Lexie (my new B&W) comes out, though Lexie has actually been hiding in the exact same spot without coming out for over three days. One concern I have is that I don't know whether this is hiding due to fear or an attempt to hibernate. Do you know anyway to tell? She's motionless except when I rearrange things in her cage near her (w/o touching her). Then she flinches initially, slightly shifts, and scratches. She is burrowed in a pile of mulch on the hot side of the cage (90s-105), which seems like an odd spot to hibernate. Thanks again for the encouraging words! What kind of tegu(s) do you have?