I'm a single mom who has a 12 year old daughter. We are reptile fans and have a beardie and a tortoise. Last year after a lot of research and planning we got our first Tegu. He was came from day one but my daughter is an animal Whisperer of some kind. She has an innate ability to know how much handling he needs and other than a little hissy moment here and there we have had nothing that I would equate to aggression. She takes him out of his cage several times a day and obviously does not feed him each time. We feed outside the cage anyway so there is no association with coming up to the cage and receiving food. During this covid time with both of us home 24/7 he is getting tons of socialization and we are training him to be a free range ish Tegu. I think everything you said is spot-on and exactly how my daughter is handling it. Sometimes I feel like she takes him out too much but you have reminded me how important it is for him to come out just for socialization and not for food. He is a happy boy and we are a very happy Tegu family.

I vote for more Tegu Talks with Joey

of all the guberty videos on yt, this has the most sound logic regarding tegu behavior. It makes perfect sense that what we perceive as aggression may just be simply the tegu’s way of communicating that its hungry.

We need more of these one on one style videos. Even if it is info you’ve kinda touched on before I couldn’t stop watching. Keep up the great work!

Brother, I feel you did everyone in the tegu community a great service with this video. As we all learn about these amazing animals and share with one another, I feel really stoked relating with your teachings. One other thing I wish to add to your amazing comments is that reptiles in wild are in a race to reach their maximum size potential. That awkward size that they find themselves in were they can no longer hide like they use too has to be met with a personality that will allow them to defend themselves from predators because they are no longer able to find hiding spots like when they were tiny. So they are endowed with extra aggregation to fend for themselves till they become the top predator.

I also do agree with when you first get a baby or whatever age (depending on their situation) always have your hand in the cage so they know who you are. I’m thankful my guy, who is a year old, hasn’t shown any signs of aggression. Yeah a couple death rolls here and there but has YET to bite me. He loves exploring the whole house and loves meeting new people. Puberty also happened during brumation so that was great. Really love your info on this subject

Liked the video instantly when you said "Please don't take this as set in stone, I am constantly learning" even though you've been working with tegus for quite a minute now!! You're seriously amazing dude, your videos are absolutely helpful, especially since I just got a little red tegu back on May 1st (13 days in now!). Stay safe out there man, you're HELLA appreciated 👍👍

That albino at the beginning of the video looks phenomenal. If all the people on Facebook asking questions would just watch your videos all questions would be answered for the most part. Your really making it hard for me to decide between a payload baby or one of your high white red i agree with positive reinforce wait until they chill before feeding

I don’t have a tegu, but this is still cool to see and I’m hoping to get one day

Amazing tips! Thanks!

Great Video! thank you!

Thank you so much for your videos

This was a great video, thank you! It made me feel a lot better about what we have been doing, and know that our guy is still on track even though we haven't been handling him as much as we probably should. Thank you again for another great video!

Thank you my friend great knowledge

This is the BEST advice I’ve heard regarding handling an intelligent animal like this. I’m only experienced with snakes and, interestingly, they also go through similar issues. They also get defensive when they think you’re invading their space or they show food aggression because they think that’s what you’re going to do when you open their enclosure. They also have to be taught that not every time you go into their enclosure it means food. Tag is probably learn more quickly because they have a different type of intelligence and snakes but the premise is very much the same. Would be lovely if you re-posted A similar video about once a year so that people who get Tagus from you can learn.

Another great video. It's addressing one of my remaining questions about keeping Tegus. Cannot wait to be in a position to build a sufficiently large enclosure!

Great video!

I absolutely love ur channel u have such a great disposition and a good hora !! I love how much u love ur animals tegus are going to me my next pet

I was going to say I've never encountered teguberty before. I've had 6 all together throughout the years and raised young ones. I've made aggressive one calm and tame and even the one I have now hated me and now he sleeps with me in bed and he is 30 inches. My trick is mine roams freely in the house once he has gone out to the bathroom

Thanks for this video. I'm gathering as much info as i can and plan on getting one when they are available. I'm building my enclosure currently and am waiting for my supplies to get here. This is definitely one of the issues i was concerned about down the line, great tips for future use. Look forward to more as always

This was so informative and actually I was using some of these techniques before watching I glad that I'm doing this the right way

Awesome!! Glad I found your channel. I want one, so i'm researching..

When i first got my boy i loved going in there with food..but it got to a point where everytime he seen me we was pumped up to eat. I started putting food in in the am before he woke up and is has helped a ton.. He still gets food from me from time to time . but does not get overly excited to eat every time im around.. good tip! it has worked for me over the last few months.

Think its one of the best video's u have done, very informative and shows the behaviours, sure its gonna be extremely helpful to many keepers. I will be sharing this to the tegu uk page :)

Awesome video joey more talks about tegus is amazing especially if they are new tegu owners doing a great job joey 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Excellent video!!! You look great shaved!!

This video made me feel so reassured. I’m bringing home a beautiful baby blue tegu tomorrow and I’m so excited to watch her grow up! I’ve been stressing about literally everything and your videos always are so helpful. And yes, I got an IR thermometer gun!

This makes me super hopeful for my boy who is super sociable right now. He's about 4 months old and he has never shown "aggression" and everyone is always telling me it'll all change during guberty and it makes me worried. But he gets handled a lot and is super adventurous outside of his enclosure, just a tiny part of his day is food, so I'm hopeful that he stays my chill little big man.

Thanks man,good content I am here to learn and soon To be a proud owner! Thanks

I'm getting mine monday 😍 a red tegu, the puberty is scaring me a little bit but this video is very helpfull!

Great videos and amazing tegus.

Great vid as always daily uploads????????

Man that red one the 2nd one you had out is beyond beautiful!

Love it. I've been trying to research Guberty recently and what little info is out there is so varied/conflicting its nearly useless

As a fairly new Tegu owner, you're videos have been super helpful. I like both settings, where you walk around and show your "process" as well as the 1:1 vids. You provide insightful trustworthy information and you can tell you care about your herps. I have only had my beautiful Tegu for about a month. I rescued her from another owner that wasn't caring for her the best. She's a little touchy and I'm learning how to best handle her and keep her calm and make the time we both spend with each other the most comfortable and enjoyable. Keep up the great work and the great videos!

Any smart and capable person who does animal husbandry of any sort knows to watch the behaviour of their animals and try to figure out what they are thinking and why they are doing it WITHOUT projecting human motivations into them. And step one is to accept that they DO think and they HAVE their own motivations. It's clear from this video that you do exactly that. Good on ya!

Always great to hear about your vast experience. I just adopted my first tegu from a reptile show 2 months ago, and its a teenager, very rumbunctious one. I've been handling him a lot and he's way calmer now. I do the alternative hand feeding. usually leave his food in there for when he wakes up, but also hand feed other days, take him outside to bask, then rinse him off in the shower when he gets dirty trying to escape the outside enclosure. I do lots of "forced cuddling" which I learned from taming cats: I hold him tight, usually make a towel and tegu "burrito" after the bath and pet him and talk to him for a few minutes. After initial resistance he usually stays put for 3 to 4 minutes enjoying it (at first it wasn't that long) and then squirms off to go bask outside and then I let go. he's getting real cute and sweet. I think its important to show him that i'm stronger than him but also won't hurt him, and will be a source of good things, food, cuddles, comfort. He's confidant, not scared of walking around, ignores my cats and dog even if they mess with him. My goal is to have him learn to go potty outside through the doggy door (when i'm not home to take him out) but my yard needs some extra tegu proofing first.

I have a year and a half old pair I raised together slowly ..tegus are not the pet to leave alone for spells during the bonding process ..super smart and always watching ..mine haven't showed any aggressive tendencies at all 🤞..its best to interact every day from a healthy hatchling and just go from there because as they mature I believe their natural instincts kick in and the level of interaction will curb any aggression...mine cuddle n the am before I go to work before they get all warmed n riled up yet even then they just wanna be out and every thing so it's worth it if the time can be put in like Joey said...Great video bro

Nice video Reptiles 🦎. Cool Reptiles tegu Cool pet

great information...I'm a first time tegu owner and she is so sweet

good call on feeding before they wake up I'm trying this tomorrow. thank you....

I fall in love with your tegus more and more in every video 🤩 My tegu always arches his back but especially when i wear gloves. Then he just starts snapping at me to make the kill xp

Hey there! Love your videos and cannot wait to buy one of your tegus. I have been missing your videos because the bell notification doesn't work. It states kid friendly content. Also if you want the carpenter bees to move away from your porch google hanging a brown paper bag to mimic a hornets nest and they will stay clear of the area. Not sure if it works but worth a try.

So glad you did this video! My boy is just now coming out of it (to a degree), nothing like Pubba puberty lol

Love your videos! Can't wait to get a tegu from you some day! I think I've watched every video you've posted on youtube, some of them twice lol high white blues/ high blue blues are my favorite. I've noticed one thing you don't talk about much is tail drops? How common is that? Is it something you should consider vet for? How do you prevent/prepare yourself for something like that? I would panic

Thank you so much for this video...we needed to know what to do for guberty. I think our new tegu is exactly that age and exhibits these signs we didnt know whether to get her out or leave her alone. We've had her 1 week...probably wasnt the best age to get our 1st but we are determined. Feeding tips were great too😊

I plan on buying a tegu in the next year or two so I've been binging your videos and you've totally changed my plan. Now I plan to buy a Tegu FROM YOU in the next two years or longer if that's what it takes.

I have learned so much from u already and I love how involved u have ur kids !!! I will be purchasing a baby from u one day

Those two tegus are gorgeous. I have a name for the male: copper. Great video!

I’m so confused as to why you only have 4000 subs, my man you are a great content creator. Keep it up

loved this video. that female is beautiful my female has really started to take off as far as growth and appetite. that vitamin b did wonders cant thank you enough.

Great video..Another great video. I cant tell you how much this video has helped me. My 3 , 16 month old tegus are charging me when I lift the lid to feed. Once their stuffed like a burrito its no big deal what I do in their enclosure. I'd like a video to see how you pick up a mean, tail whipping, snarly tegu. Those scare the bejeebers outta me. Thanks.

Good stuff.

Love from Tennessee 💚

We named our red one fireball!

My blue girl just hit 6 months old, and has been displaying all of this. Very defensive, super hungry, runs at my hand. I’m going to try that feeding schedule you mentioned, and feed out of enclosure on the weekends after hanging for a bit. I still go in and grab her every morning, and then have the food in her enclosure waiting. Along with spending time just by her enclosure and doing things inside of it (rustling the substrate, adding water to it, spot clean, water change)

Tegus and caiman lizards are some of the coolest reptiles

I had two different tegus. My B&W got sick even with several vet visits and my red. My B&W was so calm even during his food aggressive stage but this little red. OMG! So I am learning the absolute truth of tegu food aggression with this one. This video helps a lot because I don't get as much time with him as I needed. I will use your suggestions and try to calm this little one down. He doesn't get held much because he bites in defence, but I need to move past that. Yes my beautiful B&W passed. It's like having a teenager with enormous teeth.

I’m using parts of your vid’s to add to my research on tegus

New camera? Looks good!

Them guys look awesome for sure. Carl

Really good video, recently got myself a tegu, around 4/5 days ago.. and for you to say you recommend handling was nice to hear.. when you have them out, what things do you recommend feeding? Meat? Veg? Thanks!

I really like your video this is the first one I watched. I am glad your informative and you say your thoughts and opinions not as facts. Might I tell you about another Great great KZfaqr is "Clints Reptiles" I think if both of you do a video or two it would be EPIC!

Great Great info! Thank you. I have a tegu this size it's fairly tame but any info to have a better relationship is appreciated.

I almost dodnt even notice his Guberty because I'd usually feed him prior to handling. He was also growing and shedding constantly, so +1 to the hunger idea. He was as calm as a babe when he wasnt hungry during this time.

Brilliant info! Great looking tegus!

Great video! My goodness those reds just keep getting more beautiful. They really look like both parents! I have some name suggestions, the Male could be Rusty, and the Female Blossom. I love how they take after Pumpkin with the white cream spots under the chin! What stunning animals!

Almost the 2 year mark and never once has my blue been aggressive nor scared of me. I’ve startled him once or twice. It was obviously unintentional but definitely funny. I’ve always handled him every day and many days more than once. I have also handled him on days I didn’t feel up to it which is rare for me but great for him. A few minutes is better than nothing but also I keep in mind he might wanna be left alone sometimes so I pick n choose even though he really only always wants to come out. He doesn’t mind being held, lifted, any kind of rubbing or affection. I could kiss the heck out of him and he loves it. Yes I admit I kiss my Tegu n don’t give a crap if someone thinks I’m crazy cat lady or unsanitary. I will even make distinct noises if he’s in a hide or it may be late evening just to ensure that is me just doing something and will be done shortly. I believe he hears me and understands the situation. I also have him trained with another noise from my mouth or with the clacking of tongs. I had him trained early on. Very rewarding. He’s only 23.5 inches, up 3.5 since up from brumation. Like I’ve previously stated in other videos he was remaining on the smaller side. This year has been a bit different. He’s eating more and growing quicker than he was. I’m prepared for his attitude to change but I don’t believe it will. What has changed besides the growth is his strut and his ability to complete acrobatic performance. And he’s very very very fast.

Very helpful tips, thank you, quick question; is it possible to put two baby Tegus in one roomy enclosure?

I agree with all of this! My Tegu is about 8/9 months old and just started showings signs of this “guberty” a few weeks ago. Recognizing the signs early and avoiding bad habits with your Tegu is key I think because our problems haven’t been nearly as bad as what I’ve read on some forums. I wanted to add that our Tegu started to develop an intense feeding response towards hands (not aggression, they just looked tasty!) which has stopped since we began only offering food at the end of a plastic fork or a paper plate. This way, she developed that positive food relationship with us directly, but doesn’t necessarily associate it with our hands. She also only gets food if she comes out of her enclosure. When she sees the fork and the plate she knows what’s up and comes out immediately to wait for her food instead of lunging at us now. This took some time to teach her though. Her enclosure is also her safe space and we don’t bother her or pull her out unless I have a reason to, I think establishing that kind of boundary has really helped her feel more secure and less vulnerable/threatened by us.

Great topic, I was wondering at the puberty stage as my female is, she only comes out to bask about 2 hrs a day early morning 9am to 11am ish then back under ground. Of course I'm always at work during that time, except for weekends. I usually would try and dig her out every-other day or so and offer food, then she comes running and stops giving a hissy fit to stuff her face. Any advice? I hate digging her out but that the only time I can see/socialize with her. Basking temp 125, ambient temp 90, no uvb or heat at night, night temp 72. Great Channel keep up the great content. Thanks

Did you get a new camera? Looks great! I love how it keeps focusing on you and then the tegu. It’s nice. Ahha

Great job on this topic. I've had an Argentine black and white tegu for about two months. It's approximately 12" and has shed twice. When I first brought it home I placed it in the enclosure I built and left it alone for a few days. After that I began to handle it several times a week. Everything was going good and had it taking food from my fingers. But the last couple of weeks it has taken to running to it's hide box whenever I walk by or open the doors. I haven't handled it for two weeks hoping that it would calm back down. It's impossible to get a hand on it, goes straight to the hide box. I know that you shouldn't pry it out of there as that is their safe place. What can I do to get it to trust me again? I didn't do anything to scare it or mistreat it. It's got me stymied for sure. I've kept and bred many types of lizards and geckos over the years but have never had a tegu. Any insights or suggestions would be appreciated.

The black and white tegu and Albino tegu is the best 😍 i want to have a pet like tegu 😍

I have a question! I just got a red tegu he’s about 5-6 months old about 4 days ago. I got him all the required setup items and I’ve been able to feed him crickets, mealworms, salmon, watermelon and melon. I tried to handle him but he got so scared and ran around the enclosure, and now he’s been in his hide for the past 2 days. He lets me feed him by bringing food close to his hide, and only comes out for a little when I’m not there. Is that normal? Should I try to handle him regardless or let him be for a while? Thank you! Love your channel and videos and definitely a new subscriber!!

Best video after watching 20 .. I just recently got a pure red .. & I want to be the best owner I can while understanding them . I learn from snakes you shouldn’t feed them where they live .. but I’ll sneak food in there while she’s sleep didn’t know I could or should but feeding after handling sounds best as well .. get advice for newcomer into this breed 🎉

I may have missed an older video, but can you talk about working with defensive and spazzy adults?

Joey, Good video. I have a pair of Blues at home. Roughly the same age. they are about 24" for my male and approx. 18" on the female. Time has gotten away from me lately and I have done exactly what you talked about. Feeding was the only interaction. So, I have them in separate vision cages and they will charge the glass when I come near. I have it now where I have to be careful and use gloves with them. The female is a bit more standoff in nature, but became more bold and will bite if you go to grab her. Once out for a bit and we go through the death rolls and such, she kinda starts to calm down. The male, he will bite...once he realizes my hands are not food...he will calm down....a lot. especially out of his cage. He's actually a little bigger than her and he's better acting with me. maybe coming out of puberty? Sadly, I lost my first blue male I had due to not handling his brumation properly....I really loved that guy. Very laid back and just beautiful. I hope to cycle these 2 and eventually have my first clutch. Unfortunately, I'm in the midwest and can't keep them outside year round...So, I shall try my best indoors. Maybe just build them something for the summer? What do you have yours in outside? Is their wire or anything on the floor area to keep them from digging under and out? Love the Tegu info.! Keep it coming.

So, having trained birds. When we got our rescue, she is extremely cage agressive. What occured to me is to branch train her the way one would train an agressive parrot. I lure her onto a big branch with food, lift the branch up and bring her out for feeding. Took 3 days and now she will go up and get a lift out for food.

Hello from Dallas! I have a three month old male black and white Argentine Chacoan tegu. He’s super cool but whips and seems extra defensive which isn’t uncommon for his age lol I’m working on handling him lol

Question. What are some cold hardy and non toxic plants for a Tegus outdoor enclosure?

My tegu love's to sleep and cuddle ever since I got him when he was little and he is almost 2 years,old

I have the same size as the white red

I adopted a young b&w tegu around the size (maybe a bit larger) as the two in your video about 3-4 weeks ago. I've been taking it slow and moving around in the enclosure and can sometimes pet him but usually he walks into his hide when I try. Has never been aggressive but definitely wants nothing to do with me. Would you recommend me doing as you say in the video and just getting in there and grabbing him or continue taking it slow and try to build more trust first?

I just recently got a juvenile B+W Argentine about eighteen inches long and I'm fortunate enough to work from home and therefore have his tank right next to my work space - he spends the day sitting under his heat lamps about three feet away and can thus look at me constantly. He's still skittish when I come to his tank but if I crouch down so I'm mostly eye level and then put my fingers to the glass he'll usually not run away and hide and once he's out and on my lap he's nice and calm until he gets bored and wants to start exploring. My question is on feeding him while on me as he has a VERY aggressive feeding response - some of my wife's ball pythons are more casual about hitting a live rat then he is when he figures out food is heading his way - and he's pretty amped even after he gets fed. So first question is if that's a tegu who you'd recommend feeding - even with tongs - when being handled? Second question is that since he'll leap at his bowl I'm trying to train him to chill by wearing a heavy glove and keeping it between him and the bowl - he'll bite it once then stop - and then using a clicker to let him know he's permitted to eat once I've removed my gloved hand from between him and the food. Is that a good way to train him to be more relaxed about getting food so as to avoid future bites or should I just ninja the bowl in first thing in the morning when he's asleep as you suggested to make him more relaxed about getting food? Third question is that he'll eat twice a day if allowed as he's been being fed around 6pm after work is finished but once he's woken up around noon he'll start sniffing around his bowl 2-3 hours later - should I give him two smaller meals or just stick to one larger one?

Bro you have the nicest tegus where are u located

I just got mine about two weeks ago. I only go in to feed him for now. Any time I try to touch him he runs away. I’ve been waiting until he takes a bite of food then I give him a pet on the back when I can. Is this good? Also should I grab him even tho he’s scared of me and take him out sometimes? Or will that give him more fear of me? Great videos. Hope to hear from you

Great video. My question is how long do you think a baby tegu could live comfortably in a 40 gallon?

Have you tried target training when feeding

Target training actually works too

Hi pal how much do you do the reds for the females iv got 2 hi Wight

Tegu 😍😍 i wanttt 😍

I have a male argentinian black and white tegu. He is pretty angry at the moment. He has his own corner into the room. Hes tail whipping, arching his back, breathing heavy, opening his mouth, charging, biting, hes done a few death rolls. i put gloves on and walk in his enclosure with him. I feed him a decent bit daily. Before he was weary of me. I was able to hold him and pet him just not take him fully out of his hide. Hes a little smaller than the female you first showed. He wont let anyone pet him but me. What food and how much would you recommend for him? I have been feeding him turkey, spinach, cabbage, carrots, bannanas, and the occasional fuzzy.

I just bought a red tegu. He is going threw a stage a sleeping a bit.

I'm not experienced with Tegus but have had monitors over the years. Savanah Monitors get puberty at about 1 year old. They go psycho for a few weeks. They act like a 15 year old human! They are approaching adulthood. It makes you think it's hormones. Talk to Iguana owners! I have heard crazy stories about Iguanas acting out just before adulthood. Birds too!

Hi, I bought a black and white tegu last week, it’s about 8 or 9 months old. I haven’t handled it yet as it’s still slightly unsure. But I am worried to handle it incase I break any trust that I have built up with it this week. Would be interested in what you would suggest?

I just got a juvenile and I feel like some of it might be my fault. She's a sweetheart that just was the biggest couch potato after I fed her a huge meal the second day after I got her. I just wanted to allow her to enjoy the outdoors of my backyard because it's a very naturalist backyard. Immediately after setting her down she begins to slowly stomp off. Regular, stompy, lizard saunter marching and trying to get away from me. I go to pick her back up again and she starts rearing and tail wiggling. She even went as far as to do a defensive 'open mouth' posture which she's never done before. I was afraid to grip her too tight when bringing her back indoors because she was trying to escape from me as if I was some sort of predator. Now all the "nice" has utterly gone away. Man I feel like I'm gonna have to work weeks on just a single day of trying to be nice..

So about how old and size would you guess you are out of the woods of guberty?

Decided to watch this again 2 yrs later. I have a theory after years of Tegus. If the yearling brumates it's first year , they are more apt to experience this behavior. Every Tegu I've owned that never brumates it's first year , never went through guberty. Two that did , I experienced that neg behavior in both

Just took in a blue tegu from someone who was going to just abandon in the woods. I've owned bearded dragons but never a tegu. I'm using cypress mulch as substrate to keep humidity levels up but my question is should I feed him in his enclosure or outside it? First time I fed him he dragged his food out of the dish and got mulch all over it and I do not want to have him get impaction from swallowing mulch. Is it better to feed him in a plastic bin?