riley.t
New Member
My Grandad just caught me a blue tongue lizard but im having some trouble taming it, i would appreciate some tips and advice.
First up you need a chair and a whip......
My Grandad just caught me a blue tongue lizard but im having some trouble taming it, i would appreciate some tips and advice.
NO, let it go where it came from and let it live its life in the wild if you would like a pet lizard purchase a captive bred one .My advice based on my success in befriending a wild eastern water dragon is
1) be very patient with the lizard and don't try to force things to happen
2) get the lizard use to you being around by spending a lot of time nearby and talking calmly to it , it'll get used to you be around and will get used to your voice
3) avoid handling the lizard until IT SHOWS IT IS READY, you'll know from the lizards body language and behaviour when that is (I believe)
4) give the lizard lots of really nice yummy lizard treats and make sure the lizard knows you are the one who is giving it the nice food treats , it'll come to associate you with something very pleasureable - this will help it accept your presence and to accept interaction with you.
5) in a few months try hand feeding the lizard with the treats that you know it really likes and looks forward, this will help build a trusting relationship.
6) I've learnt this from my experience with Lizzy - don't touch the lizard on it back or side of its body until it's cool with you touching it (by tickling it under the chin or on the side of it's head), and NEVER from above or behind - it'll react like you are a predator. Unless the lizard is used to physical contact with you it will be very stressful to it to be handled.
I found that Lizzy let me know when she was ready to let me inside her confort zone by one day becoming very very curious about me and coming really close to me of her own accord. She did the same to my wife recently too.
It took about 2 or 3 months to get Lizzy to stop running away and hiding from us when we entered the room,
It took another month or two for he start accepting food treat from my open hand (mealworms did the trick with Lizzy) , an stationary outstretched open upside down hand is very non-threatening I think.
Another month and she was accepting roaches, crickets and mealworm from my fingers and she was cool with occasional handsurf (she climbs onto my open hand to take a food treat of her own accord and often lingers and quite relaxed about the occasional handsurf - I think she even enjoy it.
More recently (the last couple of months I've been permitted to tickle Lizzy under her chin when she's enjoying a nice mealworm, cricket or roach, she even assumes the position so I think she likes it. 12 months ago I never thought I'd have come some far with my relationship with Lizzy.
BTW - Lizzy comes and goes as she pleases, and she doesn't have an enclosure and not a captive or imprisoned. Everything Lizzy does and all interactions between Lizzy, my wife and I are Lizzy's choice. I've never forced her to do anything. As a result she and I have a great relationship now and I think she has come to like me.
She chooses to hours most days hanging out with me and often is so laid backl and reaxed that falls asleep only a couple of feet away and she is not concerned when I come within an inch of so from her.
My advice based on my success in befriending a wild eastern water dragon is
1) be very patient with the lizard and don't try to force things to happen
2) get the lizard use to you being around by spending a lot of time nearby and talking calmly to it , it'll get used to you be around and will get used to your voice
3) avoid handling the lizard until IT SHOWS IT IS READY, you'll know from the lizards body language and behaviour when that is (I believe)
4) give the lizard lots of really nice yummy lizard treats and make sure the lizard knows you are the one who is giving it the nice food treats , it'll come to associate you with something very pleasureable - this will help it accept your presence and to accept interaction with you.
5) in a few months try hand feeding the lizard with the treats that you know it really likes and looks forward, this will help build a trusting relationship.
6) I've learnt this from my experience with Lizzy - don't touch the lizard on it back or side of its body until it's cool with you touching it (by tickling it under the chin or on the side of it's head), and NEVER from above or behind - it'll react like you are a predator. Unless the lizard is used to physical contact with you it will be very stressful to it to be handled.
I found that Lizzy let me know when she was ready to let me inside her confort zone by one day becoming very very curious about me and coming really close to me of her own accord. She did the same to my wife recently too.
It took about 2 or 3 months to get Lizzy to stop running away and hiding from us when we entered the room,
It took another month or two for he start accepting food treat from my open hand (mealworms did the trick with Lizzy) , an stationary outstretched open upside down hand is very non-threatening I think.
Another month and she was accepting roaches, crickets and mealworm from my fingers and she was cool with occasional handsurf (she climbs onto my open hand to take a food treat of her own accord and often lingers and quite relaxed about the occasional handsurf - I think she even enjoy it.
More recently (the last couple of months I've been permitted to tickle Lizzy under her chin when she's enjoying a nice mealworm, cricket or roach, she even assumes the position so I think she likes it. 12 months ago I never thought I'd have come some far with my relationship with Lizzy.
BTW - Lizzy comes and goes as she pleases, and she doesn't have an enclosure and not a captive or imprisoned. Everything Lizzy does and all interactions between Lizzy, my wife and I are Lizzy's choice. I've never forced her to do anything. As a result she and I have a great relationship now and I think she has come to like me.
She chooses to hours most days hanging out with me and often is so laid backl and reaxed that falls asleep only a couple of feet away and she is not concerned when I come within an inch of so from her.
It's always the same little band here who don't want to say anything positive or unless it's to their mates.
Another to add to the ignore list.
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