First, hands off, is normally temporary. That is, while they are adjusting to captivity and unhealthy.

A healthy monitor is bullet proof. You should not have to worry about upsetting them. That becomes a game of the animal training you. So common with dogs.

The best way to tame monitors is reward training. Similar to all the trained animal shows out there(the sea worlds etc)

Reward training builds a bond between you and the animal AS PARTNERS. Taming an animal by forced holding, is actually subduing the animals and is not about taming, its about the animal tolerating being held.

Reward training is to reward the animal for an action. You can use verbal commands(its just sound) or whistles. or just a reward. Depends what you want out of training.

In reality, your monitor already knows the your act of feeding, the door opening, the sounds and a bucket of feeding container.

Monitors are great candidates for this type of training as they have an incredible feeding response. Best wishes

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Hide Replies ]