Background:

I've had reptiles for a few years now. Currently, I have a bunch of leopard and fat-tailed geckos and a Dumeril's boa. I've wanted a monitor since I was about six.

There's a timor at a local pet store that I've been working with for the past week. I started out using leather gloves because it hadn't been handled in months, if at all. It bit me once a few days ago, which was kinda funny because it had a good hold on some 'extra skin' on one of my knuckles and whipped its head from side to side and just -refused- to let go until I put my hand it its cage and it could run off and hide.

I was a little nervous about being bitten before, but now that I know what to expect from it, I'm a lot more comfortable. Within the last two days, it's improved a lot. I still use the gloves to take it out of its cage and it takes a minute or two to settle down, but it hasn't tried to bite me again.This has me wondering.. Is this a fluke? Could it -actually- be getting used to me after only one week? How much 'improvement' can I expect? I know it'll never be like a dog that follows me around begging for attention, but I don't know what I -can- expect from it. The same store has a blue tegu that you don't mess with when its in its cage, but once it's out, it's a complete sweetheart. What are the chances of the timor 'bonding' with me at all?

I'm thinking of starting the timor off in a 40 gallon tank. It's about 18 inches long now. What size enclosure am I going to need for it when it's an adult? (The pet store said a '60-gallon stack' would work, but I tend to not accept the first opinion offered as a fact if they can't back it up with any real proof, like long-term experience with happy, healthy timors.) Right now the timor is eatimg dusted crickets. I've heard that small mice and ground turkey work well, too. Can any of you give me a weekly feeding schedule that works well for you?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

Emily
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3.4 leopard geckos

1.0 dumerils boa

1.0 timor monitor

0.1 crabby tabby

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