Please listen to these guys - I really wish I'd come to this forum before trying to "tame" my sav. When I got him at 4 months I did exactly the same as you - that was what I was told to do by the reptile shop guy (who seemed to know what he was talking about LOL!) and also on another forum. "You get it out a couple of times a day for 10-15 minutes, hold it till it stops struggling, blah blah blah". Yes - that did happen - I sat through it all, I was crapped on, tail-whipped but luckily never bitten. Sometimes he'd appear to go to sleep on me (read: play dead) - and I thought aaaah - he likes it after all! He's learning! But of course he wasn't - because after a couple of months of this he would still streak away to hide whenever I came in the room and hide if I so much as looked at him. I really wasn't getting anywhere at all.

Then I tried the approach people mention here (I didn't see Holly's excellent article till last week - but I wish I had). I left him alone - only went in to clean up, change water, during which I'd talk to him and tell him what I was doing. I never attempted to touch him. Later on when he seemed calm and was out when I was doing that I would put my hand toward him - if he hissed and showed stress I took it away again. Now he hardly ever hisses - and will tolerate my hand moving toward him and even the occasional scratch. It takes a long time for them to learn to trust humans - and now I can wander in the room and he's out basking and he doesn't head off to his hide. I know he still doesn't trust me completely - but it's early days and I can see he is better for it and I certainly feel a lot better for it.

So please listen to what these guys are saying here, they're not saying it just to piss you off - we're all here because we love (and respect) monitors and want what is best for them - which is a happy, healthy monitor - not a stressed-out one that could well become ill and die.

Good luck.

[ Hide Replies ]

• Tips for taming Savannah monitors - Paradon, Fri Jul 21 20:50:20 2006
• RE: Tips for taming Savannah monitors - holygouda, Fri Jul 21 21:49:43 2006
• RE: Tips for taming Savannah monitors - Paradon, Fri Jul 21 22:09:03 2006
• RE: Tips for taming Savannah monitors - varanuskaouthia, Fri Jul 21 22:26:23 2006
• RE: Tips for taming Savannah monitors - varanuskaouthia, Fri Jul 21 23:01:19 2006
• Whoever that is - holygouda, Fri Jul 21 22:36:03 2006
• RE: Whoever that is - varanuskaouthia, Fri Jul 21 23:05:07 2006
• RE: Whoever that is - holygouda, Fri Jul 21 23:15:47 2006
• RE: Whoever that is - tatbeesh, Sat Jul 22 00:52:42 2006
• RE: Whoever that is - Paradon, Sat Jul 22 15:46:31 2006
• RE: Tips for taming Savannah monitors - ztous, Sat Jul 22 08:30:16 2006
• RE: Tips for taming Savannah monitors - dsreptiel, Sat Jul 22 13:19:38 2006
• The best advice, stop trying to tame it. - SHvar, Sat Jul 22 10:46:18 2006
• RE: The best advice, stop trying to tame it. - razaiel, Sat Jul 22 11:33:52 2006
• RE: The best advice, stop trying to tame it. - FR, Sun Jul 23 02:25:54 2006
• RE: The best advice, stop trying to tame it. - Paradon, Sat Jul 22 15:45:42 2006
• RE: The best advice, stop trying to tame it. - pgross8245, Sun Jul 23 08:39:02 2006