Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi
I was given a very handsome young Savannah Monitor a couple weeks ago. He is very healthy and VERY chubby. He measures in at about 12", nose to tip of tail. He is an awesome eater...and that is the root of my problem.
I want to handle him and get him to be a sweet boy like one I had years ago, but he seems to think that every time we're near the tank he's getting food. Every time I attempt to get him out he sees my hand, gloved or not as food. It's not aggressive behaviour, he just acts like he's hungry all the time, even though he's just been fed. I think this lizard would eat himself to death given half the chance.
When I do manage to grab him out he hisses and thrashes, hasn't really attempted to bite but I haven't given him the chance. I was bitten by one many years ago (my fault), and still have the scars to remind me...it wasn't pretty and didn't feel too good either, so I don't care to repeat it thank you very much.
I really want to calm him down before he gets too big to handle, I do know how to take care of him, I'm just not sure how to go about taming him down. I'm a snake person mainly, colubrids to be exact, so this is a little different for me.
Can anybody offer me any advice on how to make him a well mannered boy?
Thanks a lot.
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(i)Klaatu...Verata...Nichtu!(/i)

I'm pretty new at monitors I've had Bdragons and iguanas but something that has actually worked for me and my Bosc so far is to teach him to trust you. Lately I've been doing things like leaving my hand(gloved) of course in his enclosure until he comes over to check it out and when he tries to get out of the tub I leve my hand in it until he gets to the other side and realizes I'm a pretty good way to get out. I don't really pick him up too often either just clean his enclosure around him like he wasn't even in it and when I do pick him up I usually get him when he's on top of a log or something he's confortable on I just pick the whole thing up cause he acts alot calmer when I have to move him and he's on something familiar. Like I said Im new to this but in the last couple of months he's calmed down a great deal. Still hisses but less of the whole tail thrashing open mouth thing he used to do. And he doesn't haul butt to the hiding spot everytime I walk in a room anymore

LOL! This guy hauls ass OUT of (not into) his hidey hole every time I walk in the room thinking he's being fed again! Hehe. It is funny, we get a good laugh out of the fat lizard who is looking at us with big puppy dog eyes 'wasting away with hunger' barely an hour after he's devoured 2 small mice or more... but it just seems like an unusually exuberant feeding response to me. We wonder if he's actually a Komodo dragon or NIle croc in disguise, lol. Thanks for the response, I will try some of what you have suggested. Like you I have bearded dragons, but never had this type of a problem with them. I also have a Uromastyx, and he dashes around sometimes but is really just an absolute sweetheart.
Allright...time to go don the gloves again....
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(i)Klaatu...Verata...Nichtu!(/i)