Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a healthy, growing, non-stop shedding juvvie Blackthroat. Yesterday I changed his substrate while he was still in the enclosure. I don't have a non-contaminated cage to put him in. He did a lot of tail-whips, and I think he got a bit desperate there for a while. The thing is, he never threatens to bite, no matter what I do. I'm not used to lizards who do not have the defensive-bite reflex. The next time I change his substrate I'm going to put him in a pillowcase or laundry bag for the sake of his mental health.

I learned that I have to keep up the humidity by mixing a little water in his substrate once a week or so.

My Ctenosaurus similis and Ctenosaurus pectinata will bite me gladly if I give them the chance. They are subadults, and I hope to tame at least the C. similis.

Roger

Please do not mistake your lizards reluctance to bite for an inability. Blackthroats can and will bite, a crushing bite... I will agree that with the hundreds that I have handled (which was prior to the captive hatched baby days -big monster imports) they do seem to rely on holding you at a distance with the tail whipping until you put hands on them... Best to you-Mike

don't kid yourself. all monitors will bite. I nearly took a terrible bite from a BT that's been docile for years. regardless of what people believe about what happens to a monitor's disposition when you take them out in the sun, I can tell you they get real pissy in a hurry. I'm just glad I was holding a ceramic saucer at the time. cheers

Yes, i had a 4.5 foot albig, bite in the chest, for just being in his cage! I came out with 60 sitiches. haha But no albigs don't bite remember!

Cheers,
Chad

I let two near-adult male Argus battle for pictures recently. I had to separate them with a towel. One was so wriled up he bit and shook the towel like he wanted to eviscerate it. These lizards have never in years attempted to bite except at food or things they interpreted as food. If that was my arm, i would have been on my way to the E.R. Always have the thought in the back of your mind they COULD bite.

krusty, I had a similar experience. I put my male Argus in with my old female in my outdoor cage to see how they'll react to each other. For their safety I kept him in one of those dog kennels to prevent history from repeating itself. I'm not sure how good their memories are, but it seemed as if he remembered getting ripped up by this female a year earlier, and he was pumped. I could almost smell the adrenaline in his veins. after a while the female went down her burrow and I let the male out to investigat all the smells. But he was tense and looked like he needed some kind of aggressive outlet, so I put my shoe near him and he savagely ripped into it. Seeing that was a reality check for me.

cheers
shay

If you believe that.
I have a free floating piece of bone from a short stocky 4ft male albig that I was hand feeding, it happened in a split second, and the lizard was holding back alot.
Not to count the split second almost loss of an ear to a similar sized albig.
The list goes on, Ive been an albig keeper for many years. Never convince yourself that those dull stubby teeth wont do alot of damage, why, they are forced into you with a massive crushing pressure, after all they crush hard shelled creatures easily.