Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just wanted to say i appreciate all your input guys.
FR, robyn, and nile.
you guys are great---i want to appologize for being snippy, but i was kind of pissed when you were saying i wasn't listening to you guys.
I am.
my timor has two nice retreats he goes to.
when he basks in the light i can get within 10 inches of him when i drop crickets through his cage. it seems like he is still very skittish. im not trying to "tame him" but would like him to relax more......does that come with age?
hes between baby and juvie (10-12"
he actually stays out in the open a lot.
hides when he sleeps or get over stressed for whatever reason.
anyway my setup is a 75 gallon tank, has branches to climb on, dirt, bark, and cocoa mulch mixture, clean decent sized water dish, a basking platform i built him (which all the branched lead to)
basically i was just wondering if there are tips you could give me to not stress him out as much yet maintain a "non-hostile" relationship.
i have talked to other people thaT told me to take all his hides away, so he gets used to people and insecurity.
probably not doing that though.
any thoughts would be appreciated.
thanks,
wisconsin

p.s. im not trying to make him something he's not (even though he did jump through a flaming ring last week) hahahha

Hey Wisconsin,
If you are trying to get to the point where the lizard does not mind your presence, this takes nothing more than time. Spend time sitting and observing. Find out which food items it just can't resist. Offer these food items and sit still, very still. Eventually, (be patient) it will become accustomed to your presence. Do not fool around inside the cage though. This will be responded to with hostility or in a Timor's case "I'm never coming out again!" Remember, you are dealing with a very skittish species- You might never see one in the wilderness- so be content just observing and feeding. Best to you- Mike

The only way to make the animal except your presence is a gradual exposure over time.

By his I mean evenually he will realize you and him belong in the same niche.

I would change anything in his enclosure as that will increase stress I would also regulate you interactions to be on a schedule for the same reason.

Also what room of your home is the animals cage placed in. This is a big deal because high traffic and loud commotion will increase his stress. I suggest a quite room that is isolated form noise additional pets etc. This go's for alomost every reptile, thats why people have dedicated reptile rooms. If that is the way its set up now I recommend just hanging out in the room doing quite tasks. As a child my reptile shared my bedroom I would spend a lot of quite tim in there reading, doing homework, playing on the computer (not games back in the day when speakers were rare). These actions will allow the animal to observe you and except you presense than and only than will it calm down and be more visable.

I am not an expert but those things have helped me in the past.

Best of Luck
-----
Jeremy

"I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" July 16, 1945 Robert Oppenheimer

1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow RTB's
1.1 Hypomelenistic RTB's
0.2 Pastel Hypo RTB's
1.0 Double Het Stripe Albino RTB's
0.1 Suriname RTB
0.1 Anerthrystic RTB
0.0.9 Red Bearded Dragons
1.1 Rhinoceros Iguana's
1.0 Green Iguana
1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Cream Golden Retrieviers
1.0 Pomeriaian
0.3 Catus Terribilis
0.1 Spouse
1.0 Child

This is very true. For the first year or so of his life, my Nile was in the main room of my place, where I spent most of my time and people came most often.

For the most part, when anyone else was around, he was hidden, which is to be expected. He could obviously tell, be it by scent or sight or god knows what, when someone besides me was in the house, as he would stay hidden until he heard the door close, then slowly peek out, and if someone besides me was in the room, hed duck back down into his burrow. If it was just me, sitting there watching tv or something, hed come sauntering out, stare me down for a minute just to show whos boss (lol) the plop up on his basking spot or take a swim.

Since then, we still get along fine. I never recieve hissing or tail whipping unless I try to handle him (which I pretty much never do, unless for transport), and even that only occurs after doing anything possible to get away. I can reach in and stroke its back or tail without problem, its just actually picking it up and moving it about that he dosnt like.

Point being, give your animal time, minimize stress and situations that could be misconstrued as "hostile" (that includes handling, moving stuff in the cage, making a ruckus, etc.) and provide the best husbandry possible (feeding, cleaning, temps, etc.). In time, your animal should settle down quite abit, though itll likely always be abit skittish... you are a hell of a lot bigger than it is, aint ya? hehe

Side Note:

That taking away the hides thing? Yeah, dont do that. Thats just gonna cause that animal so much stress that its never going to trust ya again, and you dont want that.

Let him adjust to you at HIS pace, not yours. It may be a conveniece for you, and it may be really tempting to try to get you animal to relax (god only knows how that plan would do it...) but you need to understand that you wanting something to happen in this situation is meaningless.

Its what that monitor wants, and if you want him to want you to see him at all, you need to gain his trust.

He'll never trust you fully mind you, or in the way a human might trust ya, but if he comes completely out of hiding and lets you see him, easily placing himself at risk if he thought you were a predatory danger, that shows that hes begun to realize you arent a threat. With time, trust and some good munchies, you guys should be on your way. Just keep up high quality care- make sure you're providing what HE NEEDS, not what YOU WANT to give.

Good Luck

They are simply a beef jerky machine.
They can be modified, but when you get they right for reptiles you could have spent far less and built 10 times better of a cage. Aquariums are made for fish, they are narrow, tall, and open on the top. They create a convection current with the heat that dries the cage and reptile out through the top. You could make a solid top with plexiglas and very few small holes in it for ventilation, or have holes cut in the sides for vents. The lighting should always be inside, why, the screen top assists the dehydration process and overheats the rest of the cage by placing the heat too high.
Next, bark is something that goes in the substrate with a species such as a timor, not the substrate itself. Use a deep dirt (1 ft) with bark and leaves on the surface for holding moisture better, and it allows the animal to hide in the open.
They dig their own burrows, but appreciate more ready made hides.

Years ago, he was 30 inches long when I gave him away, a big timor.