Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I keep seeing these word come up to decsribe a monitor.
They are both incorrect terms.

Mean: full of or exhibiting malice; spiteful

Vicious: morally corrupt; evil; depraved; having a extremely bad disposition

Ok, I will admit some of us forum regulars might fit better under these discriptions but not a wild animal like our monitors.
When ever I hear about a vicious, mean monitor I think, good, it's alive and able to defends itself.
More than likely, it is just tired of putting up with the crap us stupid humans make it deal with day in and day out.
Over the years, I have learned most , no, all monitor bites, scratches and tail whips are the humans fault.
The lizard is just doing what it knows to do.
I have also learned the warning signs of quite a few critter, and leave them alone when warned.
Most of these "Mean and Vicious lizards" just want to be left alone, their space, their mates their borrows and their food left alone.

Just my rant of the day.

Scott
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

I have a rattlesnake that is full of and exhibits malice; is spiteful; morally corrupt; evil; depraved; and has an extremely bad attitude.

He is so mean other rattlesnakes say, "man that dude's mean".

I've seen him cuss out a mouse and make him cry little mouse tears with taunts regarding his weight before he struck. Then he pointed directly at me with the end of his tail as it died and said very clearly, "you're next girly boy" in a deep creepy rattlesnake voice.

true story. So what you're saying doesnt hold up to the facts.

Tom

Heres a well known monitor biology on our study site,

Heres a pair, it started out a trio. Two males and a gravid female sitting together. One male bolted and I blocked the hole they were headed too. So the female coiled on the male. It was beautiful. We have seen this behavior many times(seeking protection)

Enjoy the pics

>>I keep seeing these word come up to decsribe a monitor.
>>They are both incorrect terms.
>>
>>Mean: full of or exhibiting malice; spiteful
>>
>>Vicious: morally corrupt; evil; depraved; having a extremely bad disposition
>>
>>Ok, I will admit some of us forum regulars might fit better under these discriptions but not a wild animal like our monitors.

I am with you on that. Though today, when I pushed one of my savs back from another so that she wouldn't steal all the food she bit the hemostats and rolled her eyes at mean. ANGRY, but not evil or spiteful. My old boss would have just said she was ASSERTIVE.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny