Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi everyone, i am new to monitor but not to the reptile scene, i have been keeping reptiles for about 6 years now. i have had my savannah monitor for a little over a month and i am starting to handle him. i read for hours and hours on husbandry and handling befor i got anywhere near buying him. i thought i had a general idea of what to expect, but i was wrong. i read that it is a good idea to leave your hand in a fist in their cage for a while everyday along with daily cleaning in order for it to get used to your presence and smell. i have been trying with no success to get the little guy to come check me out. i also read that you should never remove them from their hide, and i have stuck to that rule very strictly, but my only problem is he has just learned to go into the hide when he catches sight of me. does anyone have any suggestions?

One word, patience. In fact assume he will never be tame and always be offended at the mere sight of you. After all the research you did you must know that is a very real possibility and is actually likely if you provide the correct conditions. I have a juv water that got extremely aggressive (defensive) but after just leaving him alone for months he now will run up my arm on to my head while I am cleaning his cage. It is a little unnerving haha, but he isn’t being aggressive, he just trusts me now and also has confidence in himself. On the other hand I have an adult bt that would love to rip my lips off and will whip his tail at me if I just look into his enclosure from across the room. Both are doing great, you just never know.

Patience, leave him alone and let him know you are the source of yummy mice everyday.

Tom

i do realize that it is a very real possibility that he will never be handlable but i am going to do my best to try because it will make cleaning his enclosure alot less stressful. thanks in advance for all replys.

It doesn't have anything to do with retics....

After more than 30yrs of keeping snakes I ventured into lizards, first with a juvenile nile then with a 2-ft, fresh wild-caught sav. Monitors are totally different creatures than snakes.

Without a doubt, you will never force your sav into what you want it to be. Never. One forced handling session can undo months of patient trust-building.

I tried the "man-handle" technique with my nile for the first month or so because I thought I was different, I had a way with animals. Boy, was I wrong. Here we are almost 1 yr. later & he'll let me place his meal in front of him without huffin' & puffin', trying to tail-whip me. That's it. But its progress.

I've had my sav for almost 6 months now and it will let me rub its back for a few seconds & will even come over to me when I open its cage. Its taken 6 months of patience, trust-building, to get it to this point.

Take your time. Like others here have already said, "patience."

Have a good one!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

Wow, lucky. I've had mine for 2 months and he runs for his life at the sight of me.

He's probably not the only one, or thing, that runs at the sight of you. LOL! Just kidding!
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

I've spent a fair amount of time just sitting there watching them or even doing something I can do within their sight. That behavior seems to be pretty common in herp rooms that don't get much traffic other than feeding.

Hang in there! I thought it would never happen, too.

HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

Ok, first off: Why?

Why do you WANT to handle this animal? Just for shiites and giggles? To show your friends? Why?

He dosnt like it. He likely never will like it (like, 98.7% likely).

If you want to interact with him, theres alot better ways than forcing what YOU want onto the animal(ie, being a much larger creature, grabbing your animal or attempting to force handle it, thats forcing yourself on the animal). Let the ANIMAL decide how to interact with you, rather than forcing something on it that it dosnt want. Just go about your normal day- clean cage, offer food, watch tv, etc.

Dont make the animal something you sit and stare at- nobody likes to be stared at. In monitor language, that can easily be mistaken for a challenge or threat. Over time, youll work out how best to go about approaching your animal, if it dosnt approach you first- these things are very clever lil buggers, dont let em fool ya. They are as curious about you as you are of them, and if you can get to a point where you both have enough trust/confidence, 'friendly' interaction WILL occur. Cruiosity will drive them to check you out over time, and if they find no threat or challenge from you, then to put it bluntly "You can be friends!" lol

As those before me said, this isnt a snake. This animal is much more aware of its surroundings than a snake is, and its memory is much better as well.

You muck up early trying to force the animal to be "handleable", you may never get another chance to get that trust back. And if you do, it could take weeks/months/years to do it.

My suggestion, after keeping an african monitor for 2 years?

Leave him alone. Let him do his thing, you do yours. Hes still young likely, and needs time to adjust to this crazy world in which he lives. Once hes secure in himself, he will start checking you and his surroundings out. If that goes well, a certain level of trust will be created and your interaction can go on from there.

The BEST kind of 'tame' monitor is the one that got that way of its own accord- a just genuinely curious, intelligent animal thats got confidence in itself and trust in its keepers.

Side Note:

If you wanna see just HOW clever they are, put a video camera in the room and let it record a few hours.

Ive tried it a few times and my Niles is absolutely fixated on the camera the minute I leave the room. I dunno if he thinks its a dark hole to explore or a giant eye or a bug or what, but hes obsessed with it.

Good to see ya again, NK!

Catch ya later!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

I have bought into the some comments here that a healthy monitor will be full of piss and vinegar. I like it when mine hisses and whips. He still will let me pick him up and calms down but hes independant and from dead. I like him hot and active, strong and fiesty. I do see it as a sign of health.

I have only had him a few months so I can't speak from experience as to whether or not he will mellow but hes just right for me.

it sounds like your monitor is not ready for the "fist introduction" stage. right now focus on him being healthy and well maintained. maybe sit a few feet from his cage for a little while every day. dont look at him though. watch tv or read a magazine or something.
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-Marshall