Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had a savannah for about 14 years that died. He was dog tame, he never tried to bite me, huffed twice in his life. I really favor water monitors and have a nice custom enclosure built to house one. I just want an honest opinion from someone who has worked with them on whether or not with a decent amount of work can them become really tame like a savannh can or whould I stick to a black throat or white throat. I want something thats going to get around 3ft and up. I have had alot of experiance with large reptiles other than monitors, but I have read alot of info and heard many diff. things. Thank you!

I can go both ways on this....
My first answer would be yes. I had one for over 16 years & trusted him implicitly. He was in photo shoots, TV spots, at pre-schools, parties, & even at a topless club.

The second part of my response would have to be maybe.
After following this forum for several years & gleaning much info from FR & others, I've decided that I really never let Phil (my monitor) be a monitor for extended periods of time - he lived an ok
life, but much of it was substandard in hindsight.
The times he got to be a monitor were awesome! Chasing bass in his water tank was cool - He looked like a mososaur! The time we let him play in the pond, swim around the island, & stick his head down crawdad holes was extraordinary!!! Unfortunately, most of his time was spent in a 4 x 6 cage that, while accommodating, never did him justice.
I went through multiple females to try & breed him, but I really wasn't doing it right.

If I ever get more, they'll have a lot more space, be raised socially, & we'll just have to see what the outcome is - I don't know if I'd be able to handle one that's in better conditions as easily.

Cheers, Max

I agree with the above post. It seems that a monitor which is "dog tame" is deprived of the opportunity to be wild. I suppose there are some incidences where they show the best of both worlds.
My blackthroat isn't handled much at all. When I grab her she gets PISSED!!! squirms and hisses(doesnt bite)and I think that is just fine. She is doing what monitors do, or any wild animal at that. I am fortunate to live here in southern Florida where i just transferred her into a large 10x10 outside where she can be all she can be, lol. If I had the room the cage would have been bigger.

Just out of curiosity, do you have an indoor cage that you put him in for the colder months (or days)? I live in miami and im planning on building an outdoor cage for my argus.

yes I do have a custom cage to put the lizard in. About 7-8ft by 3-4 ft double thick glass.

Its always a possibility, but then again its a very low probability. You may have 10-20 of them the same age, the same size, in all the same conditions, its always up to the individual lizard to decide what it wants to allow us meddling humans to do in their lives.
Ive had a few monitors that over the years decided with time that they wanted to allow me to have a closer relationship as far as contact, handling, etc, a very few that could be called (in some peoples eyes) "dog tame" but they never get that tame (they are not dogs), and these examples decided to accept me this way from day one.
Hope for the best, but expect the worse, after all, unless you want a dog, expect a monitor, which is a wild animal that has been that way for millions of years. Also accept the animal as an individual and its choices, expect to accommodate a wild animal properly, and never expect it to be a dog.
Theres no comparison.