Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have recently rescued(3weeks ago) a slightly stunted Juvenal Bosc Monitor(Meatloaf). I have noticed that after I clean his cage (55gal atm), when I put him back in He rubs his noes all over the glass. Running from one side of the tank to the other.. It almost looks like he is marking territory (probably way off on that). At first I thought he just could not see the glass, so I blocked out the bottom half, And he is still doing this. He actually runs up to it stops then rubs his "nose". I have also Switched my cleaners from diluted bleach to sunlight dish soap, And everything is properly rinsed.
So my question.. Is this normal.. he only does it after totally clean his cage, he shows no other signs of stress.

Ashley
*who probably sounds a bit nuts.. But this is her first reptile with legs.. and I worry about my babies

your animal is stressed, and you further stress it by completely cleaning the cage. it is looking for escape, to a safe place, anywhere but here.

why completely clean the cage. aside from spot cleaning, what else needs to be done?

i would strongly suggest getting the Sav Monitor book by Bennett if you don't already have it, available here or at our site.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

Thanks you for responding to my post.
When I rescued the sav (Some guy was going to release it into a park (In northern Canada))It had mites and a fungus (I can't remember the name of it). My vet instructed me to disinfect his enclosure every 2 days for 2 weeks. That time period is over now. I had no intentions of stressing my new baby and he has not rubbed up on the glass since the last time I cleaned.
Thank you as well for the book recommendation. I WILL be checking it out.
oh an one more thank you.. after checking out the faq at P E. I have made a new 5 level hide with good temperature gradients.. Now I only see my sav at feeding time and sporadicly through the day.. which I assume is a good thing..

Thanks much..
Ashley who is still going to be a noob for a while