Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I have a baby argus monitor that I have had for about 3 weeks. I went for to hold him today the first time and realized that I have an absulte monster on my hands. He has been striking at the tank and calculating where my hand will be- he ran the length of the tank to go after me- he is about 12-14 inches long in a 3 by onesize tank with a foot of dirt- two hideboxes and a log- i have been misting frequently as well and feeding two fuzzys like 3-5 times a week-I mean- I really dont want to get rid of this lizard, he is fascinating and his habits are great- he is thriving and stuff- has shed and eaten like a horse etcera- his temperamnet is worse that i have ever seen though- worse than a nile- I really was under the impression that they were at least reluctant to bite- Im not looking to have a cat or anything- but I am gonna have to pick him up to move him to a new cage etc-if someone could give advice that would be great- I realize this is a long thread so i will give my email-
-Zaccaryus@yahooo.com

Feed it more and wear gloves.

At least it is not hiding all the time. Having one like yours is a lot better than having a monitor that you never see, never eats, etc.
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Ed

Yes absolutely- the number one thing is that he is ok- I have picked him up the last two days and it has not been so bad- the first day he struck at me quickly but did not hang on- I do think I kind of startlked him that first time- I am overall content though- I just needed to know i could establish some kind of rappore (Sp) with him, to make sure things would be safe when he got older- So Right now i am trying to pick him up- and hold him out of his cage for a minute or two every day to make sure we are ok with eachother when he gets bigger- thanks for the input-

If you keep interacting with him in a healthy way, he will probally get used to you and refrain from wreking you. But i havent held to many healthy monitors that just chill out on you, almost all will avoid being picked up, and act frantic.