Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys, I need some help and advice with my baby savannah monitor. It is 12 inches long and I have had it for about a month in a half. Ever since I got it, it has been very shy. I have tried to do minimal trust exercises with it and nothing has worked. It eats great and everything. But yesterday I took it out of its tank in order to clean the tank. I put it on my bed and attempted to pet it but it tail whipped me and hissed and then ran away a couple of times. I was able to get it back in its tank after some struggle. This morning when I went in to change the water dish, it hissed and then opened its mouth almost like it was going to bite. What should I do? What can be wrong? Please help.

EXELENTO

all this is normal varanid behavior, now starts the learning process from you.

your lizard is telling you it wants to live, leave it alone (respect his being)

be pacient and let him come to you for food, even the most brutal monitors can become very friendly if respected and alowed time, trust is something a baby monitor only learns with time, as nature programed them to be shy, wary and reclusive to all predators (you are a predator) eventualy he will learn that you are also a provider and will tolerate you, but this aint no pupy dog dont expect love.

I agree with jobi. The first think you need to realize is that there is nothing "wrong". The monitor is acting how it is supposed to act, as long as he is eating and acting fine otherwise you should be content. Remember taming a monitor can sometimes be a very slow process.