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I took my BT outside for the first time today and have hit a major snag in letting him do it again.

He got to the ground and just bolted... First he hid under some bushes, then bolted up the nearest pine tree... Luckily I grabbed him when he was about 6' up the tree, but it just has gone down hill from there... First thing was he decided to deficate all over me... That's understandable... Then he just wouldn't pull in his hemipenes and was just kinda staring at me slack jawed drooling....

Put him back into his enclosure and the first thing he did was bolt into his water dish.. Has been in it ever since, about 15-20 minutes....

Besides the obvious, stress, do you guys this there is anything else I should be worried about?? He's never done this before, just kinda looks like he wants to die... Infact, he's still puffing like he was just running... Any help? He was supposed to eat today, but I'm considering not doing that... I've even increased his basking spot from 121 to 132.... I don't know what else to do, I'm open to any and all suggestions...

I remember being told once "try to make the inside as close to outside as you can so that you see natural behaviors in the animal, when it acts inside as it did outside you have a good start".
None the less Ive seen that scared behavior on a monitor the first time out, it tells you to look into a good leases and harness also for your animals safety. They act skittish outdoors until they know for sure that you and other things are not there to harm them. Taking them out for supervised walks can be rewarding for both you and the animal, but you must be careful it doesnt get away, and the outdoors activity should be conducted where there is little to no traffic, people, noises, etc to scare it. They are afraid of flying objects by the way. The experience also allows you to think what changes can I make to my cage indoors to make the animal feel more like its outdoors, and its behavior is natural.

Hey Shvar,

Sounds like a normal scared monitor?? lol Thankfully we do live in a very quiet neighborhood, but unfortunately it is also a neighborhood with LOTS of tall trees perfect for a monitor's escape.

Finding a harness is difficult, probably going to have to go with a dog harness because everything else is too small...

As for cage conditions, the cage itself is 8'x5'x5'... 2 feet deep substrate of 75% screened top soil, 25% cypress mulch... Large water pan, large hide. Ambient is about 81, basking 132.. During the night it drops to 72/99.. There is also a log that goes from the floor to the top of the cage, then skirts over.. Guess that's where the climbing skills came in...

I just have to say, I totally have taken forgranted how fast monitors can move when they want to. In the basement, he moves at a steady pace, but outside I could barely keep up with him... A little bit slower and the monitor would have been too far up the tree for me to grab him....

At a grocery store made from good strong nylon. Soemthing like $3.00 and adjustable from a ferret to a medium sized dog.

I know I should not say this, oh man, I am in trouble now. Oh well. If I was smart of would back away from the keyboard, but then I am not smart, so here goes.

In my opinion, you finally saw a real monitor, a real blackthroat. That is what monitors are naturally like. In fact, what yours did, is what a "real" monitor is suppose to do. Now that I have spent all my testosterone. While that is what monitors are really like, its kinda hard to life with. hahahahahahahaha.

I allow my monitors to be whatever they want, some are nice as can be and some are like yours. Even with the same species and even with captive hatched. Some go spazmo with allowed outside, some don't change at all. Some get wild outdoors and tame indoors, yes, some are the opposite. Some do that for days, months, others get over it quickly. But as Goon recently said in of her posts, they constantly change. So if you don't like how its acting now, don't worry it will change. If you do like how its acting now, again, don't worry, that too will change.

What you have, if you keep it healthy, is, a growing changing life. Its suppose to have many facets. Its not suppose to heal and walk by your side, not all the time anyway.

I congratulate you for keeping your monitor healthy enough to still express some Spirit. You see, spirit is whats missing in most captives(and their keepers) Spirit is what makes monitors so interesting. Your monitor has spirit. Don't let it lose it. Thanks FR