Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello all, i'm new here as you can guess. anyways, i just got a timor monitor. he's still small, about 12-14 inches tl, but the people i got him from never handled him. i've been working with him and i'm seeing some improvements. i've noticed he's a tiny bit calmer in my hand, and he isn't biting the glove anymore. yeah, apparently i upset him that much. and he's flicking his tongue alot more when i pick him up and hold him. anyways, he still hisses while i'm holding him. not loudly at all, more like a whisper of a hiss, almost like he's just breathing loudly, and i think it's just him telling me that he's still not too sure about me. does that sound about right to you guys? he's always flighty when i go to pick him up and i'm just going to assume that he always will be from what i've read. oh, and my other question is he's on crickets now, but what's a good way to introduce pinkies to him so that he'll actually eat them? and is there any other food i can give him that will help his growth? i am under the impression that pinkies and crickets will satisfy all his nutritional needs, yes? anyways, sorry this is so long. just really excited to be back with a monitor. i had 2 savvies but i had to get rid of them when i left cali.

Sounds about right to me. I've had my Timor pair about 1 1/2 yrs, and although they have never bitten me, when ever I reach for them, they will hiss up a storm and get that tail of theirs ready for a good whippin! They are quite a bit calmer now than when I first got them though, I can open reach into their cage to do cleaning and they will sit under their elevated half log and just tilt their heads while they watch my hands. The only time I ever handle them is when I'm doing a regular health check, and when I have to do a complete cleaning of their cage. Keeps the stress level down for them.

In my experience... just give them dead pinkies. They'll know what to do.
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!