Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello im sorta new at the monitor laizards but i have been studying them for at least 7 mounths before i aquierd one of my own i have just purchsed a black throat monitor a few days ago from my brother in law, the monitor is around 2 1/2 to 3 feet about now and when my brother in law received him he was a little excited from the trip and getting into his new suroundings but after a week he settled down extremly to were you could stick your hand down and strok his head and he would close his eyes and relax and also pick him up with out much of a hiss or puffing and was eating really well now i have owner ship of him he is in a much larger cage more sutible for him, i have had him now for 3 in a half days and at first he was whiping his tail and huffing and puffing and walking around endlessly after the second day he was calming down to were when i looked in he was hissing or puffing just basking out in the heat lamp, i have got him to eat 2 boiled eggs so far and today i threw in a mouse and he ignored it and whiped his tail at me and if i stick my hand in there to change his water he backs up and hisses and sometimes whips the tail, why isnt he semi calm like he was before? and how is the best way to calm him down and well not "tame" him but get him to were he is holdable

m
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Jaye- "If you begin to understand what you are without trying to change it, then what you are undergoes a transformation.". ... Jiddu Krishnamurti

I don't want to sound like I'm preaching to you, but just remember that the point in keeping him is not to have him "holdable". Nothing wrong with that, but maybe you should be more focused on giving him a great life in captivity - try to keep him happy. Good luck

dont worry your not preaching to me but maybe you should read what i wrote one more time, i stated that before i made him a new encloser (wich is much bigger than the old one) and put him in his new home the other place he was at before he was handable and didnt his and let you stick your hand in his cage, he is now hissing and whiping the tail and not letting you pick him up and it has been 4 days

Your animal is still in a 'new' place and will need some adjustment time. Also keep in mind that monitors do and will change. This may or may not be how your monitor is going to be!

I had my juvi water in a small enclosure (2x3x3), it allowed contact and I could do all my maintenance without it running and hiding. I thought it was a perfect deal. Now I have moved it to a larger enclosure (6x3x3) and now the little dude hisses and whips and runs. My thought is this... It started acting this way because now... IT CAN! Before it didn't have the room to put up a display and get away. No matter where it went in the smaller enclosure... I was still there above it. Now it has space that gives it more options. Maybe before, the animals had just 'submitted/given up', knowing there was nothing they could do. And now things have changed! This could be seen as a positive. Monitors being monitors is a good thing. Give your animal some time and patience. But allow it to do 'its' thing. Don't get overly concerened about how 'tameable' the animal is. Just work and work and work. Patience is the key.

your probally right, but my concern is when they brought him down he hissed and whiped his tail but he calmed down tremedously after 3 days and thats how i know he could be picked up casue we started petting him first and then picked him up and no problem, now its been close to 5 days now after i put him in his new inclosure wich is around 2 or 3 times bigger but the other set up he was in he had space as well he still seems very aggressive, i know time is the key but what is the best way to go about it with out getting the [bleep] wiped out of me, haha

I'd suggest being very careful when doing cage maintanence , not making any sudden moves and maybe even putting something in between you and your monitor when fooling around in its cage. Besides cleaning, water changes and feeding i would just leave him/her alone for atleast afew weeks before trying anything other than that. Monitors like routine and when that routine is broken they tend to become overly stressed and may lash out. They get use to feeding schuedules, cage maintenance, enclosures as well in this case and when one or all of these things suddenly change, so does their since of security. Also if im correct i think you mentioned that you you received it recently from someone that was able to handle it, pick it up etc. You have to realize also that monitors recognize you by scent and it may have tolerated being handled by its former keeper because it didnt see him/her as a threat but you on the other hand are completely new to your monitor and its not yet begun to trust you so to it you are the predator until proven otherwise.
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Jaye- "If you begin to understand what you are without trying to change it, then what you are undergoes a transformation.". ... Jiddu Krishnamurti

thanks alot for the information, but as far as the other owner he only had him about 2 weeks before i got him and me and my wife had also pet him and pick him up on different occasions, actually he really didnt try to pick him up or touch him untill i asked to start doing it, then after that it was only around a week after i got him, but ill do like you said and give him his space and hopfully hell come around, also is there anything wrong with feeding him boiled eggs once or twice a day? or is that to much, cause thats one thing he really enjoys and lets me put in there for him without getting mad, and goes chasing after it.

That should be fine but he needs a variety of food items to get all the nutrients he needs such as mice, insects, mealworms, roaches, lean turkey to name a few yet mice should be the largest part of that diet.
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Jaye- "If you begin to understand what you are without trying to change it, then what you are undergoes a transformation.". ... Jiddu Krishnamurti

why I'm wasting my time with you. I must've read your post wrong but I just hope you didn't buy a monitor so you could walk it on a leash= so it can get you laid. Re-read my post. Much more to it than it being tame and handleable. Let me know when it calms down spooky

getting laid?
are you serious?
you actually get on this forum to rag on people and show your ignornce? i ask a simple quiestion, cuawe before i got him he was able to be picked up and he wont let me put my hand in the cage to clean it, is it dumb to ask a quiestion and to get answers maybe from someone more knowledgeable then myself and maybe get a good answer then a smartass coment from a kid like yourself who has nothing better to do then get on the computer and act like a ass, here is the facts no i didnt buy the monitor to get laid, i have a wife and 2 children, i knew what i got myself into with this black throat and yes i did study up on it for quiet a while before i got him, i dont buy on impulse im 29 years old with a job and 2 kids, my buying on impulse days are over, i have always liked the monitors when i was younger and decided now that i have the space as well as the mony to work with it why not give it a try, and its not my first time owning a pet ethier, i actually run a kennel and breed dogs i assure you i have responsiblity when it comes to taking crare of things. by the way the only dumb quiestion is the question you never asked.

Thanks so much. You've had the monitor 2 days and all it seems you're interested in finding out is how to tame him. Stick to the basics, and focus on other aspects.. that was the answer to your question

at times i think your dyslexic, your still not reading what i have wrote...... I CLEARLY STATED THAT HE WAS CALM AS COULD BE AND WAS ABLE TO BE PICKED UP AND DO NOTHING IN THE PROCESS EXCEPT FLICK HIS TOUNGE........NOW HE IS STRESSED OUT IT SEEMS, AND WILL NOT LET ME STICK MY HAND IN THE CAGE TO CLEAN IT NORE WILL HE EAT THE RAT I PUT IN THERE THE ONLY THING I SEE HIM EATING IS EGGS, were does that enquier i want to tame him and let him do tricks for me, im asking why he is stressed out

Didn't you end your initial post-"How can I make my monitor more calm and holdable?"

Ok so hes not eating either, did you ever think that he might not be eating because a)you're sticking your hand inside to grab him and harrassing him b)He just got moved over to a new place, new surrounding, new people etc., and is probably scared as helland stressing. What's your setup like? Bet you're going to tell me its perfect. Are you giving him a wide gradient of temps throughout his enclosure? I know you have dogs but reptiles are nothing like dogs. They need to thermoregulate constantly, without them being able to thermoregulate properly youre not going to have a HAPPY monitor.

Also I cant really tell whats going on in your enclosure, with your monitor. So I cant give an honest direct answer to you cause it probably won't help you any.If I could give you one,it'd be to make sure you have your setup, set up correctly or at least, as close as possible to correct and leave him alone. Only get near him to give him the essentials. Handling him and interacting with him will come later, very slowly and you have to play it by ear.

Heres a link for you its an FAQ-http://www.varanus.net/faq/
its also got an extensive section on handling

i appologize for comming off harsh towards you, but no im not trying to pick him up or anything im just doing the essentials like changing water and cleaning up his messes, thats when he gets all paranoid on me, but i tryed the dangling the rat in front of him and there he went chased it all around the cage and got it and ate it, i think he realizes im only trying to feed him now, but time will tell, as far as my cage no its not perfect,it could use work im sure of, whats the best kind of bedding for a black troat? i get all kinds of suggestions but never a straight answer. thanks

No problem, thats big of you. I can come across harsh myself but I swear its with the right intentions, most of the time. Glad you came back around.

The problem you're having right now with your blackthroat is exactly what makes keeping them so awesome. They will challenge you, keep you guessing and constantly keep you rearranging 5hit. Just when you think you've got it figured out, they will teach you something new. They will also change your way of thinking about them constantly, and that will bleed into every aspect of your life.

OK , my Whitethroats are the only ones I'm still keeping on cypress mulch. They do have a a 4 x2 section in their enclosure with 2 feet high of a dirt mix I concocted, and they do lay on it, but don't burrow in it.

Email me with any concerns you have for your BT,I'll be more than happy to help you.

i got him on cypress mulch right now
also i was wonder what is the difference between white and black throats? i been curious about that for some time now, i know the white throat has a little brighter color buts thats about all i know

I also have a young blackthroat. Rescued from an idiot that had no clue as what to do with him. I am taking it real slow, I put him in his enclosure and the only time I handled him was when I put him in it and when I took him to the vet. He wasn't happy either time and hissed, whipped and snapped at me. He continued to puff up and hiss whenever I opened his inclosure . I only bother him when necessary. Feeding, water changes and cleaning. He has gotten much better this past week, he comes to see what I'm doing when I open the door. The puffing up and hissing is slowly going away. I'm doing what I beleive was good advise from Shvar. I'm letting my monitor tell me when he's no longer afraid and trust me. I don't want a large monitor scared or mad at me.
I hope something here helps.

Scott
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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

thanks, he seems to be calming down, he still isnt eating the rat but he is eating eggs like crazy, i was wondering if there was a limit to how many eggs he should be eating or is it ok to feed him all he wants without overfeeding him

Try offering it a mouse prekilled and dangle it in front of him with tongs. I wouldnt feed it eggs every feeding just cause thats all he'll eat. They can go a long time without eating when they are healthy without losing a pound. My point is mice or if he is large enough rats are the best source of nutrients for it so try and get it to eat some. Now, some wont eat them unless they are live from what i hear but mine never have a problem with prekilled but i would try both. I'd find it strange if it turned down a live rodent but 9if you try this pls keep an eye on it to make sure it eats it for mice and rats if not eaten right away should be taken out after a few minutes bvecause the mite get hungry and decide start nibbling on your monitor.

Good luck man and congrats on your new BT
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Jaye- "If you begin to understand what you are without trying to change it, then what you are undergoes a transformation.". ... Jiddu Krishnamurti

thanks alot ill try that