Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a tame male tegu (about 3 1/2 feet long) and have seen "Monitor leashes" and have been curious if your reptile really likes it or not.
One guy who runs a reptile shop said it's not much different than walking a dog and that most monitors would like to go out for a walk and lead you around.
Does this sound like a good idea or can a reptile never really be trained to go for walks?

If it does work, any suggestions on how to get it started? I know simply putting the leash on my tegu and taking him out 2 minutes later into our front (or back) yard won't work as good as I would like it. Any kind of pre-training you need to do?

In my opinion, and I'm sure many others here will agree, leashes for reptiles are a waste of money, and added stress for your animal..

Despite how tame your animal is, it is not a dog, and never will be.. They will not lead you around, as a dog would... If anything, the second it got outside, it would probably dart in the vacinity of cover, for a lizard knows that staying out in the open means it could be picked off by a predator at any time... Not to mention that the entire time you have the thing on him, he/she's going to be trying to pull the thing off, because it is uncomfortable. When, in nature, would a lizard ever have anything attached to itself...never.. which is just more added stress..

I think leashes for reptiles is a poor gimmick, it's for all of those people who wish their reptile pets to have the same pet qualities as a golden retriever, which we all know will never happen.. Even a leash for a ferret, guinea pig, or rabbit is a waste in my opinion, as they will not take you for a walk either...

Please keep in mind that pet shop/herp shop employees will often tell you what you want to hear, just in an effort to make a sale..

So, in my opinion, they're garbage... don't even bother with it... Take care, have a great day...

bob
The Odatriad

Thanks for the advice guys, I won't bother with the leash. I didn't think it could be the same as a dog as the store owner said.
Seems it's always best to get advice from other pet hobbyists and not from the pet stores.
I remember getting an oscar (the fish that recongize their owner and are usually very friendly - but also get about a foot long) a few years back and the store owner said he "would recommend a 10 gallon tank, but your 5 gallon should do just fine" (After doing research on it, an oscar needs a minumum of 55 gallon tank.)

Thanks again for the advice.

Lets look at it this way, in the wild tegus and monitors will use whatever they can for "cover". Sometimes for some species that may mean scurrying up a tree. If you have your monitor/tegu out on a leash and it gets scarred for whatever reason and there are no trees around you may find your animal going for the closest thing like your leg and or back. I personally have never had this happen but I am sure I would not like to have a terrified monitor climbing up my back trying to seek shelter.

Also I agree with Bob it is probablly one of the most unnatural things a tegu or monitor can have done to it. I would not compromise any of my animals health for a petstore gimick.

Do the right thing

Thanks

Doug

They work in the sense that they stay on the lizard and prevent it from running off.

However, in my experience, you do not really go for walks as such. Rather, the lizard either panics and causes all sorts of problems (imagine if the lizard ran underneath a fence that you couldn't squeeze under, how are you going to get it back without letting go of the leash and losing the lizard? This actually happened to me once) or the lizard just runs around and does what it wants untill it reaches the end of the leash, and then just tries to push its way past the restraint. Then you have to pick it up to actualy go anywhere. You also need constant vigilance to make sure it does not bolt into some bushes or something and get all tangled up.

I don't take my lizards for walks anymore because of exactly these issues. I will use leashes for extra security if I have to take a lizard somewhere that it could bolt and get lost (like demonstrations, educational outreaches, and the like).

Luke

I personally keep monitors for what they are...monitors. I do not subject my animals to handling(only when medical attention is needed), or bringing them out into public. I see that as being a significant way of stressing an animal out..

Bringing an animal out into the open, with bigger animals(us people) looking, staring, gazing, reaching out to pet, etc... This poor animal is then fearing for its life.. Animals in nature do not (in most cases) stay out in the wide open for long periods of time, otherwise, it'd basically be saying, "Hey Mr. Kestrel(or other predatory bird, or predator for that matter), come on down and have me for luch..." Monitors prefer to take refuge in tight fitting areas, in the forms of tree hollows, burrows, cracks, fissures, etc... I bet if you put your animal down without a leash, he'd book for the closest bush, log, clump of grass, etc...

I just feel that taking monitors out in public, handling them, and putting them on display(not talking about zoos) in front of many big animals(people) is a bad idea... Once again, I think people are mistaking reptiles, especially monitors, for animals like dogs, who are accustomed to interaction with humans...

No matter how tame your animal is, it's still going to have the same instincts, which is to always be alert, and be wary of predators... I'd be scared as hell if I was brought out into the open, without anyplace to hide... while much larger animals are walking around in the vicinity, that could easily spot me...

Just my thoughts on the matter..

I'll probably get some grumpy posts over this, but, since you asked about tegus, Yes... There is a way to put a leash on a tegu where they don't even know it's there. But the commercial leashes are not safe, and are a waste of money.

Now, having said that, I would not attempt to put a leash on my bosc monitor. No way would he tolerate the process of putting it on.

But for my male tegu, now 27 inches long, I've used a leash made with a length of the kind of soft cord that is used on sweat pants, and a barrel clasp such as is used on jacket strings. The secret is to put it around the tegu right at the hip. My tegu does not even seem to notice that it is there. He wanders around as if he's totally free. I used it at first because he is a fast, curious little guy, and I was afraid he'd get under something. Now that he is older, he is still curious, but too big to get under things I can't lift, and I rarely use it. But then, he stays pretty close to me now. He may go exploring, but he will return to crawl up on my shoulder or my lap.

And yes, he gets to be a tegu; he just will crawl up on me when I am cleaning hie enclosure if he wants to come out for awhile.

Leslie