Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted a message yesterday asking about handling my bt with welders gloves. most of you said dont bother because hel just crush my hand anyway. My bt is only 20-24 inches if that makes any difference. If it makes no sense to use gloves than what is the best method of taming i can use. I really love my monitor and i take good care of it i just want to also be able to interact with it without it tearing up my hand. If anyone has a solution to my problem id really apreciate hearing it. Thanks alot.

The only solution that I see to your dilema, is not to handle the animal. It's as easy as that... There is no need to handle the animal while in your collection anyways, as there are other ways of removing the animal from the cage for cleaning..etc.. without grabbing it... If it is an animal you want to be able to hold and carry around and pet, I'd recommend something smaller, with less the capability of inflicting serious damage, such as an ackie, or bearded dragon... Blackthroats/Whitethroats, etc.., as everyone has said, can do unrepairable damage to yourself, where gloves would have no effect.
I think people recommended gloves when handling, to combat the sharp claws, not the bite...I think big animals such as them, should be left alone to do their own thing...just my opinion...

Be careful, nevertheless...cheers, have a good one...

bob

your bt real well..i got whipped in the face by her...always keep an eye on the tail..shes real calm but you never know..thats why i let my kids test out the ground first...guinea pigs!!!...............billy

That's the first post that's ever made me laugh out loud. And as I'm having a particularly dull day at work I am very grateful to you.

I keep argus, not BTs. It sounds to me that the "fear factor" lies with you. First, listen to what everyone else said, I agree with not trying to force the monitor to be tame. The idea is to gain their trust. On the otherside of the coin, you have to learn to trust the monitor. You accomplish this by knowing your monitor. Do this in that order, gain the trust of the monitor and learn to trust it. If you can't learn to trust the monitor, you won't handle it.
I just went through this with my argus(about the same size as your bt). I was afraid to handle her, didn't trust the gloves would deflect a bite etc.... Turns out "she" is not that aggressive and actually fairly tame for some of the argus stories I've read. She'll hiss at me if I reach into her cage and maybe take a weak shot at me with her tail, she doesn't instantly dive for her burrow. I pick her up and she calms right down (for about 5 minutes). The point is that in this case, the problem was my own fear and mistrust of the monitor. Now I still use the gloves to deflect her claws and they're good for confidence building on the part of the handler, but that's about it.

One of the problems you will have is the word "tame" (not to start the same debates from 5 years ago). When people say or hear "tame" they think of dogs, roll over, fetch, eat the treat out of my hand, sit and let me scratch you. With monitors it is more like taking a wild cat into your home, they can become people tolerant but not tame. Some cats will never let you pick them up without scratching you to shreds no matter how long you feed and house them. The same goes for your monitor.

It all will depend on your monitors personality and your personality. As was mentioned, it comes down to trust. If your monitor (and they are smart) knows it can scare you off so that it is left alone and that BIG hungry animal (that would be you) that wants to eat it leaves it alone, then it will scare you off everytime. Likewise if you force yourself on the monitor by insisting on handling it you will scare the animal more and stress it out (no more eating, no more thermoregulating, no more monitor).

Start small and let the monitor tell you its comfort level. Get it used to you reaching in to change the water dish. Keep the enclosure in an area where there is a decent level of human activity so the monitor can grow accustomed to the sounds and scents without it worrying about becoming a meal. Your monitor will let you know when AND IF you can progress beyond that point. Perhaps the best you could hope for is to not be charged whenever you change the water dish, and my friend, if that is the case, be happy with that.

Remember, anything beyond having a monitor living in your home is just a bonus

-Andrew

My monitor was a rescue, and was 'dog tame' when it came, because the poor thing was dehydrated and half starved. Now it had been handled almost daily since the former owner got it two or three years before, but after a few weeks of space to roam and proper basking temps and humidity, and lots of nice fat mice, 'Bubba' one day took exception to the quick pat I tried to give him, and hissed like a tea kettle and lashed at me with his tail, mouth gaping. All his life, he had been powerless to object to the attention he'd had forced on him, and now he could say, "No," as only a healthy monitor could. For several months I got hissed at and threatened with a tail when I changed his water. I must confess, I began to think about rhino hide gloves, but instead, I just continued cleaning his water tub and talking to him and trying to not threaten him so he did not feel he had to threaten me. He now no longer hisses or threatens, and on occasion, I can stroke his back without incident. If he feels like being sociable, he will come over and watch me as I work in his enclosure, and I've gotten so I can tell when it is ok to make friendly advances and sneak a pat or two. I suspect I could pick him up now without losing a finger if I needed to take him to a vet or something, but I don't push it.

Be happy with what your monitor offers you. An offer of trust from a monitor is a lot bigger thing than you might think.

Leslie