Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i asked a question about tamin my bt here about a week ago and everyone basicly told me the same thing dont force handle ur monitor because it will just stress him out and he wont actualy be tame. I've been putting my hand in his cage to clean and move things around and stuff like that and he has stopped charging at me when i do it. I was just wondering how i know when i can start holding him/ letting him walk around my room. Should i try picking him up and seeing how he does?
i dont think he would ever actualy crawl right up onto my hand but i dont wanna force handle him either so what would you suggest doing. Thanks alot.

When was the last time you picked him up? How long did he struggle, and when did he calm down. To make mine more used to handling i keep switching hands, wat kind of moniter is it?

You say that your monitor has stopped charging you when you reach in to clean and water him. That's awesome! He's learning that you won't try to pick him when you reach in.
Please try and understand that they don't like being picked up. I can't imagine a monitor ever liking it. But if they trust you, they won't mind too much. That should be your goal.

If I were you, I'd start putting my hands near the monitor to smell often. Let him learn that the hands can come near him without touching him (they don't like that either, haha). Also, let the touching be of his own accord. Put your hand or arm near him. (I do this in the tub) Let him decide to step on it and over it to walk away. Don't move a muscle. He'll learn nothing bad happens when he walks over you.
Whenever I carry mine somewhere, I always let them walk off of me. In my male's case, he usually sits there a minute, hissing, before he slowly starts stepping off. Sometimes I'm in a hurry, but I wait it out. I think it helps a bit for him to feel free, and stepping off of me of his own decision. He's way nicer now than three years ago. This is just my experience, I really don't know much about taming them. Just be nice to them. Respect how they feel about physical contact.
Good luck, and good job so far!
D.

you did not mention the background of your monitor. what size it is and wether it is wc and so on. i find most doreanus to be very easy to acclimate. I normally start with babies but the zoos i work with want bigger display animals so when i get adults in for the zoos i usually keep them at least 30 days to check for parasites and get them acclimated. As long as they eat good (which most bt's do, and are parasite free, i place them in a cage that is located somewhere that gets traffic so they get use to people walking by. Whenever i work in the cage i will touch them by moving slowly. If they bolt away, which they usually will at first, do not continue simply move away slowly. After he gets use to this excersise, the next step is to remove him from the cage. If you try to hold him he will obviously try to get away and then you will be doing nothing but restraining him so what i do is use a tile or linoleum floor and simply lift him by the tail and set him on the floor. He will run but as long as you hold him by the base of the tail, it will be like he is on a tread mill. After a minute or so he should settle down and if you move slowly you can simply let him walk around while holding his tail. After doing this a few times (not all in the same day), you can then let him free walk for afew feet and then gentle regrab his tail. He will usually jump and do that treadmill thing but then calm down fast and then you can release him again. Within 30 days i can usually take a wc adult blue tail and have it setting on my shoulder with no stress to him. I will tell you to always move slow, do not try to do too much too fast and never work with the monitor to the point that they "lock up" from stress. Wild salvator will usually do that "coma" thing before blue tails. Although i have had very good luck with "taming" blue tails, they are still individuals and i am sure that some will never calm down. If for any reason they show signs of prolonged stress like going of feed, then curtail the "training" for several weeks. As others will tell you, monitors are not domesticated dogs but I know my monitors that i acclimate are much less stressed than if i let them alone in the cage and never interact with them. In the summer i place harnesses on them and they enjoy taking walks, getting some fresh air and sunshine and climbing a tree or two but i live in the country away from people. I would not recomend doing that in a city around people, cars and noise that would spook them or with monitors that are not "tame". It is instinct to flee whenever they feel danger and even after you calm one down, without continued interaction they will resort back to being "wild". For those bt's i "acclimate for zoos, you can see a big difference as they make much better display animals in contrast to the wild ones they stick in displays and simply hide because the people constantly viewing the exhibit stress them out. good luck, i will look forward to a picture with your bt sitting on your shoulder in the future.

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