Reptile & Amphibian Forums

To get your V. Albigularis a bit more tamed, what are the possible steps i should take, starting with a baby?
Thanks,
Sheri

Scroll down this forum a bit to the thread that was started with:

Why handle monitors? kap10cavy

Look a little further down to:

RE: The point your missing is-FR

There you will find your answer. Good luck.

Pam

Let him handle you. Give him what he wants, do your daily stuff in the cage, leave the food and leave it alone. It’s kinder to give it a chance to get comfy and feel at home, rest up, get a good long break from stress. He went through a lot to get you. If you don’t bug him, he may stay out after awhile instead of fleeing at the sight of you. Sometime after that, he may get curious about you and come over to check you out. So let him. It could take months. This is really not an animal to be dominated, in my opinion, that makes them more dangerous, cause they won’t like you very much. Something about you (anyone) touching them (monitors) creeps them out. They really never get over it. They will almost always move away from you if they have the choice. They are happiest without force, and will climb all over you if you let them. Be smart about doing this, you have relatively little control. He could get away from you and you would have to terrorize him to get him back, or he could feel threatened and bite. For the most part though if you show him some respect, biting is a last resort. It is very hard not to get too casual around a monitor that is curious about people instead of afraid. I tried to count the times I have “almost” been bitten and it is a lot more than I thought! 98% percent of those times it was me “looking like food and not knowing it” hehehehe

Anyway, after a long time goes by, he “might” climb in your lap to get a better sun angle if you bask together, or he might rub up against your leg or hand to get an itchy spot. That’s really as close to holding and petting that your gonna get if he has his way.
-H-