Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had my juvenile Argus monitor for over a month now and every time I go near him he bites at me unless im feeding him. will he ever calm down towards me any advice would help

Patience is the key with any larger lizard, slow movements, never approach from above, pull up a stool, have a seat and take your time.

Fast motion, approaching from above and forcing yourself on the animal will only make your lizard that much more scared.

Good luck!
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Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
Thamnophis US
Savannah Monitors
Snakes and Lizards, It don't get any better....

but how do I stop him from trying to eat me

Ok, so when I got my male tegu I had a similar problem, now he is like a puppy. What worked for me was a lot of patience and working with him every day. I would get home from school/work and take him out of the cage, which normally was a fight in itself. Once I got him out I would hold him until he calmed down, then I would put him down just enough that he would have his feet onto the floor and if he started to act up again I would pick him up until he calmed down. I never put him away when he was showing “aggressiveness”. It’s not that they are being aggressive it’s just they are defensive. You have to earn their trust so showing/teaching them you mean no harm is what it takes, and that can take time. Another thing you could try is not feeding him in his cage. You can take him out of the cage and bring him to the food. As aggressive feeders they can, just like snakes, relate you to food if they only see you putting food into their enclosure. If you cannot feed in another enclosure/location try taking the lizard out then putting the food into the cage and then putting the lizard back into the enclosure on the opposite end of the as the food is.
I am no expert; I am just sharing what has worked for me in this situation. My Male Tegu use to charge the enclosure doors mouth open when I opened them and now he is going to be used by my Veterinarian to teach students studying to become vets.

Anthony
1:1 Arg Black & White Tegu
1:3 Yellow Anaconda
1:2 Jungle Carpet Python
1:0 Green Anaconda
0:1 Green Tree Python
1:0 Coastal Jaguar Carpet Python
0:1 Coastal Carpet Python (Jag Sibling)

Hi, no offense, but what you did with the Tegu was forced handling, it should NEVER be done with a varanid, the stress caused will result in serious health problems (even death, in some cases).
I would use your advise as a "what NOT to do", rather than as a workable method of captive care.
The only way the monitor will learn the keeper isn`t a threat is by working at the animal`s pace, not the keeper`s!

everytime I pick him up he bites me and whenhe does that I just put him down and leave him alone the rest of the day

Then stop picking the monitor up, you are causing much stress.

I would get a bearded dragon. They are much better and easier to housed.

obviously the most logical choice is to not pick up the animal. thanks for the input

Hi, the monitor won`t eat you, he/she thinks you`ll do that to him/her. Stop trying to force the issue, you are causing much stress, and stress is unhealthy.
Use food as a means of showing you aren`t a threat, do NOT feed in a separate enclosure, it`s simply more forced handling.
There are no guarantees, but if it does happen at some stage, it`s down to lots of time and patience, nothing else....

No animal is the same as the other, even in the same species. How they react to different handling methods is on a per animal basis. In this case, from what Ive read on the thread, it sounds like he/she is just afraid of you. To make it not afraid, frequent handling is key. If it bites, dont let it make you put it away(try some gloves), then it knows(even though theyre not the smartest animals) that biting you will make you leave it be.

However, some animals just simply do not warm up to hand holding them. This might be the case for your animal. At that point youve gotta just respect it and leave it be. Sorry.

Hi anthonyf78, you`re talking complete nonsense, forced handling will cause much stress, in the worst cases, even death.
You CLEARLY have little knowledge on the subject, and do much to add to the confusion surrounding "taming".
They are highly intelligent reptiles, quite capable in many cases of learning the keeper means no harm, the only way to try and achieve that is with food, something they are obssessed with (feeding from tongs).
Time and patience is the key as I mentioned earlier, and it must ALWAYS be done at the animal`s pace, not the keeper`s..

as long as I can clean his cage and feed him with out getting attacked I'll be happy. I never expected him to be a lap pet. I just want to gain my lizards trust the less stressful way possible.

as long as I can clean his cage and feed him with out getting attacked I'll be happy. I never expected him to be a lap pet. I just want to gain my lizards trust the less stressful way possible.

Apparently Im talking complete nonsense, even though Ive kept and raised many reptiles over the last 20 years. But heres some more. If you wanna just be able to clean his cage and not worry about him attacking you then I suggest the same as I said about handling. When he attacks, dont flee, keep working the cage, changing the water, etc. Over time he'll realize it is ok and that it is a normal thing.

If you listen to the other dude who says my advice is nonsense then just get rid of your pet. Because having the pet in the first place is "forced handling". Everything you do with it is forced...forced caging, forced feeding, forced cleaning, forced handling. None of it is natural. So quit with the "forced handling" talk.

Hi again anthonyf78, if you read the OP`s post properly, you would have seen the monitor was NOT "attacking", the KEEPER was doing that by forced handling.
You may have kept reptiles for 20 years, you clearly know little about Varanids and their behaviour; they are by nature extremely wary animals, you cannot "break" them as you seem to be suggesting ("if they struggle, don`t let them go"?
Any attempt to do that will probably result in the untimely DEATH of the monitor from the huge ammount of stress caused.
Perhaps it might be best if you asked questions, rather than attempt to offer advise on "taming" monitors at this moment in time.

what your saying makes a lot of sense murr... my monitor never asked to be my pet and if you look at it technically he is forced caged and handled but that would be any pet. I've read many things saying that there is never a tame Argus and if you do then somethings wrong. I've had reptiles for close to ten years from frilled dragons to red iguanas but never seen a lizard as active as my Argus.

Hi again antwon, it IS possible to have a "tractable" monitor, as I`ve said, it`s time and LOTS of patience, and if it happens, I believe it benefits the animal(less stress in the tiny box of dirt we ALL keep them in).
Food is your best "weapon" in getting the monitor to acclimate to your presence, but that will not happen unless the animal feels completely secure in the enclosure FIRST, that`s his/her "safe zone".
Have you seen MDFMONITOR`S video "Building trust" If not, I`ll PM details of where to view it if you`re interested?

yes I would love to see the video murr please pm me

Hi antwon,
if you go to youtube and type in the search box: "Monitor lizard trust building 212 days" it`s at the top of the list (by MDFMONITOR).
It`s also on another forum, (herpcenter.com), I`m a member there, there are some experienced keepers, it`s a decent website if you feel like joining? (If not, that`s fine).
Take care!

Sorry, I typed it into the reply box instead of the PM! (Silly me)...

haha it's fine but thanks I'll check it out when I have some time.

Anthony, We are obviously only “lucky” that we have not lost any of our reptiles with the way that we have chose to handle and care for them. Murr is the all mighty who knows the only way to care for all so no matter what input we have to add with just our personal experiences is wrong. I agree that from the start all reptiles are “force handled” by being in captivity. Each animal is different and requires different methods of care. If the animal is “attacking” it is already stressed from the start. This is a form for people to provide help and share their experiences, not to fight with each other. If someone doesn’t agree be an adult and just explain your reason and let the one asking decide which method works best for them. You are free to share you concerns as to what may not be a good method but again share your reasoning as to why it is not a good method and let that be the end. I am not trying to start arguments with anyone and that is why I have chose not to respond after my first post.

Every animal has different personalities and requires different methods of care. As an owner/ keeper you are taking the responsibility of doing whatever is required to provide your individual animal what it needs to live a full and comfortable life. To each his own.

Best regards and best of luck, it seams the one thing all of us have completely agreed on is time and patience, but what method works for your situation is for you to find. Stress is a bad thing for the reptile so know your limits and don’t test them.

To mightmouseec04, if anyone advises someone that grabbing hold of a varanid and forcibly restraining it until it stops struggling, is a method of "teaching" it the keeper means no harm, I will again respond in the way I have, and hopefully other experienced keepers will do the same.

Ok almighty reptile people. Reread my initial post. At the end i said that a lot of reptiles, varanids in particular, dont ever warm up to handling. I didnt mean to suggest "holding it down" or "restraining" on a daily basis. I simply meant frequently attempting to interact/handle could improve his dimeanor towards the keeper. Also meant that if he reacts aggressivley, that simply putting him back every time is just reenforcing the lizard to bite each time to be left alone. After awhile, if nothing has improved then my thoughts would be that this one might just not be down with being handled much at all.

Now, c'mon, attack me more....its entertaining.

~The Confused, bad husbandry, rookie Keeper

well id like to thank everyonefor replying. I can say we all agree on time and patience but I've noticed everybody has a different opinion on handling as well as methods for it. I'm gonna try gaining trust with food and switch from hand feeding to using thongs so he doesn't think my hand is food.

personally, i don't agree with just grabbing them unless absolutely necessary. with all most of my monitors i've had success with just time and patience. usually i leave the monitor alone for the first week with going into their enclosure as little as possible (change the water, feeding, etc.). after that, i try and go into their enclosure more and try and coax them onto my hand with food that i feed them from tongs. after a week or so, when they're more settled in and comfortable with me being around i'll sit level with them with my hand on the other side of the tank/a decent distance from them so that i'm not intruding in their "safe zone" and just wait. eventually, they'll get curious enough to come check you out. i NEVER grab my monitors just to be able to hold them. i'd rather build a trust than force it. it makes the experience of owning them much more rewarding

couldn't agree more thanks

Don't want to hijack, but kind of related
My young small animal has no problem coming to me to either feed or to climb onto my hand and arm for a lift out of his cage
Once out for a while , the issue becomes how to get him back in
If I grab him up he fights like hell, no biteing but hates it.
Lately I have been getting him into a shoe box for the trip back
Less stressful, but he's not going to be small forever
Any better methods?

I sometimes have to lure mine back in his cage with more food

Wow I totally missed the good time to reply but I might as well throw in my two cents here. Seeing as of how young monitors are little monsters before they figure out you're the good guy, it takes time, a couple of bites and some gloves. What worked for me amazingly well was bathing him every day because they absolutely love baths in the tub. And while he swims his little heart out I hold him out of the water and just interact with him. After he is all done swimming, the little guy will be all tuckered out and won't even have any fight in him, making him incredibly easy to handle. Hold him for at least twenty minutes every time and it makes a world of difference. Also..they can sense it if your nervous about handling him. Best of luck!

While your points have some merit there is more to the issue. If you seek a well adjusted as trustably tame monitor as can be then a gradual non forced approach is a must. You want a trust rather than a tolerance. With the latter they're just waiting for the right moment to escape or inflict an expression of their fear and resentment. Or perhaps they know just how Big they can get....
And while it may seem like everyone's an expert a lot of folks here have alot experience with these animals ALOT so even if your knowledge and experience has seemed to work for you and your animals its still possible you might learn things that totally change you views and husbandry. It happened to me hear meeting FR who had what seemed to me as TOTALLY insane. Turns out everything lizard he told me was on cue. Got my lizards breeding once I applied a few of his whack crazy concepts. So don't get defensive and keep yer ears and mind open to different ideas. Just a thought.,.....
Guy