Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I recently rescued a mangrove monitor from the humane society and I've been slowly working with her to try and make her a little more comfortable with me. So my question is as anyone ever had or seen a "tame" mangrove?

If your intention is to rescue it, then at the moment you should be more concerned about health than 'tame'.

Some mangrove monitors do become quite tolerant of people, but the best way to achieve that is through gaining its trust. Set it up properly, keep it warm, humid and well fed and the rest (interactions with you) may or may not follow, depending on the individual monitor.

She(not actually sure on the sex), had her checked by a vet here in San Diego. there had just been too much rain and she somehow escaped her previous owners enclosure. she is fed 6-7 days a week on adult frozen mice, and occasional ground turkey when i run out of mice. temp ranges from 82*F_95*F with basking spot of 120*F. only problem is humidity, i have her in a temporary enclosure which is a 120 gallon aquarium, will i build her 7'x4'x4' home. just taking time to complete. her humidity does still stay at about 55-65% i mist multiple times a day.

You'll be up against it as long as the animal is in the aquarium, for misting can only do so much. Get the enclosure built asap and you should be okay. Post photos of the setup on here and people will be able to help, too.

Thank you, ill be posting the pics of the new cage as soon as its done for any possible suggestions from everyone.

Post a picture up of the monitor #1 to confirm it is actually V. indicus. There are a ton of species and variants that come in and get slapped the label "Mangrove". That's just for ID, not anything to do with husbandry.

But this species can actually adapt very well and become tolerant of you. I won't use the word "tame" because of connotation. But the lizards that don't freeze in place when you walk into the room and they see you (and then dart to cover when you look away ) or worse, run in a panic and hit the walls and glass trying to find a hide, are what I call "tolerant" of captivity. I have seen a fair few that allow you to watch them, tong-feed and do well.

Building a cage is easy. It's a big wooden box and a window slapped on the front. Don't get too caught up in it being a zoo-quality show piece for now. Get a big space and proper conditions in a box with hollow cork/logs and deep substrate of leaf litter or a sandy dirt and leaves. Your temps sound good in your tank, but it'll be a constant challenge to keep hot and wet until you have a proper sealed box.

Krusty