Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all... Just got a super nice male russett rhino from rob ehrig. He's a young adult at 3ft, 6lbs and 2 1/2 yrs old. Would like to get everyones experience and tips/advice on tameing down a older rhino ? I dont think he is aggressive by nature, but has ran into to cage trying to bite me a few times, but kinda expected as i've only had him for 2 weeks. But any help and advice would be helpful as this is my first rhino or any lizard. His uv and heat is good, i check his temps via a heat gun ands its at 100-105 on the animal. Eating collards, squash, mazuri and treats of bananas and berries. He also has good spacing as ive dedicataed a whole empty bedroom for him to roam and also has his cage with the basking site to go back in. So the husbandry is good, the tameing is what id like any advice and experiences on. He is not young flighty rhino, but a big young adult thats not scared and will stand his ground. any advice is helpful ! thank you

If you purchased the animal that was on fauna then you are talking about an animal that has been bought, sold and shipped twice inside two weeks. These animals are very intelligent and they even imprint on people. Put yourself in his place and try and understand what he is going through. Even if it's not that animal it's best to leave him alone. Feed him and keep his cage clean and limit his stress level as much as possible. You may start by trying to hand feed him some fruit. Sometimes the stomach overrides a lizards best judgement. If he takes food from your hand than thats a good start but don't try and push it too much if he doesn't want to be pet. Let him take the food and leave it at that for a while. I sometimes start by opening the enclosure and just sitting there for a half an hour, sometimes with my hand or arm just laying in the cage motionless. He may eventually become curious and come closer, maybe even lick and smell you. At some point he may even crawl on your hand, if you are patient enough. Baby steps is key because every time you take it too far and scare him and stress him you've just gone two steps backwards. All cyclura are different and will take to people differently. He may have been super tame with his first owner but that doesn't mean he will be that way when he's stuffed in a box and shipped to a place and people he doesn't recognize. My first Rhino I bought from a friend because he said it was crazy and could not be tamed. The moment I brought him home he was puppy dog tame and quickly found his favorite sleeping place and would crawl on my bed and sleep under my pillow every night, till he was too big to do so. He took absolutely no work to tame.

Just be patient and try to put yourself in his shoes, so to speak. Limit his stress and try to end each interaction on a positive note. Some can be a challenge and not all people are up to it. Some animals really make you work for it to earn their trust.

Good Luck

thank you for your reply evan, and no, its not the same rhino , i know which one your talking about. This one is direct from rob ehrig. Your tips seem to be the way to go with this rhino, thank you. Thinking the grab and petting him and forcing him to get used to me probably isnt the way to go.. maybe more for a younger and much smaller rhino. So how did you get your rhino from untrainalbe to puppy tame ? Did he just not like the previous owner ?

Oh okay well congrats on the new russet, Ehrig is a great guy. Hopefully where ever that other lizard ended will be his last stop. I hate to see lizards passed around so quickly. I can't really take credit for Rhino. he was a year and a half old when I got him and it was like a light switch. All of a sudden when I brought him and introduced him to his new cage he was puppy tame from that point. Strange, I know but they are kinda like people and they don't like everyone. I have had other lizards that required some work and patience. It can get fustrating at times because I love to interact with my animals. Just respect them and put your personal wants aside he will come around. I probably wouldn't let him free roam a room too much if you are trying to get him use to you. It may be too much space and easy for him to avoid contact. I always let my animals get use to me in the enclosure and they soon learn that to get out they have to go through me. They eventually will start to crawl on you just from the curiosity of wanting to explore. They will like free roaming and will begin connecting you with those opportunities. He may become more open to you taking him out of the cage or may jump onto you so he can get out. Your animal has been in florida sunshine his whole life so it may take a little time for him to get use to indoors also. Oh and don't give him a bath, they don't like it. We may think it's cute but they don't.....lol. There may be some cyclura that like it but Iv'e never known one. Only if he is an absolute sh__tty mess may it be understandable, but that too will peel off in time with a shed.