Pet store Owner lied

[suz1000]

He said the monitor I bought was captive bread in California. But the monitor will only eat live prey if they run from him and he is very easily intimidated / agitated I'm now pretty sure he was wild caught :( which really upsets me. I had a wild caught monitor once before and he was very hard to handle as an adult. He got very aggressive and tried to bite me or tail whip me at every opportunity. Do you think I should keep him? Will he tame ok or will he stay like he is now all his life?

[ErikBush97]

He said the monitor I bought was captive bread in California. But the monitor will only eat live prey if they run from him and he is very easily intimidated / agitated I'm now pretty sure he was wild caught :( which really upsets me. I had a wild caught monitor once before and he was very hard to handle as an adult. He got very aggressive and tried to bite me or tail whip me at every opportunity. Do you think I should keep him? Will he tame ok or will he stay like he is now all his life?

That's not really something someone can give you a 100% answer on... I would think he should tame out with regular handling, and proper care, but you never know. All reptiles are different.

[suz1000]

He is pretty aggressive will barely even let me pick him up always fights to get his head around so he can bite me :(

[Mikoh4792]

How do you know they lied? I don't think the reasons you have for believing so are strong enough.

You might not want a monitor if you are looking for a pet you can handle regularly. Get a bearded dragon or something.

[KORBIN5895]

First off what is the species? Just because an animal is cbb doesn't mean it will automatically eat pre killed. All reptiles are wild animals.

Secondly most monitors don't tame down when properly maintained.

[Hannibalcanibal]

How are you handling? i would recommend not picking him/her up and just offering food from tongs instead, it should start to like you if you do that.

Still, Lots of monitors never, ever tame down. Sorry to tell ya..

[infernalis]

What species of monitor?

[murrindindi]

First off what is the species? Just because an animal is cbb doesn't mean it will automatically eat pre killed. All reptiles are wild animals.

Secondly most monitors don't tame down when properly maintained.


Hi,
I think the reason so many "properly supported" monitors are not "tractable" is because most keepers don`t accept they can (or should) be!? That`s total nonsense, and in very many cases they DO learn the keeper means no harm. It takes lots of time and patience, and no guarantees, but ALWAYS worth trying, not least because a tractable animal is obviously less stressed (healthier).
I think you basically get out what you put in, particularly with some of the medium to large species, which do seem to calm down as they grow.

[murrindindi]

He is pretty aggressive will barely even let me pick him up always fights to get his head around so he can bite me :(

Hi, they aren't "aggressive", they`re defensive, which means they react to a perceived threat, in this case, YOU, in the monitor`s mind you are a predator. You MUST allow the animal to completely acclimate to the enclosure, if it doesn`t feel secure in there it won`t feel secure with you "trespassing" in that space.
At this time you need to provide the conditions that will support the animal, can you give some details of those: Type and size of enclosure, temps, humidity, substrate, etc? Thanks!

[infernalis]

I am in full agreement with what has been said. I currently have 2 monitors that are little spitfires, full of spirit and feisty too, but over the time I have had them, they have grown to recognize that I am the one who brings their food, so they will run right up to me.

I still to this day can't hold them in my hands for extended periods without getting scratched up, but I get such a thrill when either of them comes running my way to see if I have anything tasty to snack on.

If you just remove all expectations of a "lap pet" and realize that these animals are carnivorous predators, you will get so much more out of this.

[Mikoh4792]

I still to this day can't hold them in my hands for extended periods without getting scratched up

At around the 7:30 mark this guy gets bit by his monitor. Have you gotten any injuries as serious if not worse than this?

vl9yBJEvu7U

[infernalis]

No nothing like that... They are tormenting a croc monitor, razor sharp teeth.

[smy_749]

Savannah monitor teeth are like molars compared to a croc monitor...not in the same ball park even lol

[Mikoh4792]

Savannah monitor teeth are like molars compared to a croc monitor...not in the same ball park even lol

The more you know

[poison123]

Here is a sav skull
http://forums.waterwolves.com/uploads/post-6449-1185359412.jpg

Look more like razor to me.

[Hannibalcanibal]

Here is a sav skull
http://forums.waterwolves.com/uploads/post-6449-1185359412.jpg

Look more like razor to me.


Still, crocs are pretty brutal. I'm glad to say i have never been bitten by any monitor.. yet.

24942

[Mikoh4792]

In both of those pictures what are the sharp bones going across the eye socket? If they were ever to get fractured it seems like it would be lights out for the monitor.

[Hannibalcanibal]

No clue, as i'm no monitor expert by any means. Still though, the teeth look brutal on those things...

[smy_749]

This is a better pic

http://www.reptilechannel.com/images/care-sheets/croc-monitor-skull-500.jpg

I didn't mean they were molars literally poison, just that they don't compare with salvadorii, as most species don't really..

Thats also not a pic of exanthematicus. It seems to be a salvator (water moni) skull, maybe wayne can confirm.

I think this is the proper image

http://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/BIG/7298.jpg

[smy_749]

I clicked on the link for the image you provided, if you go into the thread, it is the skull of the an indicus complex.

Heres another image from that same thread of bosc teeth

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/7240/setofteeth.jpg

[poison123]

Wow I really need to learn how to read more carefully lol It turns out that it was a skull of a
mangrove.

[smy_749]

Wow I really need to learn how to read more carefully lol It turns out that it was a skull of a
mangrove.

I beat you to it, too late :P

[poison123]

I beat you to it, too late :P

Pssh what ever. :pissedoff:

[infernalis]

I could tell right away. (A Savannah skull)

http://www.varanus.us/husbandry/MRI.jpg

[infernalis]

In both of those pictures what are the sharp bones going across the eye socket? If they were ever to get fractured it seems like it would be lights out for the monitor.

Excellent observation.

Monitors have a bony armor around their eyes to protect this most valuable asset in the heat of battle.

Firstly, their bones have a lot more flex than ours do (not calcified brittle) and when alive, those "spurs" are part of a more complex eye socket.

The likelihood of a monitor getting stabbed in the eye by it's own bony eye socket is about nil, and if subjected to forces that could do so, the animal is dead anyway.

[franks]

And that armor comes in handy. Anybody that owns one can attest to the fact that Savannah monitors get very personal with their prey when eating it. My guy will run around his cage with a live squirming crayfish in its mouth bashing it into all of the trees rocks and branches in the enclosure. Because they attempt to tackle and eat prey that is proportionately fairly large (sometimes 1/3 of their own body mass) they need need the extra protection. These guys start chomping first and ask questions later.

[Little Wise Owl]

Nevermind, maybe I'll finish reading the whole thread next time. Here's another Savannah Skull though.

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/159/0/a/savannah_monitor_skull_by_t_reqs-d68byy6.jpg

[Akuma223]

Does anyone have a pic of a rudi skull? I would love to see one. In fact if I could I would buy any monitor skulls off of people who have them, Its a weird hobby of mine.

[murrindindi]

In both of those pictures what are the sharp bones going across the eye socket? If they were ever to get fractured it seems like it would be lights out for the monitor.


Hi, the top "spiky" bone is the "supra-temporal", the bottom one is the "jugal".
Just out of interest, many of the skull bones are not fused together, as in a solid skull, they consist of many tiny bones just like a jigsaw puzzle!

[savannahs]

Nevermind, maybe I'll finish reading the whole thread next time. Here's another Savannah Skull though.

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/159/0/a/savannah_monitor_skull_by_t_reqs-d68byy6.jpg

Yuck! I can see the poor Savs feet!

[smy_749]

Did we ever figure out which species this was?

[suz1000]

As far as the previous issues most have been resolved. The cage is 80.9 F humidity is averaging 40-53% I set up a mister so I can keep it regulated. (please let me know if it is off somehow) As far as the handling: I have left him alone for the most part since my last post (with the exception of feeding and cage maintenance that is) he seems to be comfortable in his new environment he's eating really well (4 pinky mice 1 fuzzy and about 70 crickets since my last post) he won't eat meal super or earth worms for some reason. But outside of that things are working out rather well. Thank you for all of your advice.
:laugh:

[poison123]

What kind of monitor is it?

[suz1000]

Is it ok to start walking him on a leash for exercise or should I wait until he gets a little more used to me. I do understand he'll probably bite me when I put the harness on but I'm thinking it may help him to learn to tolerate being handled a bit more) what do you think??

[suz1000]

What kind of monitor is it?
Savannah about 10" long now

[smy_749]

Is it ok to start walking him on a leash for exercise or should I wait until he gets a little more used to me. I do understand he'll probably bite me when I put the harness on but I'm thinking it may help him to learn to tolerate being handled a bit more) what do you think??

I wouldn't advise it at all. Hard to understand exactly why until you've tried it

[suz1000]

I wouldn't advise it at all. Hard to understand exactly why until you've tried it
I had a 2.5 foot Savannah (he was stolen from my home in 1995) it took me from spring of 1993 - to winter of 1994 but I did successfully leash train him. (I used a 10' leash) Took him for a walk every day after work

[Lankyrob]

Force handling will ruin any trust that you have built up already.