sav tail

[Lrptls]

i held my sav today and i noticed the tip of his tail lookd worse, its been weird sence i got him but it looks like it might fall off, its very thin and a little discolord. also want to add that he is geting much more agresive. i try not to handle him alot because he just got over a parasite problem and i'v been changing his cage around so i want him to be as less stressed as possible but all he tries to do is bite me and hes never still when i hold him and hes starting to hiss now, any suggestions as how to calm him down or maybe he'll calm down when hes older...?....

[Big_V]

That tail is gonna fall off at the end. The cause is usually a retained shed for a long period of time. You have to make sure they get that off or they loose part of tail like that. And for the calming part you have to work with them. You just cant leave them and expect them to be friendly. Let him settle into his new home then start to handle him more frequently. They will wriggle alot when you handle them no matter what. Dont throttle him if he wants to get away just let him then pick him up again. I used to sit in a chair with one and just let him chill out on me and roam around. The more interaction you have the more tame it will be. Just remember dont maul the little guy. 15-20 min handling sessions is good enough IMO.
Cheers, RYan

[Lrptls]

do you think once a week is good? or is that too much/not enough?

[Lrptls]

p.s. his breathe stinks

[crocdoc]

there are two ways to calm a monitor:

1. handle it daily until it gets used to it
2. don't handle it, but let it approach you on its own terms in its own time. Do your normal things like clean, change the water etc without handling it and eventually it realises you mean it no harm and starts to get curious about you, especially as it soon associates you with food. Eventually, it may crawl onto your outstretched hand and then you can start handling it. This method takes a lot of patience.

Which of the two methods you choose has little to do with which you prefer, but which the monitor reacts better to. I've used the second method with my monitors simply because handling all of the time (method 1) would make them much wilder rather than calmer. If a monitor hates being handled (as yours does) and knows you are going to handle it every day, it isn't going to sit around waiting to be handled once you walk into the room. It's going to bolt for its hide. If you violate its hide spots by pulling it out to handle it, it'll feel even less secure and resent you that much more.

Whichever route you choose to take, never pull it out of its hide spot

[Lrptls]

wow thank you for that. it makes alot of sence too, about leting them chose to go to you and stuff. he always bolts for the hides when he sees me and most of the time i leave him alone but when i want to hold him thats usually where he is so i have to move his hides to get to him. will definetly try some stuff. i heard puting them in water and puting your hand under them for a little support teaches them to trust you, ever heard of that and if it works?

[crocdoc]

Let's look at this scenario: You have a monitor that is terrified of you, to the point that it runs to its hide when it sees you. Then it realises the hide isn't safe because you are going to pull it out of there anyway. How do you think it's going to feel when you then put it in water (a lot of monitors hate being put into water) and reach under it? I wouldn't advise this at all.

If it were me, I'd leave it alone for a while. Most monitors improve with size, anyway, as they instinctively know they have fewer predators the bigger they get and consequently become a bit bolder.

[Bartman]

Ive heard of that water thing, tried it and saw no improvment. Lately, even today, ive been seeing his getting more and more use to me being around. Today he was even grazing the tank and exploring...thats the first time ive seen him not hiding since i got him..except in the morning, every morning, same time...i see him basking and i love seeing him every morning, its so funny :)
good luck with yours!

[reptiguy123]

"1. handle it daily until it gets used to it
2. don't handle it, but let it approach you on its own terms in its own time. Do your normal things like clean, change the water etc without handling it and eventually it realises you mean it no harm and starts to get curious about you"

Sometimes a combo of #1 and #2 works (a little of both).


"especially as it soon associates you with food"
This is true. Judging by the picture, however, it looks like it hates the flash. Don't let it associateyou with cameras:D

Good luck!

[V.hb]

Ive always found handling any lizard, and leting it crawl freely through your hands without restriction works very well..

[reptiguy123]

But please, do it in a herp room!

[Lrptls]

oh i will definetly do it in my herp room, i'v let that little guy loose a few times, he can get to another side of the room in about 2 seconds

[reptiguy123]

Good.