monitor

[D&J-burgos]

a friend of mine has a savana monitor about 4 months old, he is wanting to give it away with a 55gallon tank...ive never cared for one he says he is aggressive from little to no handling is there any way to correct his aggressiveness? (ive had other lizzards and snakes)

[Reptile_Reptile]

in most cases yes but with a monitor i hear its slightly harder cause they are vicious XD i'd wear gloves and a long sleeve shirt (maybe 2) while doing it but after he realizes your not food/trying to eat him im sure the fella will calm down... it just takes time and patience/ neosporin

[marvelfreak]

in most cases yes but with a monitor i hear its slightly harder cause they are vicious XD i'd wear gloves and a long sleeve shirt (maybe 2) while doing it but after he realizes your not food/trying to eat him im sure the fella will calm down... it just takes time and patience/ neosporin

So true. And make sure you have lots of neosporin. At that age it shouldn't be to hard to get it tamed down.

[Freebody]

from what i have read they are easy to calm down, hand feed them, and spend lots of time with them. give your little fella a warm bath and suport him in the shallow water of the tub and after a short time he will be your best friend.

[Jenn_06]

hand feeding is not a good idea,there teeth are made to bit and hold on, if you really want to feed them use some tongs.

[Freebody]

hand feeding is not a good idea,there teeth are made to bit and hold on, if you really want to feed them use some tongs.
my bad, that is what i meant :P i was just thinking in terms of putting food down and walking away :)

[infernalis]

We raised ours from a hatchling, and I can say he is absolutely not vicious at all, but he has his moments.

NEVER consider ANY reptile at "tame"

Chomper has turned on me, he's turned on "mommy", if you happen to let your guard down at any moment, you have a powerful animal with eagle talons for feet...

I'm more worried about him slashing us with his toes than getting bitten.

[bighog85]

Monitor taming is not the same as snakes. Forced handling is about the worst thing you can do. Monitors are very smart and need to build up their trust in you before anything useful will happen. The best thing to do is to just get it used to you being in the same room. If it runs away as soon as you enter the room then it will do no good to try and handle it. Not until he starts to show curiosity in you is it time to go beyond just looking. You can then start to try and tong feed and get it used to you entering its enclosure. One bad experience for the monitor can set you back a long ways so you want to do this whole thing on their terms. Never, ever grab a monitor and force it to be around you. Food is the best training aid and once you can consistently and easily tong feed, then it is time to start working on maybe petting it as you feed and getting it used to your touch. It is not a quick process and keep in mind that this animal is still young. Young monitors are very wary and it is in their nature to run from anything bigger than they are. There is no reason to handle him now and it will only be detrimental to your long term goal. Also keep in mind that within a year or so you are going to need an enclosure that is a minimum of 8'x4'x4' so if you cannot provide that, then it is probably best that you not take him.

[infernalis]

Once again, excellent post!!

Monitor taming is not the same as snakes. Forced handling is about the worst thing you can do. Monitors are very smart and need to build up their trust in you before anything useful will happen. The best thing to do is to just get it used to you being in the same room. If it runs away as soon as you enter the room then it will do no good to try and handle it. Not until he starts to show curiosity in you is it time to go beyond just looking. You can then start to try and tong feed and get it used to you entering its enclosure. One bad experience for the monitor can set you back a long ways so you want to do this whole thing on their terms. Never, ever grab a monitor and force it to be around you. Food is the best training aid and once you can consistently and easily tong feed, then it is time to start working on maybe petting it as you feed and getting it used to your touch. It is not a quick process and keep in mind that this animal is still young. Young monitors are very wary and it is in their nature to run from anything bigger than they are. There is no reason to handle him now and it will only be detrimental to your long term goal. Also keep in mind that within a year or so you are going to need an enclosure that is a minimum of 8'x4'x4' so if you cannot provide that, then it is probably best that you not take him.

[D&J-burgos]

hmm..good points, i dont think space is a problem at all, and i assume handling a monitor is similar to iguanas no? ive had two and of course it took a while but they eventually where able to approach me on their own.

[Freebody]

monitors are by far smarter than iguanas. iguanas are more the way they are as far as taming, i mean they are fine unually untill they hit maturity and if they are just nasty they will be nasty no matter what you do, same as if they are nice and calm its hard to gt them to be nasty, monitors on the other hand can be tamed and be fine for years and then you miss treat them a few time, actually my nile monitor relapsed on me after 1 bad experience. he bit be and clawed the hell out of my arm and jump out of my hands hit the ground and tried running off, so i grabbed him and he was so pissed off for months, infact he never forgave me after that. Smart with a grudge lol

[D&J-burgos]

i know they are much smaller, thats why im considering taking him off his hands..i was thinking about getting another iguana but this may be a better match for me assuming i can devote the time with him and he being smaller than iguanas.

[Freebody]

for the first few weeks your not going to handle him at all, just sit infront of the cage so he can see you and know your not a preditor, when hes fine with that and not hiding all the time , you can move in and feed him with tongs and move towards him being tame. when he is tame unlike iguana's they need to be Hot! so you cant really take him out for long periods of time any ways, but a few short trips out of the cage a day will keep him nice and happy :)

[D&J-burgos]

when i had my red i would always leave the cage open all day and he would come and go between the living room window (where my couch was and i often sat with him) and his cage...would i be able to do this with a monitor at some point?

[Freebody]

hmm no, not unless you set up a small box and keep a light that can heat him up to 130- 150d. i do know a guy on a different forum, that that does that and lets him monitor run around, so ya you can, just get a nice flood light and a large litter box with some soil in it so when he wants to heat up he can, but i still would not let him out 2 long because i bet you he would get cold just because he would want to explore more than he is worried about regulating his temp.

[D&J-burgos]

seems to me monitors might be more of a curious type..think im gonna get him

[infernalis]

i know they are much smaller, thats why im considering taking him off his hands..i was thinking about getting another iguana but this may be a better match for me assuming i can devote the time with him and he being smaller than iguanas.

Smaller??? ok.

http://www.reptard.info/chomp/chompdot.jpg

[D&J-burgos]

OMG GODZILLLAAA!!! hes awesome though! and i stand corrected...

[infernalis]

Oh and the black dog in the picture, He knows better than to mess with Chomper.

One time Chomper stole the poor dogs food, and all he could do is watch.

http://www.danceswithreptiles.com/chomp/chompace1.jpg

http://www.danceswithreptiles.com/chomp/chompace2.jpg

http://www.danceswithreptiles.com/chomp/chompace3.jpg

Now the food is gone, Chomp tried to eat the dish!

http://www.danceswithreptiles.com/chomp/chompace4.jpg

[D&J-burgos]

he gets along with your dog? that's amazing, i watched a video some one had posted i another thread..they seem to be a lot like reptilian puppies lol

[bighog85]

he gets along with your dog? that's amazing, i watched a video some one had posted i another thread..they seem to be a lot like reptilian puppies lol

I am getting the feeling that you are creating a very dangerous idea of what this animal will be like in your care. First of all, as infernalis pointed out, they are not at all smaller than iguanas. An adult male can easily be over four feet long. Second, it is NEVER a good idea to just let a monitor, or any reptile for that matter, free roam in your house. Supervised sessions are fine but if you cannot keep eyes on at all times then don't do it. There are to many things that they can get into, they can get cold, and your home I guarantee does not maintain over 60% humidity with 150 degree hot spots and an ambient temperature of 80 degrees. Third, you need to keep in mind that the animals like the one in the pictures and the videos that you have seen do not just become like that. It takes a lot of time and work and a knowledge of what you are doing. This is not to say that you can't learn on the fly but it is difficult to do and takes absolute dedication to doing what experienced keepers tell you to do. One of two things will happen if you ignore advice. He will either die young or he will turn into a very defensive animal and I promise you will not like that. Savs can become quite good pets as you have seen but they can also be living chainsaws. Know what you are getting into and do not count on this animal turning out the way you want it to.

[Freebody]

watch this guys you tube vids, i think him method of taming monitors is the best way to do it. :) hope this helps. Time is your friends when it comes to monitors. they can be nice and calm but as wayne has said in past posts, that sav hes got does have temper tantrums and throws a fit. from what i know of other people when they are nice and calm and tamed good they act like little puppies but dont count on this. I had a nile monitor last year about 4 1/2 feet, i was feeding him and he was calm and eating right infront of me, well as soon as the last bite was eatten he whiped his tail back and got me twice across my arm so hard the sharp edge of his tail slit my skin and left 2, 8" welps down my arm, and it was lighting fast and out of no wear. just somthing to keep in mind when dealing with monitors. Never trust them, you must always respect them but you can also have a lot of good times and enjoyment with them if you maintain proper husbandy :) YouTube - taming your monitor prt1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y2M5Z55BQM&feature=channel)

[infernalis]

Thank you Brian, and shame on me for leading on.

Chomper only gets to roam the house with full supervision. He is only allowed to be in the same room we are in and only for about an hour at a time.

He does not get along with the dog, the dog respects him.. The photo op was "cute" at the time but there were 3 factors that the pictures overlook.

1. Chomper found the dog feeding station while roaming the living room, Dog food is not monitor food and the only reason we allowed him to finish that bowl is because I know better than to ever attempt to take food away from a monitor while it is eating. It's a good way to get hurt interfering while they eat.

2. The dog tried to chase chomper away from the food, and chomper turned and opened his mouth and then hissed at the dog. Ace (the dog) immediately retreated and has since kept his distance most likely out of fear.

3. whenever we let Chomper roam in a room he either defecates on the floor, goes under or behind furniture forcing me to lift up the couch to get him back, or the worst thing he ever did was started to climb up a curtain and ripped the whole curtain rod down of the wall from his weight being on it.

I have some more serious pictures, I'll dig them out for you.

He has defecated down the front of me, tail whipped me and slashed me with his claws.

They are smarter than iguanas, they are more "dinosaur like" than an iguana (meaning he is an ambush predator with a predisposition to killing anything that he thinks he can eat, which means any living organism that can fit in his mouth is PREY.

They have a memory (like already mentioned) and will never forget things.

Chomper got spooked by a motorcycle once, it's been over a year and he still reacts when he hears one, even if it's on TV at the time.

I did a year of researching before I finally got him.

So please don't rush into getting one until you have all the data and can be certain of your decision.

A properly cared for Savannah will still be around when your kids go off to college and then some..(I'm more concerned about who would care for ours if he outlives me, I'm pushing 50)

Daniel Bennett published a book (here is the link)

Amazon.com: Monitor Lizards: Natural History, Biology & Husbandry (9783930612109): Daniel Bennett, Thomas Wilms, Breck Batholomew: Books (http://www.amazon.com/Monitor-Lizards-Natural-History-Husbandry/dp/3930612100)

Get this and read it cover to cover, Some of the husbandry data has advanced since it was published, but it's considered by MANY as the essential "bible" to read before you even start.

Whew... I hope I didn't omit anything...

[infernalis]

Beware of MOST of the monitor videos on youtube, there are a ton of videos put up by really stupid idiots.

One that really bothers me is a little old lady who sleeps with hers in her bed, she does not realize that she is leading people to believe they can just go out and buy a lizard that thinks it's a dog.

So PLEASE be very careful what videos you allow to bias your decisions. ;)

[Freebody]

oh i think i might have to go and give that a read as well :)

[bighog85]

The Bennett book is good as well as anything by Robert Sprackland

[D&J-burgos]

no, no...i understand what it takes to work with animals i have worked with animals all my life from the age of two years old i have worked with horses chickens cows pigs and other farm animals(i showed horses for 3 years)..ive had a red and green iguana and they where NOT animals you could handle for quite a few months, my green was 4+ ft when i got rid of them so i understand what it takes to care for larger reptiles...although i may not have any experience with monitors...i am not careless, nor do i ignore advice from people i know have more knowledge than i...i guess what i was trying to say was i am amazed with how well his monitor behaves because i have heard they can be rather aggressive...Animals are animals...no matter what they can turn at any moment i know this as well as any one should (not trying to be defensive or any thing) im just trying to learn about some options with future pets and im not trying to rush in to any thing

[D&J-burgos]

:) YouTube - taming your monitor prt1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y2M5Z55BQM&feature=channel)

thank you for this very helpful and interesting

[infernalis]

Makes me happy to read that ;)

Serious monitor folks tend to be very passionate about it.

I know we love ours, and whenever I see one that is dying or not cared for properly it tends to yank at the heart strings...

[D&J-burgos]

ill be sure to check this book out, will be in town tomorrow so i will see if i can find a copy