Help Taming My Lizard

[CornSnakeMan]

Can anyone give me tips on how I could tame my skittish sudan plated lizard because I want her to not be scared to eat around me because I could watch her for hours and when I leave thats when she decides to move. I try to make her happy but she treats me like dirt. I love lizards especially this kind but I cant get her to be nice to me, I tried holding her more leave her alone for hours rubbing her on the head and back but she still hates me. She wont even eat around me, I'm not liking this at all so I need help any and all tips are all very appreciated.

[Zoe]

You've got to let her get used to her new surroundings first. Even a tame leopard gecko will hide for the first little while in a new house. Just give her time, go visit her every now and then but just by her cage (maybe with a book or magazine) so she gets used to your presence.

Good luck!
Zoe

[CornSnakeMan]

ok thanx and could you answer my other question in the other topic

[eyespy]

It's really really normal for most lizards not to eat around a potential predator, it's when they are at their most distracted and vulnerable.

I'm not that familiar with plated lizards so here's just a few general tips on how not to appear like a predator.

Don't stare! Predators watch animals constantly waiting for their moment, so if you are often seen watching the lizard you are freaking her out. It's so hard to resist just watching your beloved herps but it's one of the best things you can do for them until they adjust to your presence. Watch her from the corner of your eye or through lowered lids, frequently turning away your head entirely.

Never approach from above. That's how most lizards get eaten. Even when a snake is the predator they often rise up in a strike position. Try approaching slowly with your hand at or near ground level.

Let your hand rest in the enclosure from time to time, going nowhere near the lizard, just out in plain sight so that your platie will get used to your presence. Don't move it around, don't put it behind cage furniture where it looks like an ambush waiting to happen, and don't watch your platie while you are doing this! Just sit and read a book or watch tv or something with your hand resting in there.

[Katatonic]

Couldn't have said ^ that better myself. Beautiful guidelines to gaining 'trust' in a new flighty herp.

[CornSnakeMan]

thanx alot everybody you guys at this board really knows how to help people with their problems

[Emily-Fisher]

Perhaps your lizard thinks that we are going to try and eat her or that we are predators? If that's the case, she wil try to blend into her surroundings are act dead so that you won't notice her. I'm n ot sure if this will help but I hope it gives you some ideas!