Strange behavior

[smy_749]

So I went into my mangroves cage today to take out his basking log because he defecated all over it (he doesn't do it in the water ever) and he came out of another hide underneath it, stared at me, and I froze. He panicked and ran towards me, not away and I dropped the log. Then he was near the door and I thought he was gonna make a break for it so figured I'd just close it and do it after. Moved my hand, and wham, he nailed me on my pointer finger. Have to say, not much blood, but it hurts pretty bad (I think its just bruising or something) because the cut isn't deep at all.

Anyways, thats weird behavior number one. Since he was being a weirdo, I decided to take him out, give him a bath, and see if anything was out of the ordinary (thorn in his side or something :P , makin him grumpy) because he always calms down long enough for me to see if anything is up.

Anyways, in the bath he was doin his thing, not being aggressive not minding me. And I did find tiny cut on his head, but I think it was from our little encounter, looked fresh and just from bumping into a wall while visciously attacking me. Anyways, I picked him up, and started rubbing shed skin on his neck. He pushed up against my finger with his neck muscles, and calmed down instantly....So I thought it was weird and rubbed his back and he jumped away. Did it again, squirmy and wrestless . Rub the neck = calm down and push up against my fingers, when I switch sides he would push up against the other side as well and sit calmly.

Do monitors actually enjoy neck rubs or am I crazy?

[jarich]

Originally Posted by smy_749

So I went into my mangroves cage today to take out his basking log because he defecated all over it (he doesn't do it in the water ever) and he came out of another hide underneath it, stared at me, and I froze. He panicked and ran towards me, not away and I dropped the log. Then he was near the door and I thought he was gonna make a break for it so figured I'd just close it and do it after. Moved my hand, and wham, he nailed me on my pointer finger. Have to say, not much blood, but it hurts pretty bad (I think its just bruising or something) because the cut isn't deep at all.

Anyways, thats weird behavior number one. Since he was being a weirdo, I decided to take him out, give him a bath, and see if anything was out of the ordinary (thorn in his side or something :P , makin him grumpy) because he always calms down long enough for me to see if anything is up.

Anyways, in the bath he was doin his thing, not being aggressive not minding me. And I did find tiny cut on his head, but I think it was from our little encounter, looked fresh and just from bumping into a wall while visciously attacking me. Anyways, I picked him up, and started rubbing shed skin on his neck. He pushed up against my finger with his neck muscles, and calmed down instantly....So I thought it was weird and rubbed his back and he jumped away. Did it again, squirmy and wrestless . Rub the neck = calm down and push up against my fingers, when I switch sides he would push up against the other side as well and sit calmly.

Do monitors actually enjoy neck rubs or am I crazy?

You know your monitor better than anyone, but I think your interpretation may be a bit off from the sounds of it. That first part doesnt sound like "He panicked" so much as it sounds like he thought you had food and was coming to investigate. He latched on to your finger to find out if it was food (lets face it, monitors are kind of a 'eat first, ask questions later' animal), and was nice enough to let go after finding out it wasnt. Sounds to me like the reaction of a pretty typical healthy monitor that is acclimated finally

The neck behaviour sounds like what they do when they are pissed off. Ever seen a picture of an upset monitor? They puff out their throat, move their head and neck up and 'flare', all to appear bigger and meaner. Seems more like he was pushing to get your hands off him rather than because he was enjoying it. I could be wrong of course, but the signs seem to point in that direction rather than that he was enjoying it.

[smy_749]

Originally Posted by jarich

You know your monitor better than anyone, but I think your interpretation may be a bit off from the sounds of it. That first part doesnt sound like "He panicked" so much as it sounds like he thought you had food and was coming to investigate. He latched on to your finger to find out if it was food (lets face it, monitors are kind of a 'eat first, ask questions later' animal), and was nice enough to let go after finding out it wasnt. Sounds to me like the reaction of a pretty typical healthy monitor that is acclimated finally

The neck behaviour sounds like what they do when they are pissed off. Ever seen a picture of an upset monitor? They puff out their throat, move their head and neck up and 'flare', all to appear bigger and meaner. Seems more like he was pushing to get your hands off him rather than because he was enjoying it. I could be wrong of course, but the signs seem to point in that direction rather than that he was enjoying it.

About the feeding response, he still doesn't feed off tongs, even if its a fat bloody mouse and I rub it all over his face. He won't feed when I'm in the room and he can see me even. And he was backed into a corner, thats why I think he went berserk. He also doesn't tail whip , but did flare up before hand, so I'm pretty sure he was just being mean.

About the neck thing, I know what you mean. But he didn't flare out his throat. He would actually do all the typical monitor defensive posture stuff, and scratch to get out of my hands, until I started rubbing his neck, then he would stop and sit calmly...He even let me rub underneath his throat with no issue. He also didn't move his head up , was just laying there chillen. lol I'm still convinced he enjoyed it, only because I know what he does when hes pissed. When hes uncomfortable, even in the bath, he just makes a run for it. He never goes cryptic and lets me annoy him

[shaunyboy]

you have a lot of nerves in your finger tip,so that may be the reason its hurting so much.....

it could also be he snapped a tooth and left it in your finger tip

i always check a snakes teeth after the have a bite at me,just to make sure theres no damage

cheers shaun

[infernalis]

Originally Posted by jarich

(lets face it, monitors are kind of a 'eat first, ask questions later' animal)

Fact: and it sometimes costs them their lives.

Perentie tries to swallow echidna. Echidna too spiky, Perentie gets horribly injured. Dies. – Tetrapod Zoology

[smy_749]

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

you have a lot of nerves in your finger tip,so that may be the reason its hurting so much.....

it could also be he snapped a tooth and left it in your finger tip

i always check a snakes teeth after the have a bite at me,just to make sure theres no damage

cheers shaun

I won't be checking his teeth haha, Theres nothing stuck in my finger luckily and it wasn't the tip (Idk if I wrote that) it was the last digit of my pointer finger, the meatiest part.

[murrindindi]

Originally Posted by smy_749

About the feeding response, he still doesn't feed off tongs, even if its a fat bloody mouse and I rub it all over his face. He won't feed when I'm in the room and he can see me even. And he was backed into a corner, thats why I think he went berserk. He also doesn't tail whip , but did flare up before hand, so I'm pretty sure he was just being mean.

About the neck thing, I know what you mean. But he didn't flare out his throat. He would actually do all the typical monitor defensive posture stuff, and scratch to get out of my hands, until I started rubbing his neck, then he would stop and sit calmly...He even let me rub underneath his throat with no issue. He also didn't move his head up , was just laying there chillen. lol I'm still convinced he enjoyed it, only because I know what he does when hes pissed. When hes uncomfortable, even in the bath, he just makes a run for it. He never goes cryptic and lets me annoy him

Hi, a couple of things I see that may be a cause for concern; why are you bathing him outside the enclosure if he isn`t yet acclimated to you enough to even take food from tongs?
You say he doesn`t defaecate in his water container, is the water heated to the mid 80`s F, if not, he won`t stay in there too long at any time, even to defaecate?
They do appear to "like" being rubbed around the neck area, but touching them on their back may be taken as a domination sign. Try touching on the sides of the body, particularly where the legs join (inside the thighs and "armpits", in the latter the skin is very soft, also the side of the face between the eye and tympanic membrane, make small (clockwise) circles with your finger tip.
I`m not suggesting anyone tries those unless the monitor allows contact without defensive posturing.

[smy_749]

Originally Posted by murrindindi

Hi, a couple of things I see that may be a cause for concern; why are you bathing him outside the enclosure if he isn`t yet acclimated to you enough to even take food from tongs?
You say he doesn`t defaecate in his water container, is the water heated to the mid 80`s F, if not, he won`t stay in there too long at any time, even to defaecate?
They do appear to "like" being rubbed around the neck area, but touching them on their back may be taken as a domination sign. Try touching on the sides of the body, particularly where the legs join (inside the thighs and "armpits", in the latter the skin is very soft, also the side of the face between the eye and tympanic membrane, make small (clockwise) circles with your finger tip.
I`m not suggesting anyone tries those unless the monitor allows contact without defensive posturing.

I haven't really been working to have him take from tongs. And haven't been working to have him used to my company. I just leave him be, clean his enclosure, check temps, and feed him in a feeding dish. Should he become accustomed to tongs even without attempting to tong feed or...

The water is 78 degrees, I have a zoomed probe that I bought for the basking spot initially that I just put in there to read those temps and get some use out of it..and he hangs out in there alot, just doesn't poop in it.

Didn't know about touching the back, thanks.

[murrindindi]

I would increase the water temp by another few degrees F, at times they may stay in the pool overnight.
If you haven`t yet started spending time close to the enclosure so he (hopefully) gets to realise you aren`t a threat it will take that much longer to get him feeding from tongs, which is the beginning of gaining the animal`s trust.
I used to sit in front of my enclosure for a couple of hours in the evening (on the laptop, sat on the floor), that made a big difference to my monitor`s behaviour towards me.

[smy_749]

Originally Posted by murrindindi

I would increase the water temp by another few degrees F, at times they may stay in the pool overnight.
If you haven`t yet started spending time close to the enclosure so he (hopefully) gets to realise you aren`t a threat it will take that much longer to get him feeding from tongs, which is the beginning of gaining the animal`s trust.
I used to sit in front of my enclosure for a couple of hours in the evening (on the laptop, sat on the floor), that made a big difference to my monitor`s behaviour towards me.

He is in the same room, but my back is to him when I sit at my computer desk. The closest I've gotten with him was a few times grabbing a food or water pool out and noticed he hadn't scurried in a hide, I left my hand there and he came over, touched me with his tongue a few times, and went back to hide somewhere. He has no problem being out and about when I'm around usually either. I'll move the pool closer to the CHE and see what that does...its only a 60 W

[murrindindi]

Originally Posted by smy_749

He is in the same room, but my back is to him when I sit at my computer desk. The closest I've gotten with him was a few times grabbing a food or water pool out and noticed he hadn't scurried in a hide, I left my hand there and he came over, touched me with his tongue a few times, and went back to hide somewhere. He has no problem being out and about when I'm around usually either. I'll move the pool closer to the CHE and see what that does...its only a 60 W

The best way is to use an aquarium heater, even a 50w will heat a fair sized container (what are you using for a pool?), they are extremely economical to run 24/7.

[smy_749]

Originally Posted by murrindindi

The best way is to use an aquarium heater, even a 50w will heat a fair sized container (what are you using for a pool?), they are extremely economical to run 24/7.

2 feet long 1 foot wide 6 inch deep sterilite. I have a few 50 watt heaters from fish tanks laying around, I just didn't put it in there because I thought he might shatter the glass or mess with the plug or something...Idk just thought it wouldn't last.

[erichillkeast]

Originally Posted by smy_749

2 feet long 1 foot wide 6 inch deep sterilite. I have a few 50 watt heaters from fish tanks laying around, I just didn't put it in there because I thought he might shatter the glass or mess with the plug or something...Idk just thought it wouldn't last.

They make a few heaters that ate made for reptiles that have a plastic guard on them. Maybeyou could take a look at one to see if you aare able to rig somethingssimilarup with one of the heaters you already have?

[smy_749]

This was the bottom of the bite, got a bit lumpy now haha the cut was from the other side, nothing serious just thought Id show it