Taming Monitors

[OuZo]

Hey guys,

Just hoping for some tips on taming goannas. We have a young Sandy who bolts if we get too close to him most of the time, on the rare occasion that you get close enough to touch him he usually runs as soon as you do! I've had a few moments where I've been able to give him a pat lol (you'd be surprised how much a monitor enjoys a rub ) but if you touch too hard or touch a spot he doesn't like he's off again. I can try to catch him but I prefer not to as because he's scared I have to chase him around the tank to get him which I figure would be a bad enough experience for him to have a negative effect instead of a positive one. I'm not sure if I should just persist with what I've been doing or if anyone has any experience hand taming and has any little tricks they can help me out with. I want him tame mainly because I don't want a psycho adult monitor that takes fingers off every time you try to clean his cage lol. Plus if he's more relaxed around people things will be much less stressful for him whenever we have to get him out for whatever reason.

Thanks guys

[skunk]

Hi Zoe !!!! hows it goin ? i had acckies that would bolt like mad n dash into rocks n cut themselfs as soon as i walked into my room. also could never touch them ...EVer ! couldnt even get close enough !

i just let them be for a while (coz i had no choice lol) n moved really slowly whenever i was around them. over time they knew i wasnt there to hurt them & would stay out basking (whilst watching me) & eventually they didnt mind me walking in n out at all.

kept this up to the point where i was able to hand feed n pick them up without them trying to bite or sturggle ! XD

[Goannas1]

try hand feeding

[OuZo]

Hey skunk I'm good how've you been?

So how did you get from walking in and out slowly so they got used to you being in the room to being able to pick them up? Was it just that they got used to seeing you around so much they didn't care or did you go into their cage and try to pick them up etc? My little guy (Achilles) doesn't mind people walking around anymore...except if you were to go up to his cage and wave your arms around wildly I'm sure he'd fret. It's just as soon as I go anywhere near him inside the cage he runs! I can rarely get close enough to touch him lol. Having said that though if I have a bit of food in tweezers he'll take it from me but first I have to get close enough for him to smell it and realise it's food lol. Should I just keep doing what I've been doing?

[cris]

http://mampam.50megs.com/monitors/advice.html there are some tips here. alot of other good info too.

If you want to handle it get it out in the morning when it is still cold. With mine i just handle them a little bit, just enough so they lose interest in crapping on you, because i dont like getting goanna poo on me, it really stinks and they have good aim

Originally Posted by snakeman89

try hand feeding

not smart if you like having fingers

[HerpAholic]

I have recently purchased my first lacey pup and it is extremly placid to start with. We actually give him (confirmed as i took him to work and had the radiographer take a quick x-ray) hand fed chicken necks and defrosted fuzzy mice as treats. They are the most, by far, intelligent animal i have captively kept.

Our Sandy was a bit of a skitz (aptly named Nik ha ha ha) but time seemed to be the thing with her (again thank god for radiographers), we brought her into a smaller enclosure and put it in our lounge room where there is plenty of action. Now we have a tamish sand monitor who is still happy to tail slapp me when she is not in the mood for company.

[tooben]

hi herp lovers im after a sand goanna i was wondering if anyone could tell me where i could get one? and ouzo if things dont work out with him let me know il take him off ya hands for ya. well i hope he tames soon for ya . have fun guys

[skunk]

hey zoe, im good thx
yeah i just let them be. n eventually they got really used to me also when i did go into the enclosure, i moved slowly n like made sure i didnt scare them. it took time but towaards they end they were totally fine !

in your case maybe just keep feeding him n so he knows ur guna give him food. altho could that be a bad thing ? he might take ur fingers thinking theyr food ? lol

how long have u had him ?

[skunk]

Ohh...also...u just remmberd u saying in ur 1st post u didnt give him hides ? my acckies had HEAPs of hides. maybe give him one so he knows hes safe when he runs into his hide ? see how that goes

[cris]

Originally Posted by skunk

in your case maybe just keep feeding him n so he knows ur guna give him food. altho could that be a bad thing ? he might take ur fingers thinking theyr food ? lol

Yes they will end up mistaking you fingers for food, my monitors will visciously attack my feeding tongs when there is no food or even a scent, sometimes they will even charge and try to take a finger or 2 even if you dont hand feed them. They are very intellegent but when they think there might be food they will attack first and think later. They are not animals to be trusted, i cant remember where i read it but someone had a really tame savanah monitor latch onto their neck in a feeding responce while hanlding it, luckily they got it off without it ripping open their jugular.