Arka Mukherjee
New Member
I've had a sand monitor for around 7 months. I'm asking about a few things. Firstly how high would all of you recommend that I keep the humidity? When he sheds I've noticed lots of stuck shed on his head, neck and tail. I think that the humidity is a too low. Is it possible to make a sand monitor enclosure bioactive?
Another thing that it would be great to receive help for is building trust with him and getting to the point where it is familiar with me. I do a lot of work near his cage so he knows my presence. When I open the enclosure normally he'll stand his ground with lots of hissing(never threatened to bite) and he rarely backs off. Most of the time i can place my hand under him and scoop him up. When handling he also tends to fight a lot but normally improves after about 2 - 3 minutes. After this I can let him roam around the living room and he's just fine. Another thing that I have noticed is that he is much calmer outdoors for some reason. How can I build trust with him?
Many other sources say to build trust through food and daily interactions inside his enclosure. Unlike many monitors that I've seen he has a low food drive. I feed him every 4 days, normally a mouse and rarely chicken or an egg. He never accepts food from the tongs, instead preferring to eat from a bowl inside his enclosure, and he won't eat unless he knows it's closed. I'm just wondering if there is anything wrong with what I'm doing, feeding him too much?
It would be great for some experienced keepers to share thoughts and experiences. If you have any feedback about what I'm doing wrong I would be glad to hear it.
Thanks Everyone, Look forward to seeing some replies!
Another thing that it would be great to receive help for is building trust with him and getting to the point where it is familiar with me. I do a lot of work near his cage so he knows my presence. When I open the enclosure normally he'll stand his ground with lots of hissing(never threatened to bite) and he rarely backs off. Most of the time i can place my hand under him and scoop him up. When handling he also tends to fight a lot but normally improves after about 2 - 3 minutes. After this I can let him roam around the living room and he's just fine. Another thing that I have noticed is that he is much calmer outdoors for some reason. How can I build trust with him?
Many other sources say to build trust through food and daily interactions inside his enclosure. Unlike many monitors that I've seen he has a low food drive. I feed him every 4 days, normally a mouse and rarely chicken or an egg. He never accepts food from the tongs, instead preferring to eat from a bowl inside his enclosure, and he won't eat unless he knows it's closed. I'm just wondering if there is anything wrong with what I'm doing, feeding him too much?
It would be great for some experienced keepers to share thoughts and experiences. If you have any feedback about what I'm doing wrong I would be glad to hear it.
Thanks Everyone, Look forward to seeing some replies!