Target training monitors

[Laghairt]

That's fascinating David, it must be amazing to keep large monitors. I can't wait until I have the room.

 

[longqi]

Crocdoc they were extremely informative excellent posts

Well done

 

[Tolly]

cheers crocdoc,

Im starting to grasp what needs to done and how to go about it, that last post has answered evrything i was curious about .also hearing about first hand scenarios is something you just dont get in books'
so again thanks for that' and thanks to everyone else who shared there experiance there was some good contributions that answered alot of my in depth questions.
good information about specific things in reptile keeping can be hard to find sometimes.

good thread!

 

[saximus]

Yeah you're lucky to have gotten such awesome answers. I've heard there are a lot of very experienced people on this site but only a couple of them are willing to provide as much info/advice as has been given here

 

[crocdoc]

Thanks, people!

 

[dihsmaj]

So crocdoc, you can actually sound-train Varanids?

 

[crocdoc]

So crocdoc, you can actually sound-train Varanids?

They can definitely be trained to respond to sound, but they're much better at responding to visual cues or combinations of sound and vision.

 

[BARRAMUNDI]

Also try contacting the training and presentations section at Alice Springs Desert Park. They were training a perentie a while back and apparently even tested to see if they could count. Not too sure if the same staff are still there, but they could also give you some experienced suggestions.......

 

[Trench]

I would think it would be dangerous to have them associate a colour with food because if you had someone feed them for you will you were away and they wore the colour that you use for feeding, their hands would be in front of the colour there for to the monitor the hands would be the food, is this correct?

crocdoc, how did you train them to sit in that corner when they want to come out and sit in your hand like that?
in the second vid how did you call that monitor (computer doesn't have sound) and train him to come when called without him exspecting food?

 

[crocdoc]

crocdoc, how did you train them to sit in that corner when they want to come out and sit in your hand like that?

It started with the male many years ago. I started letting him out of the enclosure for a wander around my place and he very quickly started to like that. They're really curious animals, so having a whole new world to explore is a big bonus. He started off being a bit nervous as he explored, but soon got more comfortable with it and it became part of his routine. Being let out was his reward, so training him to do things became easy. The enclosure door is pretty high off the floor so I'd put my hand out for him to crawl on and if he did I'd put him on the floor. If he tried squeezing past my hand, I'd keep moving my hand around so that it was in front of him and he quickly got the idea. On the hand or no going on the floor. Over time I realised that the most comfortable way (for both of us) to lift him out was if he put his arm between my thumb and forefinger so I could use it as a handle. By that stage we were doing it that way most of the time, anyway, so I decided to refine it and would always position my hand in a way that it became natural for him to use his left arm. Before long he started anticipating it by waving that arm and now he often does that before I open the enclosure door. The female had no interest in being let out until she was around four years old, because she hated people, but once she discovered the world outside the enclosure it became her thing to be let out as well and I started teaching her the arm technique.

The easiest place for me to lift them out is on the female's nest box on the right hand side of the enclosure, because it is elevated, so one day I decided that would be the only place from which I'd lift them out. That was an easy thing to teach. If I'm in the room and they're on the wrong side of the enclosure, I ignore them. If they scratch at the glass, I ignore them. The instant they head over to the nest box and sit there quietly tongue flicking, I walk straight over and let them out. Simple operant conditioning: ignore the behaviours you don't want, reward the ones you do. Took them no time to figure that one out. Now and then they slip up and scratch at the glass at the wrong end of the enclosure, but within a minute they'll usually stop, look over at the nest box and head over. They're pretty clued in reptiles.

in the second vid how did you call that monitor (computer doesn't have sound) and train him to come when called without him exspecting food?

I called him by clapping and calling his name. He is expecting food there, but not immediately. I used to feed the female in the enclosure while the male was elsewhere and preoccupied, but he usually figured out what was going on and would then be on the alert. Consequently it wouldn't take much to get him running over. I started off by clapping and then putting him in the enclosure, going to get food and then feeding him. The reward had to be delayed, for if I fed him immediately after clapping eventually he'd probably just run over and bite the clapping hands. This way he'd run over and then look at the enclosure, knowing he knew he had to be in there to be fed. In the video you can see him trying to get into the enclosure near the start of the video because I've called him over and he knew he had to be in there to get fed. Eventually I started calling his name as I clapped and then slowly reduced the clapping so he came by name only. I don't do that any more because even with the delayed reward it started to get a bit hairy at times having him run over with food on his mind.

 

[sookie]

So are all monitors food happy?thank you so very much for all the info on training techniques you use.i watched the vid of you getting him out and it did seem like a very natural response for him.oh and did enjoy your blooper reel.i thought they were world class food catchers,til i saw that.lol.

 

[Snakeluvver2]

Some monitors will eat enough to make them regurgitate.
If the heat is up and they have hides that are SECURE which means no taking them out of there hides, they are generally always hungry.
It's just a matter of gaining there trust to eat from your hands or starting to target train them.

 

[Dane001]

this is the best thread ive ever read on this site. great opportunity to learn from first hand experience. thanks to everyone who has contributed, the videos are amazing. i knew monitors were curious and adaptable, but never realized they were so intelligent.
from hatchy, right through to adult, how much do you feed them? is it like with pythons where you want to notice a bulge? with such a keen feeder then overeating must always be a concern.

 

[crocdoc]

With the appropriate enclosure conditions, hatchlings can be pretty much fed almost as much as they will eat without it harming them, as they'll put most of it into growth. They can grow incredibly quickly, but I usually temper the growth of mine a bit so that they're not growing as fast as they're physically capable. During the summer months, adult females convert much of their food intake into reproductive output, so during the mating/egg laying season I'll feed my adult female lacie as much as I feed the male, even though she's a third his weight. Adult males are the ones most at risk of becoming obese, which is why my male gets no more than the female most of the time (he gets less and she gets more, so they meet in the middle). The problem with trying to keep an adult male lace monitor slim and healthy is that there's always an 'edge' to their behaviour because they're always on the lookout for food. If someone wanted a 'dog tame' lacie, feeding it until it no longer craves food is one way to achieve that, but then it would probably live a short life like a dog (10-15 years) rather than reaching the lifespan of a healthy lacie (35+ years).

 

[Snakeluvver2]

I was taught that hatchlings should just have a constant food source.
i.e Woodies and crickets in the enclosure all the time, even when they are eating rodents.

 

[The_Dreaded_Pets]

very good thread and probably the most informative thread iv read for some time

 

[Trench]

Thanks Crocdoc

 

[nagini-baby]

great thread!!!

 

[BigWillieStyles]

really awesome vids crocdoc. Really like the ones where they were catching their food.

 

[MissFuller]

that was awesome crocdoc i know nothing when it comes to monitors so what would be a good one to start out with