sav monitor handling

[Mike D]

One thing that i find helpful in trying to tame down some herps is to be as persistent as you can. if you feel the need to hold him/her. then go for it. but dont get discouraged when they get real flighty when you try to hold them. just keep trying to pick him/her up. if you give up after chasing them around there enclosure than they will know thats all they have to do to get you to not pick them up. they are smarter than you think. and when you do pick him up always make it your choice to put him/her down. just because they are trying to get down doesnt mean you have to give in. i did this with my big igg whe i got him, and now he is real tame. doesnt mind interactions with me or select people in the house.

ive been doing this with my rhino off and on now for about 3 weeks or so and he is def calming down. he will just chill on my hand and occasionally he will hang out while i am watching t.v.

remember it doesnt happen over night. just be persistant and it will pay off in the end. this is no garantee that you will have a real calm monitor. some herps just never fully calm down and thats just the way it works.

also id the Sav still flighty when you first go near its enclosure? if so you may want to deal with that before you try handling.

thats my .02

 

[woofy]

no its a random guy taming a sav
how do u not know what a sav looks like?

i meant why is he holding it like that?

 

[coura]

Sorry Jfitz, but that is terrible advice. A Sav that small will consider anything as large as a human a predator, which is why woofy is getting the behaviors she is experiencing.

Woofy what is your need to hold it? There really shouldnt be a reason for you to be grabbing and holding your monitor the way you described. If you wanted a pet to cuddle and pet then a monitor lizards was definatley the wrong way to go. Why not gain its trust first before you lunge your hand in there to pet it or pick it up? Once he associates you as something that is not dangerous then he will tolerate your presence more. You gain its trust by simply observing it and by associating yourself to him as the provider of survival resources, food and water. That should be the extent of it right now until it gets bigger and it associates you as a safe object. If you keep grabbing it and holding it then it will always associate you in a negative way.

That exacly how most lizards react. Have the same experiences with green igs

 

[coura]

If you start too early (baby hatchling stage) they will never lose the fear and will always associate you as a danger. Trust me I have seen my fair share of flighty monitors.

We also have to look at the species of animal she is working with, Savannah monitors are all wild collected. The only thing they can associate with humans is fear: why? Because when they were transported to the US they were mishandeled when they were captured they were mishandeled, when they went to the pet store they were mishandeled, so now eventhough Woofy has the best of intentions, the animal is now going to associate her with danger.

I dont think this is the type of message woofy wants to relay to her captive. So for this particular example its best to leave this animal alone.

If were talking about ackies then this would be a different story, they are captive bred and the first thing they see from the egg is a human, they get treated beautifully because they are a high end animal, and will never consider humans as a threat. Its messed up but thats the way it is.

Once again One of my old time friends(unfornatly gone far away to study) has a true captive bred female sav (the poor guy drove allmost 4hours to get it) she just melts into your hands and she was very calm even when litle