Savannah Monitor Handling Help

So how are you supposed to get your monitor used to being handled when it is young so it doesnt grow into a 4 foot terror?

People train/tame other animals with shock collars, choke chains, electric prods, violence delivered in the form of swats from periodicals, and verbal aggression...

And yet herp HOBBYISTS seem to believe that handling a reptile against its will somehow instantly transforms it into a resentful, and tortured slave anxiously plotting revenge.

I have multiple friends and colleagues who have reptiles of various size, including one particular acquaintance who works with V. komodoensis at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, NE. Not a single one will unequivocally state there is no place for force handling, and many of them will advocate it as the preferred method.

Patience, keeper know how, being able to read your monitor through body language and food.

You need to start over again and go back to basics, any type of rapport you had with your monitor is completely ruined by violating some of the most important things to it at this paticular time, its security and trust.

Id start by rearranging the cage decorations and add a few more hides,
just feed, water and maintain, no handling the monitor right now,
Do maintenance when the lizard is in a hide or cooler in the morning,
Get him into a routine, but hands off.

Most importantly.....
1) Dont chase it around the cage anymore.
2) Dont grab it and restrain it anymore.
3) And for goodness sake NEVER pull a monitor lizard out of its security hide. Its not a hide anymore, its a trap.

well since i started force handling her, she has became less violent in terms of when i pick her up she doesnt bite me anymore, she just shits and puffs up and actually yesterday when i handled her she didnt shit which is a good sign to me haha. Since i started force handling her when i enter the room she used to immediately run into her hide but now she seems more comfortable with me and she just kind of keeps her eye on me until I leave the room.

That's exactly what one could expect - When they realize biting doesn't get them what they want, they stop doing it. Over time they tend to learn to like or at least tolerate human interaction. My monitors like to be scratched, especially along the side of their neck, and especially when shedding.

I have to chime in here.

You can tame a monitor both ways, but they will lead to two different end results.

Slowly building trust with the monitor by feeding and allowing the monitor to have it's space and come to you on it's own terms is the best method in my opinion. They will eventually recognize you as something pleasant that will not harm them and become your "friend". This is extremely rewarding when you have a monitor that is confident and wants to be around you. This method takes months of hard work and resisting temptation to just grab the little guy and force them out. They will come to you and actually enjoy coming out with you.

The second way is forceful handleing. The end result of this is a tame lizard that has basically given up and submitted. They realize there is nothing they can do so they just stop fighting you. It's actually a pretty sad situation if you ask me. You can compare it to an abused person. Eventually that abused person just does what you want them to do because there is nothing else they can do about it. Overtime ifthey are kept in this same situation this will become the norm, but you will never get that rewarding friendship and personality that you would if the monitor was allowed to grow comfortable with you over time.

Monitors are smart lizards with personality. Do not rob the personality out of them.

Thanks MATTSC91 for the post WELL SAID. I have a Sumatran water Monitor and a black throat. My black throat took me over two years to get him to except me without stressing out. He’s still aggressive and stressed when approached (being a monitor) and will still tail whack you but good. But I never felt he would bite. Now when he goes to the vet he tries to bite his hand and face the whole time he is there. When he hands him to me he calms down once he licks my hand (the care giver).

My water monitor will simply go wild when approached and regurgitate his meal and not eat for a few days when held (being a water monitor). I’m currently going through that now. I move them out while I’m building their new zoo cages and he went nuts when I caught him. I believe I set myself back but I had no choice the off gas from the fiberglassing was just too much. I may never have the same interaction as I do with the Black throat but I do not care. My resarch leaves me some hope with him as he matures they seem to settle down but we will see. I would rather he be healthy and happy and if he can't be held without to much stress so be it.

I do not try to place human emotion to my animals but I try to understand them for what they are a reptile and a predator with unique needs. Being in Alaska I have my challenges. When I first entered this site I was told I would kill them because I had no experience with monitors. I would say they were right to a point, but common sense and research has always been my approach. I studied both species for over a year reading everything I could get my hands on but it was and still is a work in progress.

We have this...

Originally Posted by Mattsc91

I'd like to start of by saying I'm a scientist - not a hobbyist. I don't anthropomorphize my pets/specimens.

...and then this.

Originally Posted by Mattsc91

I personally have only dealt with animals that weren't excessively defensive when I acquired them. Talking to my friends, colleagues, and professors, I have identified 5 basic types of Varanid personalities.

1. The Sycophant

2. The Cool Kid

3. The Coward

4. The Bully

5. The Asshole

Where can I pick up the latest revision of the DSM - VE (Varanid Edition)?

In all seriousness, while I appreciate that Matt is attempting to be helpful, the advice given by him is terrible. Most of the "personalities" defined are, in actuality, external signs of monitors already exhibiting a high degree of stress in different stages rather than displays of individual temperament.

Reward-based training coupled with trust development (the former being a major means of achieving the latter) is not only absolutely critical but also mutually beneficial to both keeper and captive. Because it requires patience and proper husbandry practices - another lengthy subject matter entirely and extensive given the general lack of knowledge within the Varanid community - in order to succeed, few of the monitors imported and sold annually ever reach their potential as rewarding "pets/specimens". It does not take much crunching of the numbers for one to realize that very few of these creatures do not languish in captivity and perish before their first year of life is complete, so it is little wonder that what we humans in all our knowledge frequently view and identify survival behaviors as problem behaviors.

We must begin by improving husbandry and captive conditions for Varanus spp. as a whole. Then and only then will more of these fascinating lizards begin to thrive rather than merely survive or simply expire well before a small fraction of their natural lifespans has been reached. Improve environment and improve behavior. This is the point at which the keeper can begin the reward-based positive training process, and bonding based on trust will bud, blossom, and flourish.

I have to agree with Edwardo, rai10861, and Quantum Varanics. Monitors are extrememly intelligent animals; with that being said force-handling is the last method I would go with. When I first got my Savannah Monitor, I was in the same boat. He was scared, and would not tolerate any form of interaction with me. I never force handled him, and overtime he learned that I = food. That gave him a positive outlook on me, and he became much more tolerant of my presence (not running away as soon as I went in the room, even allowing me to pet him). Varanids in general require patience, and are not going to be friendly right off of the bat. However, it's a challenge that I love; if I wawnted something easy, I could have gotten a Bearded Dragon.

Reward-based training coupled with trust development (the former being a major means of achieving the latter) is not only absolutely critical but also mutually beneficial to both keeper and captive. Because it requires patience and proper husbandry practices - another lengthy subject matter entirely and extensive given the general lack of knowledge within the Varanid community - in order to succeed, few of the monitors imported and sold annually ever reach their potential as rewarding "pets/specimens". It does not take much crunching of the numbers for one to realize that very few of these creatures do not languish in captivity and perish before their first year of life is complete, so it is little wonder that what we humans in all our knowledge frequently view and identify survival behaviors as problem behaviors.

We must begin by improving husbandry and captive conditions for Varanus spp. as a whole. Then and only then will more of these fascinating lizards begin to thrive rather than merely survive or simply expire well before a small fraction of their natural lifespans has been reached. Improve environment and improve behavior. This is the point at which the keeper can begin the reward-based positive training process, and bonding based on trust will bud, blossom, and flourish.

Thats about the best general overview and information on keeping monitor lizards in captivity that I have ever read, so well said.