Grumpy bosc monitor?

Question

ok.. kinda several questions here - so here goes -

i got my bosc monitor about 3 or 4 weeks ago and he's about 6 inches long - how old do you think he is?

and also, i've let him settle in for a while, but after that i've been handling him several times a day. he hasnt defecated on me or tried to bite me, but he hisses a lot and tries to whip me sometimes, so how do i get him to calm down?

and will he become tamer as he gets bigger and gets more used to people?

please and thankyou

Answer 1

couldnt say how old he is but i bought 1 about the same size as your picture, and was told he was 3 months but that may be innaccurate. it seems that your taming methods are working well,my monitor actually went to take my fingers off every time i touched him for the first month! i tried bribe him with food to encourage him to leave his tank on his own accord.then when he started to feel comfortable in the surroundings, start picking him up. he may hiss and whip but if u distract him with food then 9 times out of 10( with a mouthfull ) he wont flinch. remember savannahs are gluttonous and are always interested in food. trouble with this method is eventually  he will expect food every time you tend to him. but it may be the lesser of 2 evils!  he will mellow as he grows but they all have different personalities  and each behaves differently, so its up to tou to judge how to handle him. good luck you chose a fine pet look after him. you are all he has.

Answer 2

Im a monitor breeder  you must set aside time everyday to play with him

I tame mine by calling their names when I enter the enclosure (Ours is pretty big) to wake them up, and they usually come to investigate. If they are down in a burrow, I do not dig them out. I only pick them up if they come out to greet me, otherwise I assume they want to be left alone.

I think "playtime" every day aids in "taming" them, so pick a time of day that suits you both and spend an amount of time that is comfortable for them. If they get hissy, squirmy, and irritable, place them back in their enclosure. I have lizard leashes I let them walk around on, and we take trips out to the back yard to walk in the grass. Loki, our big male "likes" to be tickled/scratched/rubbed at the base of his neck, which results in him closing his eyes and clicking (gular vibrations). Freya, our female loves to climb, and especially likes to be at the apex of a person's neck that has long hair. Makes her feel safe I guess, as she also likes to be wrapped in towels, under pillows, any where hidden.

We also use aloe vera T-rex moisturizing spray and spread it on shedding areas. You shouldn't pick at sheds unless you notice anything wrong with it. Some of our Rescues in earlier years had multiple layers of sheds that they had growth restrictions in their tails.

Another thing is watch your Savannahs around other animals. Loki is almost deathly afraid of big dogs, probably because they use dogs to hunt down and dig up Savannahs in the wild. Our cat loves to bop things with his paws, so for his safety, he is not allowed around the monitors either.

your welcome

Answer 3

a few months