Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

crocdoc · Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:30 pm Post subject:

Dan, everyone understands you, but it just isn't necessary to do that with monitors. Monitors are smart and those that are accustomed to people usually figure out pretty quickly when it's food time and when it isn't, as long as you are consistent with your actions. They recognise feeding tongs, containers, the way you move etc. My monitors are very accustomed to my presence and I offer the flat of my hand for them to tongue flick before I do anything non food related in their enclosure. As long as I move slowly when I do that, everything is fine. If they're really hungry, I make sure they can see that my hands are empty before I open the enclosure.

However, some monitors charge you no matter what. A clicker will not change that.

The croc monitors I've seen don't seem to be the charging sort of monitor and bites that people receive from them are often the result of a quick snap at the last second. Again, a clicker will not change that.

Dan · Captivebred Communist Joined: 08 Sep 2005 Posts: 1306

JStroud · Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 11:35 pm Post subject:

Dan, Komodo's have now been target (visual) and clicker (audio) trained, however its generally been used to lead the monitor from one area to another and as yet (as far as I know) there has been no attempt to differentiate signals for different circumstances, e.g. cleaning and feeding...its mainly public institutions like zoo's that aqre progressing with the training 'mentality' for practicality, private keepers have always seemed to want to preserve natural behaviour as much possible.

I don't have any doubt it would be possible with salvadorri, I remember working with a biiigg male Nile monitor a while back that could definately tell between cage maintenance and feeding so I'm sure with some effort this individual could have been 'trained' to some extent Cool

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Regards James Stroud

crocdoc · Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2006 10:00 am Post subject:

All of my monitors know the difference between feeding and cage maintenance, but no special effort was made to train them and no clickers were involved. They 'train' that way naturally, for when I behave a certain way (ie feeding them) they get rewarded with food. When I behave another way (enclosure maintenance), they don't get a food reward. They sus that out very quickly.

Scott W · Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2006 11:17 am Post subject:

crocdoc · Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2006 11:27 am Post subject:

The thing that has impressed me most with monitors is the speed with which they get accustomed to things. My monitors, particularly my male, is oblivious to most things I do provided it has nothing to do with him (ie doesn't involve food). Even if it is something entirely new. I once did some work in the enclosure with a hand drill. He glanced over at me because of the noise, flicked his tongue a couple of times and went to sleep (with sawdust falling on his head).

However, if the new noise and/or movement is not associated with me (ie coming from a couple of metres away), he reacts. It's seems as though he has learned that I do weird things which do not harm him, so he ignores whatever I do even it is novel and noisy, but if it is coming from somewhere else it may be a threat.