Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

tidge3000 · Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:45 pm Post subject: baby monitor

i bought a baby monitor today ad it is a bit feisty and as i went 2 get it out it would not let me and kept trying to bite me. so i was wondering if any one could give me any tips please.

Kat · Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:54 pm Post subject:

people are more likely to be able to help if you mention what species you have.

You should leave him/her alone to settle in for about a week before you think of handling!

also out of interest:
what kind of set up do you have him/her in? what size? what substrate do you use? how are you regulating your temps? what temp gradient do you have in there? Is this your first lizard? what are you feeding him/her?
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Kat

tidge3000 · Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 6:47 pm Post subject:

it is a bosc monitor and it is on sand and wood chippings, the temperature is at 80c and i don't know about the night time yet as i only got it today so if any one could please give me some tips

Budda · Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:02 pm Post subject:

Leave it to settle in for a week or two keep disturbing it down to a minimum, just feed it and spot clean for the first two weeks. It will gradually get use to you being about and you can then start to introduce short handling sessions to get it used to being handled.
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Play Hard

955i · Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 10:42 pm Post subject:

Also when you do come to handle it, try not to come at it from above.

Many predators attack from above and a lot of animals can find this threatening.

Stuart · Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 10:47 pm Post subject:

It needs a higher basking temp for a start..110-120 and as its a baby I would leave it well alone for a while to settle in and become accustomed to its surroundings.
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Rick_Albig · Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 11:16 pm Post subject:

Read up and do as much research as you can on husbandry. Dirt is the best substrate, it holds moisture and a burrow really well. Give the little fellow plenty of hides. A basking spot of between 120-140 (SURFACE TEMP) warm side 80-90 cool side 70-80.

As for handling you are going to have to be patient. Baby's are often very stressed and over handling them can kill them! Give it a couple of weeks to get used to its surroundings, let it get used to your presence without you actually touching it. After a few weeks or even months try and let your monitor come to you.

I was very patient with one of my female Albigs and the rewards are fantastic. She comes to me on her own and has no fear of me at all!

Good luck

Rick

tidge3000 · Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 1:40 pm Post subject:

thanks for you indormation and i was wondering if it would be wise to put my hand in every day and let it come up to my hand or might that cause it to bite.?

Peter Parrot · Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 2:38 pm Post subject:

Your best bet by far is to just leave the animal well alone for a good few weeks while it acclimates. As long as it is fed and watered and at the right temperature it will be fine. Putting your hand in daily at this stage will only stress it unneccesarily possibly causing the animal to lose condition as well as lessening any chances you have of eventually owning a "human conditioned" (no such thing as tame in my opinion) monitor.

Patience is what is required, and plenty of it. Wink

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tidge3000 · Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 3:09 pm Post subject:

thanks all and btw does it matter all that much if they dont have a uv light for about two days because it has run out and i cant get down to the shop untill sunday