# Target training monitors



## Tolly (May 9, 2011)

G'day,
Im wanting to know if any of you that own monitors particularly medium to large ones, have tried or had any success with target food training?
Ive seen this done in videos of zoo keepers and other private keepers.
Also other than target training, are there any routines you use when feeding.
The reason i ask is that im very interested in getting into monitors and my main concern is learning food response behaviour and how defined u can get those responses to be through training from a young age.

any and all responses apprieciated


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## damian83 (May 9, 2011)

im pretty sure david attenborough did a colour test, and he used a black ball and a white ball one on each side of the cage if he toughed the black food dropped to him, to prove it wasnt a fluke he swapped the balls over opposite sides, again the monitor chose the right ball for the food to drop
(not sure if thats what you mean though)


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## Mudimans (May 9, 2011)

I'm not sure if you would consider it food training but if i open up my monitor enclosures and show them my empty hands then i can reach in a clean the enclosure and change their water whilst they sit there. However as soon as they see feeding tongs in my hands they go absolutely balistic and i have to be VERY careful of fingers and toes.


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## dihsmaj (May 9, 2011)

damian83 said:


> im pretty sure david attenborough did a colour test, and he used a black ball and a white ball one on each side of the cage if he toughed the black food dropped to him, to prove it wasnt a fluke he swapped the balls over opposite sides, again the monitor chose the right ball for the food to drop
> (not sure if thats what you mean though)


 That's in 'Lizard Kings'.


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## sookie (May 9, 2011)

Like in the story of Pavlov's dogs?trained to drool by a ringing bell?aren't crocs taught by a whistle or bell too?


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## damian83 (May 9, 2011)

thats it i was watching it one night her on sbs or something it was really interesting!!! wonder if i can get it anywhere


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## Tolly (May 9, 2011)

yeah thats definatly what im talking about, it makes perfect sense to me to use an object( like a coloured ball attached to a stick) to let them know when its time to feed, if it can be done.
From alot of other articles,threads and videos its said that monitors are pretty intelligent and quickly learn routines once they have become comfortable enough with your presence.



Mudimans said:


> I'm not sure if you would consider it food training but if i open up my monitor enclosures and show them my empty hands then i can reach in a clean the enclosure and change their water whilst they sit there. However as soon as they see feeding tongs in my hands they go absolutely balistic and i have to be VERY careful of fingers and toes.


 
ive seen videos of some of expierianced keepers feeding by hand and dont doubt they know what they are doing but what i want to know is, how do they get a monitor to realise that when they put there hands out to handle them or let them climb up their arm its not food time.
i mean just in the early stages when your gaining there trust and they are learning what is and isnt food?

id love to hear the views of some larger moniter breeders/keepers?


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## Pinoy (May 9, 2011)

I think it would be easier to teach them when it is feeding time, rather than when not to bite you.

As in if you only ever fed them with tongs, they would quickly associate that with food. Or maybe something you could try, make it more obvious when food is on the way to get a reaction so that there is no reaction unless they see the trigger. Maybe Tongs and garden gloves or something like that so when they see you dressed up like that it's time to eat.

My beardie really reacts to the tongs I use when I feed her crickets. Other than that, she may as well be an ornament cos she never moves without food lol.


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## Tolly (May 9, 2011)

bump


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## monitordude (May 9, 2011)

yep it can be donel, my mate done it with his perenties and lacys, you can pat/hold em or have your hand in there straight after a feed them, as long as the target isnt in sight im cuurently working on my juv spencers.
best to start with younge animals.


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## fish_boy (May 9, 2011)

Hey Tolly,
Im pretty new to monitors as well,
i have a lacie (bells phase)
I got him when he was 1.5-2yrs old, he has had two owners previous to me so age is abit of a mystery
I started out pretty strict with target and routine as a combination,
To get fed 
1) he only sees the feeding bucket and thongs if i am feeding him, otherwise i keep it in another room out of site,
2) i open the door and place the target next to a branch, the target is a short stick with a tennis ball on the end, whole thing is wrapped in wide electrical tape,
3) i hold the target just in front of the food, when his nose touches the target i slowly (as not to spook him) pull the target back and move the food (using thongs) forward.
Using this method i have trialed feeding him from the same door but from different angles, i.e on the ground, half way up a branch (1.5m), on a branch at eye level (1.9m) and few in between,
Once he as the trigger for food and has been possible to move him around the enclosure or closer to me
I have been trying to slowly build trust, he was pretty nervous when i first got him, 
Not sure if this works for you, it will depend alot on the character of your monitor, how hungry they are, the layout of your enclosure and how much patience you have,
I would try crocdoc or serpentongue, those guys have hell of alot more experience in this area then me.


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## Tolly (May 9, 2011)

monitordude said:


> yep it can be donel, my mate done it with his perenties and lacys, you can pat/hold em or have your hand in there straight after a feed them, as long as the target isnt in sight im cuurently working on my juv spencers.
> best to start with younge animals.


 
Cheers monitordude,
Thats what i wanted to hear, im sure there is alot more in depth and detail to pulling it off with lacies and perentie but to me it really sounds like a safer and more responsible way to train them into adults.

also id really like to know how you go with your spencers, thats what im planning to start with.

thanks for sharing that reptile boy, i like hearing that it works for people'
also ive been through a fairbit of crocdoc and serpentonges posts, pics and videos, very impressive and informative to say the least, i was hoping they might share their knowledge in this thread actually theres quiet a few blokes i would like to pick the brains of on aps about monitors'
hope they contribute'
cheers tolly


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## sookie (May 9, 2011)

Yep,i am also hoping for the more experienced to join in.i would love to get my mitts on the youngest ackie i can and start the training process.Squish knows the white cricket click-clack means feeding time for crickets,he knows the cotainer in the fridge with the mealworms,and he kinda always has salad available......so by his reaction i know what he feels like for dinner.


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## crocdoc (May 9, 2011)

I've done quite a bit of training with my monitors and can say that, without a doubt, they are smart and learn incredibly quickly, especially if there is a food reward involved. However, it is very easy to teach them to _do_ something with positive reinforcement, but much harder to teach them to _not_ do something. For example, getting them to target a ball on the end of a stick and associate that with food would be dead easy and you could get a well motivated monitor to do that over the course of a single weekend, but if you think that the absence of the target ball is a guarantee the animal will not bite you're going to be in for a rude shock. It is sometimes surprising what triggers a feeding response in an adult lace monitor and you don't want to be in a compromising position when the surprise comes. My animals would be considered to be very 'tame' and I interact with them a lot, but after having kept them for a good number of years I know that there's always an edge there and I am only one silly mistake away from a serious injury. I don't know what Spencer's monitors are like, but at least they don't have the arsenal of lace monitors. 

Don't get me wrong - they are loads of fun, really interesting captives and I do get a kick out of training them to do things. My lace monitor pair are trained to sit in a certain spot when they want to be let out the enclosure and to climb onto my hand in a very specific way in order to be lifted out (I've just been shooting some more video of this the past few days, but here's an old youtube video of it when I first started) [video=youtube;PxeB8kYPP0A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxeB8kYPP0A[/video].

Compare that calm demeanour with feeding behaviour (and notice, at the beginning of the video, that I was once teaching my male to come when I called and would then lift him into the enclosure to be fed - I stopped this because it was getting dangerous).
[video=youtube;7NIOeF2ICmo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NIOeF2ICmo[/video]

Lately I've been teaching the male and female to run up separate tree trunks when I feed them so I can feed them both at the same time without them attacking each other for food. This has been going extremely well and at some stage I'll post a video. I had thought of using different coloured balls on the ends of sticks so they knew which tree to go up (for example, black ball for the male and white for the female), but it seems they're quickly figuring out that I'm always enticing each up the same tree so with enough repetition they'll just end up doing it anyway. It has already started happening that when the male sees me coming and thinks food is on offer he goes half way up his tree and stares at me. 

One thing I wouldn't do, though, would be to teach them to feed from my hands. I'm sure it would be possible, but that would be putting too much trust in a thin veneer of training and my hands are too valuable to me for that sort of gamble. It's better just to keep my hands out of harm's way. They're monitors and they have a feeding response so I work around it rather than fight it. They're not a bitey animal on the whole but if there's even the hint of food all bets are off. The chances of eliminating the feeding response to the point that you could trust a monitor never to bite (even if you smell of food and are waving your hands around) are slim and not worth entertaining. 

Perhaps the best thing to do, Tolly, would be to explain what it is you were hoping to achieve and then some of us can make an educated guess as to whether or not it is possible and/or likely.


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## lazylizzy (May 9, 2011)

its easy to do if you find something that draws their attention already.. like the sound of something dropping to the floor of the enclosure (food) and then work with that. fred would sprint at the sound as from a young age i dropped a dog kibble in his bowl every day as a treat which made a dinging sound


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## Tolly (May 9, 2011)

hey crocdoc and thanks for your reply,

Basically you've covered most of what i was wanting to know, im just trying to research the whole food response in monitors to death so that i have as much knowledge as is known by experianced keepers before i start the process myself.
im very aware and realistic to the danger side of monitor keeping its more that i wanted to find what can be achieved with them and im definatly not another i want another (dog tame ) reptile keeper
more just being able to get my own to a standard of routine like( being hopefull) your lacies.
i know that each individual lizard can have its own character and temprement and theres more to it than that.

Basically you've stated that they cant be fully trusted ,my worst fear would be to have an adult 
on my arm or being held and something unbeknown to me sets off food mode,so i guess i was hoping to learn how to minimize the chances of that down to the lowest percentage as possible.

to be able to disassociate myself and limbs as food would be the ultimate goal, so i can interact with them safely so i can move them if need be or check them out for health maintain enclosures etc..

also in the early stages how you go about first getting them to touch you on there own accord without biting you'
ok quick scenario; Your extending your hand out to your monitor thats gain enough trust to approach you , it approaches in an assumed neautral curious mode'
Q; do u leave your hand there and hope he doesnt bite? or
do u be at the ready to pull away if hes about to bite and by pulling away scare them and shatter there trust.?
im mean the ideal is that he just climbs up without biting,

Id just like to know how one goes about this sort off moment..

Also sorry about the multiple questions but i have hundreds off them..lol


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## imported_Varanus (May 10, 2011)

Very interesting thread, thanks for posting!

I have found that, where food and the smell of food and any food associated activity is involved, all bets are off ("Danger, Danger, Will Robinson"). Though sometimes on cooler days, feeding is alot more gentle an affair, I still plan for the worst. As I live in a cooler climate, I keep my pair indoors overnight and move my male (female panics at the mere hint of going ouside) to the outdoor avery, when weather permits. He rides outside, and back inside again in the afternoon, on an old grey jacket that I originally started using for no other reason than to avoid being torn as badly by his raptor- like claws. After doing this on a daily basis, he can now make his own choice to go outside, by climbing up my jacketed arm and onto my back or by simply moving past my arm and into the rest of the room to bask at the window on cooler days. Offering/ wearing the jacket always means an opportunity to go outside, he can choose to take it or leave it. Both animals when I'm downstairs will treat me like another piece of furniture and climb on me anytime (like now while I'm sitting at the computer!). But the female, who dislikes going outside, will always avoid climbing on me when I'm wearing the jacket.


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## crocdoc (May 10, 2011)

Tolly said:


> to be able to disassociate myself and limbs as food would be the ultimate goal, so i can interact with them safely so i can move them if need be or check them out for health maintain enclosures etc..


That is doable and easy as long as it is you doing the interaction, for by the time they're adults you'll know what triggers a feeding response and how to avoid making those moves. The important thing is never to become complacent. We all do it at some stage and that's when accidents happen.



Tolly said:


> in the early stages how you go about first getting them to touch you on there own accord without biting you


I start off when they are young and use gloves. Often I'll put one gloved hand down, palm up, and dangle food above it from forceps held with the other hand so the monitor has to crawl onto the glove to get the food. It's important that the gloved hand entering the enclosure is moved very very slowly and that the food and glove don't touch. The monitor will usually tongue flick the glove and the odd one will try to bite it (it's actually quite unusual, in my experience), so I'll just give it a gentle flick or chuck on the chin with a finger to discourage it. Not enough to freak it out, just enough to stop the bite. It doesn't take long for them to separate glove from food. Later I'll start to dissociate the glove from food and put it in there when there is no food. After that I'll start introducing my ungloved hand gradually. It's best to start with a flattened palm facing them, which is harder to bite than fingertips, and let them tongue flick it. Watch their pupils to make sure they don't suddenly contract, which means they are about to take a bite, don't let them repetitively tongue flick the same spot for too long and never let them nudge a part of your hand with the tip of their snout. On the whole, they're not really bitey animals if you do the right things (at least, lacies aren't), but things go pear shaped if there is fast movement or food smells on your hand. Then all bets are off.

To give you an idea about what I was talking about in my previous post about feeding response/trust etc: My monitors are allowed to wander around my home, whenever I am here to let them out, and have been doing this for years. They wander around checking things out and I just carry on doing what I normally do. One day I was ironing some clothes while wearing a pair of thongs. I finished ironing and was putting away the iron when the electrical cord dropped out of my hand and the plug hit the floor with a thud. Not something you'd normally even think about, but the movement caused my male lacie to come flying across the room in half a second and before I knew it he was right next to my thong clad foot with his head darting around in food-brain mode. This is not a good scenario to be in with an adult lace monitor. Had I moved, I could have been bitten and even a simple bite can lead to severed tendons, arteries and nerves. All because of an electrical cord hitting the ground. Now I wear shoes or boots whenever the monitors are out, just in case. On another occasion I was cleaning my computer monitor with a white dust cloth and the same animal saw the movement. Small, white and moving - has to be a rat, right? I felt his claws on my leg and looked down to see him looking up at my hand intensely, with his arms wrapped around my jean-clad lower leg. Any movement and he would have been running full speed up my leg and straight for the hand holding the white cloth. Without moving a muscle in the arm holding the cloth, I gently pushed him off my leg with my other (boot clad) foot and waited for him to get over his food response. 

The thing to keep in mind is that they're not always like that and those are just two sample instances out of hundreds of uneventful days of them being let out, but all it takes is one incident for a bad injury. As a consequence, I no longer let them out of the enclosure when I have guests over (unless the guests are reptile keepers themselves and appropriately shoed).


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## SamNabz (May 10, 2011)

Very informative and interesting read David, thanks for that mate.


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## saximus (May 10, 2011)

Wow they really are interesting stories. It's fantastic that you were able to read those actions and react appropriately. A lot of people may have just been frightened by these experiences and given up on the animals. Thanks David


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## Laghairt (May 10, 2011)

That's fascinating David, it must be amazing to keep large monitors. I can't wait until I have the room.


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## longqi (May 10, 2011)

Crocdoc they were extremely informative excellent posts

Well done


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## Tolly (May 10, 2011)

cheers crocdoc,

Im starting to grasp what needs to done and how to go about it, that last post has answered evrything i was curious about .also hearing about first hand scenarios is something you just dont get in books'
so again thanks for that' and thanks to everyone else who shared there experiance there was some good contributions that answered alot of my in depth questions.
good information about specific things in reptile keeping can be hard to find sometimes.

good thread!


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## saximus (May 10, 2011)

Yeah you're lucky to have gotten such awesome answers. I've heard there are a lot of very experienced people on this site but only a couple of them are willing to provide as much info/advice as has been given here


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## crocdoc (May 10, 2011)

Thanks, people!


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## dihsmaj (May 10, 2011)

So crocdoc, you can actually sound-train Varanids?


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## crocdoc (May 10, 2011)

Plimpy said:


> So crocdoc, you can actually sound-train Varanids?


 They can definitely be trained to respond to sound, but they're much better at responding to visual cues or combinations of sound and vision.


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## BARRAMUNDI (May 10, 2011)

Also try contacting the training and presentations section at Alice Springs Desert Park. They were training a perentie a while back and apparently even tested to see if they could count. Not too sure if the same staff are still there, but they could also give you some experienced suggestions.......


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## Trench (May 10, 2011)

I would think it would be dangerous to have them associate a colour with food because if you had someone feed them for you will you were away and they wore the colour that you use for feeding, their hands would be in front of the colour there for to the monitor the hands would be the food, is this correct?

crocdoc, how did you train them to sit in that corner when they want to come out and sit in your hand like that?
in the second vid how did you call that monitor (computer doesn't have sound) and train him to come when called without him exspecting food?


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## crocdoc (May 10, 2011)

Trench said:


> crocdoc, how did you train them to sit in that corner when they want to come out and sit in your hand like that?



It started with the male many years ago. I started letting him out of the enclosure for a wander around my place and he very quickly started to like that. They're really curious animals, so having a whole new world to explore is a big bonus. He started off being a bit nervous as he explored, but soon got more comfortable with it and it became part of his routine. Being let out was his reward, so training him to do things became easy. The enclosure door is pretty high off the floor so I'd put my hand out for him to crawl on and if he did I'd put him on the floor. If he tried squeezing past my hand, I'd keep moving my hand around so that it was in front of him and he quickly got the idea. On the hand or no going on the floor. Over time I realised that the most comfortable way (for both of us) to lift him out was if he put his arm between my thumb and forefinger so I could use it as a handle. By that stage we were doing it that way most of the time, anyway, so I decided to refine it and would always position my hand in a way that it became natural for him to use his left arm. Before long he started anticipating it by waving that arm and now he often does that before I open the enclosure door. The female had no interest in being let out until she was around four years old, because she hated people, but once she discovered the world outside the enclosure it became her thing to be let out as well and I started teaching her the arm technique. 

The easiest place for me to lift them out is on the female's nest box on the right hand side of the enclosure, because it is elevated, so one day I decided that would be the only place from which I'd lift them out. That was an easy thing to teach. If I'm in the room and they're on the wrong side of the enclosure, I ignore them. If they scratch at the glass, I ignore them. The instant they head over to the nest box and sit there quietly tongue flicking, I walk straight over and let them out. Simple operant conditioning: ignore the behaviours you don't want, reward the ones you do. Took them no time to figure that one out. Now and then they slip up and scratch at the glass at the wrong end of the enclosure, but within a minute they'll usually stop, look over at the nest box and head over. They're pretty clued in reptiles. 




Trench said:


> in the second vid how did you call that monitor (computer doesn't have sound) and train him to come when called without him exspecting food?


I called him by clapping and calling his name. He is expecting food there, but not immediately. I used to feed the female in the enclosure while the male was elsewhere and preoccupied, but he usually figured out what was going on and would then be on the alert. Consequently it wouldn't take much to get him running over. I started off by clapping and then putting him in the enclosure, going to get food and then feeding him. The reward had to be delayed, for if I fed him immediately after clapping eventually he'd probably just run over and bite the clapping hands. This way he'd run over and then look at the enclosure, knowing he knew he had to be in there to be fed. In the video you can see him trying to get into the enclosure near the start of the video because I've called him over and he knew he had to be in there to get fed. Eventually I started calling his name as I clapped and then slowly reduced the clapping so he came by name only. I don't do that any more because even with the delayed reward it started to get a bit hairy at times having him run over with food on his mind.


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## sookie (May 11, 2011)

So are all monitors food happy?thank you so very much for all the info on training techniques you use.i watched the vid of you getting him out and it did seem like a very natural response for him.oh and did enjoy your blooper reel.i thought they were world class food catchers,til i saw that.lol.


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## Snakeluvver2 (May 11, 2011)

Some monitors will eat enough to make them regurgitate. 
If the heat is up and they have hides that are SECURE which means no taking them out of there hides, they are generally always hungry. 
It's just a matter of gaining there trust to eat from your hands or starting to target train them.


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## Dane001 (May 12, 2011)

this is the best thread ive ever read on this site. great opportunity to learn from first hand experience. thanks to everyone who has contributed, the videos are amazing. i knew monitors were curious and adaptable, but never realized they were so intelligent.
from hatchy, right through to adult, how much do you feed them? is it like with pythons where you want to notice a bulge? with such a keen feeder then overeating must always be a concern.


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## crocdoc (May 12, 2011)

With the appropriate enclosure conditions, hatchlings can be pretty much fed almost as much as they will eat without it harming them, as they'll put most of it into growth. They can grow incredibly quickly, but I usually temper the growth of mine a bit so that they're not growing as fast as they're physically capable. During the summer months, adult females convert much of their food intake into reproductive output, so during the mating/egg laying season I'll feed my adult female lacie as much as I feed the male, even though she's a third his weight. Adult males are the ones most at risk of becoming obese, which is why my male gets no more than the female most of the time (he gets less and she gets more, so they meet in the middle). The problem with trying to keep an adult male lace monitor slim and healthy is that there's always an 'edge' to their behaviour because they're always on the lookout for food. If someone wanted a 'dog tame' lacie, feeding it until it no longer craves food is one way to achieve that, but then it would probably live a short life like a dog (10-15 years) rather than reaching the lifespan of a healthy lacie (35+ years).


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## Snakeluvver2 (May 12, 2011)

I was taught that hatchlings should just have a constant food source. 
i.e Woodies and crickets in the enclosure all the time, even when they are eating rodents.


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## The_Dreaded_Pets (May 16, 2011)

very good thread and probably the most informative thread iv read for some time


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## Trench (Jun 13, 2011)

Thanks Crocdoc


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## nagini-baby (Jun 13, 2011)

great thread!!!


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## BigWillieStyles (Jun 14, 2011)

really awesome vids crocdoc. Really like the ones where they were catching their food.


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## MissFuller (Mar 15, 2012)

that was awesome crocdoc i know nothing when it comes to monitors so what would be a good one to start out with


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## crocdoc (Mar 16, 2012)

_Varanus acanthurus_ (a.ka. the 'ackie') is a great starter monitor and there are a number of smaller ones as well, such as _Varanus gilleni_. If you want to go a bit larger than those, one of the sand monitors, such as _Varanus gouldii _or the desert sand monitor _Varanus gouldii flavirufus_. A bit bigger than those is the Spencer's monitor, _Varanus spenceri_. The larger species need a huge amount of space, though. One of the best things about animals the size of _Varanus acanthurus_ is that they have all of the same attitude and behaviours of the larger monitors, but you can house a pair in a much smaller enclosure than the larger species and have a go at breeding them.


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## richardsc (Mar 16, 2012)

plus if an ackie bites you wont do serious damage like larger ones are capable of.

not sure if its been mentioned yet,but you have to respect large monitors,never trust them 100 percent,and dont be in a rush to aquire them in the hopes of having dog tame ones,they are all individuals and even the tamest ones are capable of doing some serious damage,dont get me wrong ,there awsome to keep,just respect what they are capable of


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## JAS101 (Mar 16, 2012)

richardsc said:


> plus if an ackie bites you wont do serious damage like larger ones are capable of.
> 
> not sure if its been mentioned yet,but you have to respect large monitors,never trust them 100 percent,and dont be in a rush to aquire them in the hopes of having dog tame ones,they are all individuals and even the tamest ones are capable of doing some serious damage,dont get me wrong ,there awsome to keep,just respect what they are capable of


i couldnt agree more , i would rather a flighty monitor then a puppy dog tame one . because then i know i would never become complacent with it .


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## crocdoc (Mar 16, 2012)

richardsc said:


> not sure if its been mentioned yet,but you have to respect large monitors,never trust them 100 percent,and dont be in a rush to aquire them in the hopes of having dog tame ones,they are all individuals and even the tamest ones are capable of doing some serious damage,dont get me wrong ,there awsome to keep,just respect what they are capable of


You're right, Richard and this has been mentioned a few times. I always stress this, especially with lace monitors.



crocdoc said:


> ...but if you think that the absence of the target ball is a guarantee the animal will not bite you're going to be in for a rude shock. It is sometimes surprising what triggers a feeding response in an adult lace monitor and you don't want to be in a compromising position when the surprise comes. My animals would be considered to be very 'tame' and I interact with them a lot, but after having kept them for a good number of years I know that there's always an edge there and I am only one silly mistake away from a serious injury.






crocdoc said:


> They're monitors and they have a feeding response so I work around it rather than fight it. They're not a bitey animal on the whole but if there's even the hint of food all bets are off. The chances of eliminating the feeding response to the point that you could trust a monitor never to bite (even if you smell of food and are waving your hands around) are slim and not worth entertaining.






crocdoc said:


> all it takes is one incident for a bad injury.


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## richardsc (Mar 16, 2012)

missed that crocdoc,but spot on


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## junglelove (Mar 16, 2012)

dont forget they have an amazing sence of smell too, even if u dont use trigger training they can tell the difference between a mouse and you hand!


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## dragonlover1 (Mar 16, 2012)

wow that's amazing stuff,thanks for all the info but I think I'll stick with my beardies,they are a lot less intimidating


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## crocdoc (Mar 17, 2012)

junglelove said:


> dont forget they have an amazing sence of smell too, even if u dont use trigger training they can tell the difference between a mouse and you hand!



That's if they're slowly and calmly deciding whether or not something is food and are taking the time to smell it. When a feeding response is triggered it's a reaction to sight and sound, so they usually bite first and then find out what it is second. I think I've already mentioned in this thread that if I take a rolled up wad of newspaper and throw it near my lace monitors they'll grab it instantly and will then usually shred it a fair bit with their teeth and claws before letting it go and giving it a tongue flick to find out that it actually isn't something edible.


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## imported_Varanus (Mar 17, 2012)

If only I could get someone who knows how to take video footage! I was shaking my trainer shoe out one afternoon prior to a walk and my female Lacie (Goblin) launched herself off a dog bed half a metre away and snatched the shoe from my hand, then shook, then tongue flicked, then, eventually, let me have my shoe back.

In may ways they're perhaps more dangerous when they loose their fear of you.


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## Frozenmouse (Mar 17, 2012)

I have seen some pretty dopy looking employees at Target but i am still not sure if a monitor has what it takes to get through their training program.


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## crocdoc (Mar 17, 2012)

imported_Varanus said:


> In may ways they're perhaps more dangerous when they loose their fear of you.



No 'perhaps' about it, I've been saying that for years! People get away with things with wild monitors in picnic grounds that I could never get away with, with my captives at home. Even relatively bold monitors in picnic areas have just the tiniest bit of hesitation that prevents them from rushing straight at people and grabbing the hand holding the sausage. I'm pretty sure my male, Alex, wouldn't extend that courtesy to me if I gave him the opportunity.


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## serpenttongue (Mar 17, 2012)

They're bold as brass once you become part of the furniture!

Case in point - I was feeding my lace monitors one day recently, when one of my females leapt out of the aviary door and grabbed onto the long tongs I was using. She then tried climbing them to get to my hand. Just as I felt the forks of her tongue flick my hand, I dropped the tongs, with her still clinging to them. She landed on the ground outside the aviary, next to a tray of about 12 quail. At this point I was slowly backing away so she didn't do the dash towards me. But, alas, she did. The quail were ignored and she ran about 3 metres directly towards me. I froze and waited for her to get close enough that I could grab her before she grabbed me, but thankfully, when I stopped, so did she. I started panicking that she was about to do a runner and be in the neighbours yard within 20 seconds. But instead she turned around and casually walked back to the tray of quail and grabbed one. Then I was able to walk over to her, grab her by the base of her tail and drop her back into the aviary while she scoffed down the quail. 

Sometimes I dread feeding time.


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## richardsc (Mar 17, 2012)

haha,nice account serp,ive had 2 leap out on me at once,not for the faint of heart,lol

ones that have no fear of you are the ones that scare me the most,especially in regards to food or if they think it could be food


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