Sand Monitor Handling/Care

I've had a sand monitor for around 7 months. I'm asking about a few things. Firstly how high would all of you recommend that I keep the humidity? When he sheds I've noticed lots of stuck shed on his head, neck and tail. I think that the humidity is a too low. Is it possible to make a sand monitor enclosure bioactive?

Another thing that it would be great to receive help for is building trust with him and getting to the point where it is familiar with me. I do a lot of work near his cage so he knows my presence. When I open the enclosure normally he'll stand his ground with lots of hissing(never threatened to bite) and he rarely backs off. Most of the time i can place my hand under him and scoop him up. When handling he also tends to fight a lot but normally improves after about 2 - 3 minutes. After this I can let him roam around the living room and he's just fine. Another thing that I have noticed is that he is much calmer outdoors for some reason. How can I build trust with him?

Many other sources say to build trust through food and daily interactions inside his enclosure. Unlike many monitors that I've seen he has a low food drive. I feed him every 4 days, normally a mouse and rarely chicken or an egg. He never accepts food from the tongs, instead preferring to eat from a bowl inside his enclosure, and he won't eat unless he knows it's closed. I'm just wondering if there is anything wrong with what I'm doing, feeding him too much?

It would be great for some experienced keepers to share thoughts and experiences. If you have any feedback about what I'm doing wrong I would be glad to hear it.
Thanks Everyone, Look forward to seeing some replies!

Proper lighting and temps will help with shedding problems. Good uv and a halogen and lots of visible light. I wouldn’t recommend Bioactive but that’s up to you.

Didn't we already cover all this in the other threads?

Have you replaced the CHE with a Halogen?

What are the basking and overall enclosure temperatures? My Rosenbergi / Heath Monitor has a basking rock under a 75w - 100w Halogen (and 10.0 150 25w Compact Fluro Coil UVB) that gets to anywhere from 40-60c depending where on the rock I take the measurement and time of day / ambient temps. 25c at the end of the cool side. 30c at the end of the warm side.

I don't remember how old your Sand Monitor is and what size? My Rosenbergi / Heath Monitor is around 2.5 feet and 8 months old. Been with me since he was just over 2 months old.

What are you feeding it and how often? My Rosenbergi / Heath Monitor eats a couple of Weaner Mice a week. Superworms. Cut up Chicken Necks. Heart. Liver. Giblets. Kangaroo Meat. Beef Strips. The occasional Prawns. Left over Chicken Breast and / or Steak pieces. Fed daily in the warmer weather but i might cut it back to every 2-3 days since it's getting cooler.

Usually, I'll build trust with Monitors by interacting with them in the same room to start with. Then just spot cleaning their enclosure and changing their water.

Once they are used to that I will slowly either rub them under the chin with my finger or on their back. Eventually gong closer to their head and tail after a while.

I tend to not really pick my Monitors up unless I have no choice but to move them or stop them darting out the enclosure. The enclosure doors are at the front in a carport with lots of places to get under or behind). Would be pretty much impossible to find my Monitor if he got out, at least at his current size. When he's bigger and not able to fit under things in the carport it won't be so bad.

Not sure what else to add? Hope this helps.

Toby.