Newbie to monitor

[Teamls]

Hey guys i just bought a yellow spotted monitor today.
this is my first reptile and just wanna know abit more about it.
Iv been told to grab him everyday for half an hour or so and he will be very tame.

what i wanna know is
at the moment i have terf but can i put him on sand or is he like bearded dragons where they cant go on sand till after a year? at the moment he is about 20 weeks i think.

do they like to swim in water?

any other news would be awesome cheers guys

 

[MathewB]

You've done research haven't you?

 

[cadwallader]

WOW i suggest you dont sleep and read as much as you can!!!! dont grab him just give him many hides and read untill you have at least a little knowledge on these monitors...

how are you heating his enclosure?

 

[Kimberlyann]

I agree, do some research, you dont just go buy a pet with out learning about what they need :\

 

[saximus]

This thread should be interesting...

Who told you to "grab him every day"? This is poor advice

 

[dihsmaj]

DON'T grab him every day, monitors apparently have to learn to trust you, which takes a while.

 

[abnrmal91]

This thread should be interesting...Who told you to "grab him every day"?

Don't want to steal the thread but how are your blackheads going.

 

[cadwallader]

Don't want to steal the thread but how are your blackheads going.

Thats so random ever heard of a pm...

 

[BurtonReptiles]

the dude trying find out some information now so how about everyone stops being smart and helps him.

 

[thomasbecker]

What size is your enclosure and the temps for starters....

 

[jordanmulder]

ok mate you obviously haven't done any reserch ok, here we go
first you should have an enclosure at least 3-4 foot as a hatchling as he growws you should then get something around 5-6foot.
you should have basking temps that are around 60 degrees this can be achieved by building a rock stack up two the basking light, make sure that everything is secure and touches the bottom of the enclosure, here is a good thread that discusses substrate to use http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-lizards-5383/substrate-monitors-167508/
feed the little guy cricets or woodies every day supplemented by roo or turkey mince.

please note this is just a basic run down.

 

[HoffOff]

the dude trying find out some information now so how about everyone stops being smart and helps him.

We're not being smart, just saying usually it's good to research a animal before buying it.
But nah, hold it everyday mate it'll be fine.

 

[Teamls]

All my friends have deagons and monitors and snakes. So I know enough to look after one I just want to find out more about this breed.
Yes I have done research but can't find answers to my questions.
I bought him from a well known reptile store here in Adelaide who have had them for over 20 years.
They told me to handle him everyday to get him to trust me. Iv held him about 4 times in the past day and he doesn't put up a fight or anything. He just crawls my hands then falls asleep while I watch tv. When I go to out him back he doesn't want to get off my hand.
I know there are all sorts of keyboard warriors on here but all I wanna know is if they like to swim and if he cab go on sand yet.
He is in a 4'x1.5'x3 fish tank. He has a large heat mat and has a nice hot spot of 32 degrees and a cold spot up the other end of 20 degrees. Has lots to climb and heaps of places to hide

 

[Chris1]

since when are they on a basic license?

i was under the impression had to keep a class 1 monitor like accies before i could get them,....

 

[Teamls]

Well you clearly think you know more the you actuarly do hahaha.
You can have any reptile you won't in Adelaide as long as it's not a frilneck. Once you have more then one you need a license

Can I ask why you think your not suppose to handle them everyday. Either you guys are scared of them or your being fed some bull story. How's it ment to learn to trust you? Just talk to it and try convince it your a top bloke, then once you think you have it's trust pick it up hahaha

 

[jordanmulder]

mate listen to these peoples advise they no what they are talking about, if you continualy grab a monitor out of an enclosure they will not trust you and they will put you through hell to just simply get them out of the cage, if you want to tame a monitor you must gain there trust by slowly by hand feeding them, once they have gained your trust lure them on to your hand to feed him (make sure you have a glove on when they grow older there claws are massive get them used to the smell and feel of the glove) and that is just a basic idea, do not underestimate a monitor, yellow spotted monitors can grow to be rather large (1.5 m) and they have the potential to give you a rather painful bite when they are older.

 

[Teamls]

Well I know I fair few people with monitors and they pick them up everyday and they just sit on there shoulders after 6 months of holding them everyday. Even the guy at the reptile store told me to do this everyday and they will love you like a dog

 

[vampstorso]

Uhm no dude, you cant own one of any rep you want in SA unless its a frilly. You can own one of any of the BASIC list reptiles. And the reason Cris doesnt know this is because theyre in NSW where the rules are different. Dont come ask for advice, be rude to members, then not even listen to advice from the people being nice to you. Just because your friends have reps doesnt mean you know anything either. E.g. your basking spot is wrong.

 

[Robo1]

First thing first, you need to increase the basking temperature. 32°C is ok for a dragon, but a monitor will need something between 40°C-60°C.

With regard to handling, it all comes down to the monitor. Some are extremely shy and will avoid contact. 'Grabbing' and holding monitors like this will only stress them out and make them fear you more. You need to build up trust with these by cleaning, feeding, etc, without trying to pick up the animal itself. On the other hand, with a monitor who is happy to be handled, like yours, picking it up every day is going to maintain this attitude. Though, if at any stage the monitors looks like it doesn't want to be picked up don't force it.

I'd strongly recommend learning about monitors in general as most of the husbandry will be similar. Despite the young age, it should be fine on sand. I don't know a lot about panotes, except they are one of the larger species, so I can't answer the swimming question. Hopefully someone here has more experience with them and can answer that for you. In the mean time, if you can give it a large water bowl and see if it likes to swim... just make sure that it can get in and out easily so it doesn't drown.

 

[SamNabz]

Teamls,

The reason you shouldn't handle young monitors is because when they are small they consider everything to be a threat including the big human reaching in to grab it from it's home.

What people mean by a monitor 'learning to trust you' is not that you physically tell it that you are a "top bloke", but instead giving it time to realise you are not a threat to it - this is achieved by the lack of handling and a lot of patience which sometimes ends in a lengthy process that can take anywhere from a couple of months to a year +. If you don't have the patience to earn its trust then you shouldn't own one in the first place.

32 degrees is WAY too low for a basking spot for any monitor. You will not be able to achieve the necessary 70+ degrees with a heat mat or heat cord so you need a much better heat source - e.g spot globe.

Note: The reason you are able to handle your monitor is most likely due to it's body temperature being way too low for it to be active enough to flee from you.

Going by what you have written so far, it is evident that you have not done any research on how to keep these monitors & if you have friends that keep monitors, snakes etc. why haven't they already told you that what you are doing is wrong?..

since when are they on a basic license?

i was under the impression had to keep a class 1 monitor like accies before i could get them,....

That's in NSW only, Chris.