nile monitor after day 1

Freebody · 12-31-09, 08:54 PM

well i got it yesterday it is about 2 1/2 feet seems to be in perfect health.never been held in its life im told never had nails cut fed live food im told....<

. last night he sat in the tank and tail whipped and hissed at any movment but today i held him all day and bathed him tried unsuccesfully to feed him and after the 1st attack he made.. not fun with no gloves he is now stopped hissing and he let me give him a belly run as he slepped on my chest on the couch he actualy closed his eye and gave a few little cat naps when i put him back in his cage just now he just gently slipped off my hand into his pool slowly swam across to his cave and is chilln. his nails are so sharp they stick in my skin right through my sweater going to cut them asap. he seems to really like getting pet he let me pull off all his dead skin off his neck and sides of his face seen his eye squint a little a few time so he was enjoying it.. But he is still the same way he was last night if any other person or anything come within 10 feet of him he tenses right up and hisses they walk away and he put his head back on my chest and relaxes and lets me continue petting him..

i like that he just likes me lol little guardian.. altho i hope with my proper training he will learn to acomidate people that dont halnde him directly are around. oh yeah im am shocked at how powerfull it is it only attacked me the 1 time i tried picking him up he tailed whiped me and turn grabbed him hand leaped and flattend his belly on my arm and dug his nail in and i could not bend his little 2 inch legs had stand there as he chewed on my nuckles and run the bath water over his head till he just let go and jump into the tub water and sat at the bottom on the tub looking at me... now i use gloves<<< he hasnt tried to bit me or tail whipp me since tho he does hiss at me if i try to block him if he is walking off to far. wish i never waited all these years to get a monitor.

infernalis · 12-31-09, 11:18 PM

Sounds like you are off to a good start.

I will be very eager to hear all about this experience as time goes by.

Never had a Nile, but we will always have a Savannah or two around.

Monitors are so cool, just like snakes, but they can hear us, they blink and close their eyes, and they just seem like they have more going on in their heads than the average snake does.

**Aaron_S** · 01-01-10, 04:59 AM

You've had this animal for a day, it didn't eat for you, and you handled it for an ENTIRE day. It's not called "tame" it's called stress. You're better off leaving the animal alone for a few days and getting it to eat before you proceed to "proper training".

infernalis · 01-01-10, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

You've had this animal for a day, it didn't eat for you, and you handled it for an ENTIRE day. It's not called "tame" it's called stress. You're better off leaving the animal alone for a few days and getting it to eat before you proceed to "proper training".

I have to agree fully.

My apologies for not even thinking....

That animal has been through a lot already in just a day, please slow down.

Niles live a long time, you can get better aquainted with it after it settles in and starts to trust you.

Freebody · 01-01-10, 10:23 PM

how long till i hold him again i held him today and he sat under a blanket as i pulled his legs out and cut his nails but still wont eat i know hes stressed out because he like to hide his head but wasnt sure if its best to just leave him or if it made a difference or best to just spend a Hell of alot of time with it. ill let him chill for the next few days. but not sure how to get him to eat he was swimming with the fish today as they cirlced his head no interest in them and i was sitting with it on the couch and i tried rubbing liver and cod fish chicken on his mouth and all he would do is lick it and turn his head the other direction. he is a little obese so im not really concered at this point but 2-3 more days and i got a problem on my hands.

infernalis · 01-01-10, 10:53 PM

Ok someone correct me if I am too far off here.

Monitors can go fair periods of time without eating, In nature there are times when pey is scarce, so there is no need to push the feeding issue unless the animal is obviously losing body mass.

Can you please post up some photographs of your set up?

Your Monitor will do so much better if there is not much traffic around the enclosure, and you should give the lizard a few days of no handling, zero, nada.

Make sure the animals enviromental requirements are up to par, and leave it be to settle.

Once you leave it undisturbed for a bit, the lizard will begin to explore it's surroundings and hopefully acclimate a bit.

This poor animal is confused and scared right now, and the only cure is some quiet and solitude.

When the monitor is no longer scared, it will begin to think about eating.

Freebody · 01-02-10, 02:52 PM

ok my tank set up is 7'x6'x 3'wide it had a shelf with a set of heat lights that are low enouph to provide 110d basking spot i have a heater at the top the provide the entire enclosure with 65 d temp it has a small dog crate in the back to hide in which he chosses to hide behind...go figure hehe he has a 35 gallon shallow pool im using my snakes aspen which i2 3-4 inches think,I wet down to provide good humidity around 65% goes up and down as to when i mist it ill change the beddign and put in a misster later but this it it for now. as far as i read this is perfect for him

i read they eat every 2 days but the guy i got it from said he fed it 1 time a week if that.i just read thye can go awhile with no food but its not good but i feel better about it now ill leave him be untill i see he is active and i have the tank in my living room i rad that his seeing people around not attacking him and kkeping there distance from the cage is the best thing to calm him down as far as his fear of us as preditors. thanks any help is good help

ill move him into a seperate room today.

**Aaron_S** · 01-02-10, 03:55 PM

Make sure your enclosure has a lot of hiding places. I really am not a monitor person but any reptile would like to have a hiding place that they feel secure in. Dog crates are fairly large and open, that's why it's behind the crate. 65d temp is also way too cold for these animals for the average temperature in the enclosure. That could be another factor in it's lack of eating. I would go do some reading, get a book and see what they say. I'm also sure if you used the search function on this site that you'd find some very informative posts.

Freebody · 01-02-10, 04:14 PM

sounds good just turned the temp up to 75 ya i figured the crates opening was big so i put the entrance facing the side of the cage to the back wall
i plan to take out the crate and put somthing that it can burrow in like soil with a cave over it with a small entrance is what i had in mind.65 is way to cold? it not his basking area just the temp of the cage he has a 3 feet by 3 foot spot over his crate where its 110 degrees 65 is the cold spot on the other side away from the heat lights. what about his water do people heat this or leave it room temp?

infernalis · 01-02-10, 06:45 PM

Our monitor is fond of shoe boxes.

Every pair of snakers and boots comes packed in nice cardboard boxes.

heck any cardboard box that is just barely big enough to contain the lizard.

I gives them a sense of security similar to going down a burrow.

Every couple weeks the box will be trashed, but hey they are free.

Freebody · 01-02-10, 06:54 PM

i took out the dog crate when i put a new plate of meat in there today and put a smaller box in with a towel covering most of the entrance and put a towel over the shelf as well so he can hid under there as well but hes still has not moved into it, i was going to put him in it but i fig leaving him alone is leaving him alone lol. he is just so beutifull oh yeah hes an ornate nile

sooooo nice looking