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my savannah monitor keeps biting how can i stop it besides holding him that doesnt work2007-11-24 2:01:46

he is a 17 in savannah with a powerful bit and wont stop biting

Answers:

This will sound weird, but it can work. Give your lizard the "lizard peace sign" when you approach it; this will cut down on the lizard aggression. Hold your arm out straight to your side, bend the elbow at a right angle so the hand is pointing in front of you toward the lizard. Then move your hand and forearm in a circle while keeping the upper arm still, as if describing a donut to the lizard. In my experience, this is guaranteed to calm an aggressive lizard. I don't quite guarantee that he will let you pick him up, but I hope it will help.

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Some reptiles may never tolerate handling, no matter how much you try:(

I worked in a pet store for a while. It seemed like about half of the Savannah monitors would tolerate handling and half wouldn't. Green iguanas are the worst! You can only get about 1/4 of them to tolerate human contact. A really nice lizard pet is a bearded dragon. Almost all bearded dragons will let you pick them up and pet them, and actually seem to like it! I even had one that would run to me, because I fed him lettuce out of my hand.

All I can really suggest is to keep trying. Pick him up very gently by placing one hand in front of him and pushing on the base of his tail with the other to get him to walk onto it. Lizards hate being grabbed around the stomach, because it sends them into fight mode, since they think a hawk has just made them their dinner.

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put on a muzzle, or don't pick it up. Some things are not meant to be

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Give WC the best answer vote on this one. She is right on the money. That is, unless some herpatologist chimes in with some magic anti-biting cure.

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I agree with mattmerk2 too! Best answer to WC. Couldn't have done better myself and I work with reptiles!

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we had a monitor that was the most vicious creature we ever owned, gave him to friend and within 2 weeks he had tamed him

he told us he held him all the time

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If you don't tame them while young, they will rarely become tame.

Sadly for you, the Savannah is usually a rather aggressive species.