Tricks to getting a reptile to release their bite?

Oreo likes to start swallowing fingers to tell me he is super hungry. He doesn't strike or wrap, he just opens his mouth and works his way up to the finger tip. I put his head facing down under cold running water then slowly make it hot. Straight cold water doesn't work on him anymore; neither does putting his head in his water bowl. Obviously this is if you aren't in a terrible hurry.

Snakes and lizards can hold their breath a long time. You will definitely get sick of having them attached before they ever let go. Rubbing alcohol works good with my Calking that bites me and holds on every week. I had a Sav and a Flavi/argus cross. The Sav never bit me. The Flavi/argus bit my toe a couple times (I never wear shoes or socks in the house) but he just shook his head and let go. Ripped me up, but I didn't have to pry him off. With a monitor I suspect the alcohol or listerine would probably work, but might not if he's really hungry. You might want to have a rubber spatula ready and be prepared to pry him off.

Bite them back :D

Thanks everyone! I always have vinegar in a spray bottle on hand, so hopefully that will work, but I'll probably get some mouthwash or alcohol to ensure I have a "back up" just in case.

The savannah monitor was hand raised since a hatchling, and at two years old he's just a wee bit over weight when he was adopted (fortunately not nearly as overweight and obese as many of them get). He just got super frisky and decided to not let go of my finger. The worst part was the fact he bit through my fingernail so that wasn't really the most painless experience. My snakes fortunately don't bother me too much, but having to pin a writhing savannah monitor down while he tried to rip a chunk out of my finger wasn't something I'd like to have to wait out again if at all possible! Especially because it makes me feel bad because it's not aggressive at all ;)

My flavi/argus monitor was the same way. He was such a sweetheart and a pleasure to interact with, but loved his food. When he saw my toe wiggle at feeding time, he went after it instead of the mouse. They do bite hard and when they do that head shake thing it really does damage!