BLEH, yesterday I can't believe i forgot to put a clip on my nile's cage. and Yep, one got out. Unfortunately, they are only 10-12", most of that being tail and not easy to find in my maze of tanks. Thankfully, there is no way to get out of that one room, so I looked for a couple hours, left out a pinkie in a hide and went to bed. In my experience lizards and snakes won't be found until you lay some bait and they are hungry.
The next day I found the young'un in a rodent glue trap. :eek: No idea how he got into the bathroom. I was so devastated, I thought he was dead. But nope, they are too hardy. A nice warm soak in the sink and some mild soap and he came off the trap fine. Even strong enough to latch on and gnaw at my finger. Yes, i do realize I should use gloves with them, but they are too young to break the skin yet and gloves were too clumsy for this.
An hour after getting back to basking, he had a nice, big meal. Thankfully there was no lasting damage, just some sticky residue that another soak took off.
No real reason for this story, just figured it might help someone avoid something like this in the future. He could have easily stuck his mouth to the trap or tried to chew out and seriously hurt himself. Monitors are fast and as wily as a snake. Use sturdy clips and never let your guard down!
And yes, I am ready for when they get large. I have successfully handled savannas, caimans and iguanas of adult size.