One bitten, but never shy [pic]

[caljie]

I had the strangest exchange with my 1 year old Sav, Miles yesterday. During feeding he was pigging out as per usual on some whole shrimp and big dubia roaches (I feed him with a long pair of tongs) when I made the silly mistake of letting my left hand hang over the lip of the enclosure, now Miles isn't a biter, not at all, but he just leaned over and the next thing I know, my hand is in his mouth.

(I don't know about everyone else but do you lose that knee-jerk reaction after owning a bunch of reptiles? I don't have it anymore, I've always noticed that I end up hurt worse if I jerk away fast)

Anylark, so I'm standing there with my hand in his mouth and he's staring up at me, I can feel his teeth but he isn't biting down and breaking the skin. Honestly I think he was just as shocked as I was, I tapped his nose with my other hand and he let me free and went to sulk in one of his hides. To date its the strangest thing he's ever done, it was less like a bite and more like him...wanting to hold my hand or something. (The skin that was in his mouth was red and itchy yesterday, I'm guessing from his gnarly saliva).

I'm not sure, what do you guys think? Has anyone else had this or something like it happen?

[Cendalla]

Lucky you. Must be a great guy. The few times I've been bit it was to help out with sick and injured monitors (at a rescue). They were very aggressive and wanted to eat my face off. I have scars on one hand from an incident similar to this one but with a Nile. The main difference was being that when he realized that he did in fact have my hand in his mouth he looked up at me and bit down. Sharp sharp teeth. I think the reason that there were scars was because of how inflamed it got. I cleaned the area well and covered my hand with betadine (its what I had handy) but I still had to get antibiotics (and four stitches). I don't blame the nile (he had a crap life) but I will always have a very healthy respect for monitors. Sounds like you have your self a jewel!

[Ham]

I got bitten by a juvenile black and white tegu, and it felt like someone had my finger clamped in a pair of pliers! He was not gentle at all, I think he just wanted to eat anything that came near him, I had not gotten the next food item in fast enough and he jumped up and stuck his head out and grabbed my index finger, ouch... He broke the skin and it bled, but after cleaning it I did not have any problem with infection fortunately, it sounds like your savannah is a real gentle bugger, he looks healthy and happy too, you so rarely see healthy savannah monitors, they usually look like deflated sacks with stuck shed all over them. Thanks for taking such good care of em, and for feeding him such a varied diet! (so many people feed rodents exclusively to these guys...)

[caljie]

Thanks for the input, I'm really sorry to hear about your hand though!

I've always counted my blessings to have a monitor like Miles, I keep him to SavannahMonitor.org standards with a big enclosure (he's got a half room almost, 8x10x5 ft.) lots of substrate, low sturdy branches, hides, big tub for swimming, proper diet, two basking spots (one at 135 and the other at 160-165, I never lower his temps to "make him act more docile"). All in all I've always treated him like a monitor, I've just gotten lucky that my little rescue monitor was born with a mellow, laid-back disposition.

[Ham]

So how big is Miles right now? He really looks superbly healthy!

Got any more pics of him?

[Cendalla]

Thanks for the input, I'm really sorry to hear about your hand though!

I've always counted my blessings to have a monitor like Miles, I keep him to SavannahMonitor.org standards with a big enclosure (he's got a half room almost, 8x10x5 ft.) lots of substrate, low sturdy branches, hides, big tub for swimming, proper diet, two basking spots (one at 135 and the other at 160-165, I never lower his temps to "make him act more docile"). All in all I've always treated him like a monitor, I've just gotten lucky that my little rescue monitor was born with a mellow, laid-back disposition.

Sounds like he's living the good life! Ham is right- we see far to many that aren't properly cared for. Good luck with him!

[caljie]

Oh my, thanks so much for the encouragment! I'm really glad that he's looking good, I do my best to do good by all of my herps. I know that I am the one who must adapt to their needs and their schedual, not visa versa. When I got Miles I hadn't planned on it, he was dumped on my doorstep by owners who claimed that they no longer wanted him due to him being 'aggressive'...mmh...right...he's a real monster...

To Ham- I've never gotten out the measuring tape with him but I guestimate he's about 2.5ft (he was 10 inches and severly dehydrated when he was given to me) He gets to have yearly vet check ups now like the rest of my guys. The picture I posted was from when he was 10 months (he's 12 mo now), if he's feeling up to it when I get home from work I'd be happy to get some more recent photos and post them for you to see.

[lasweetswan]

He's so cute

[caljie]

He knows he's cute I think,
I didn't get to take any more pictures of him today, he'd already tucked in for the night by the time I'd gotten home from work.

I do have a few other pictures of him from when he was 10 months like this one, he's grown so much since then, he no longer fits in that waterbowl.


You can see the small burn on his back that happened in his previous home (or maybe even in the wild?) It doesn't seem to bother him and it sheds just as well as the rest of him so I don't worry about it much. (Looking just a bit bloated too, he had a giant poo right after this picture).

[mumps]

In response to your original inquiry, once monitors get to know and TRUST their keepers, and the accident happens (such as chomping on your finger is a feed response), they KNOW they've done something wrong and go and hide just like yours did. It's happened to me a couple of times. It doesn't take them long to realize who the "all important food provider" is, and they get upset if they have done something they think you don't like. That is, if you've taken the time and patience to establish a good relationship.

People who don't think this is possible haven't had monitors or haven't had them long enough to appreciate their intelligence.

Good luck with your rescue, sounds like you're doing everything right

Chris