Big Progress Taming Peach Throat Monitor Lizard! 😍 4K

Peach throat monitors (Varanus jobiensis) tend to be quite a nervous and easily spooked species, which can frequently mean they can bite if they are startled.
This together with an off the charts food drive that usually has them diving at food (or the hands holding it!), means that the taming process needs to be with a healthy level of respect and caution.
Several times during this video he left me lift him up on my arm, without him freaking out - major progress and usually when monitors calm to this point, the rest of the taming process is plain sailing... project Lap-Lizard is GO! :)
#varanus
#reptiles
#lizard
#monitorlizard
#biawak
#goanna
#animal
#pets
#animaltraining
#herpetology

[@omarbakir3423]

What a beautiful animal. Did you come up with the "ladder technique"? I think I watched a video from another monitor keeper on YT who uses the ladder for the taming of his green tree monitor.

[@MostlyMonitorMad]

Thanks. Consider it convergent evolution 😂 I've not seen that video, but it just made sense to do it..... My vivs are tall enough that this ladder is used regularly and it just happens to be at the same height as the shelf he was using to get in and out the window, and easier to set up a tripod at that level. I'm going to put the ladders further back and have a piece of ply spanning the gap for further videos... Will make him a bit more confident not having to watch his step so much, and means the ladders won't obscure the shot.

[@RUFLEKSS]

Beautiful monitor lizards, what size do they grow to? And how long is their tail?

[@MostlyMonitorMad]

Males can potentially hit 5 foot, more usual would be 3.5-4.5 feet... A lot of the length is tail, but still pretty substantial lizards!