Dino taming - Day 1

No, of course I'm not naming him Dino! But, aside from their less than majestic posture and waddling around, there is something undeniably dinosaur-like about monitors. I find that deeply fascinating. And judging by the way he's staring right back at me at the moment, I'd say he's rather inquisitive, himself. Though he's probably just hoping for more food.

As always, the main reason I haven't come up with a name for our new pet is that I'm still trying to convince myself that there's an actual point to it. Our cats know their names and when you call them, they might actually come running. Or at least look up at you in that typical "fuck off" kind of feline fashion and go right back to sleep. Reptiles, on the other hand...
The family suggested Adolf for a name, though I might have provoked that by saying I could really kill some juice when offered something to drink.

Since I consider our reptiles to be more than just fancy display furniture, which occasionally eats and poops, the long-term goal with our new friend is a successful taming process - the achievement of which is currently presenting me with two options. On the one hand, there's the 'all or nothing' method. Just corner that fucker and grab him, whether he likes it or not. Repeat every day until he no longer shits himself. Literally. A rather unpleasant experience for both pet and owner. Arguably the most rapid method to get him used to being picked up. Or to eternally loathing you - whichever happens first.

The alternative method is simple hanging around. I just parked my ass right in front of the tank, read a book, put my hand inside, right next to the lizard. He stared at me the whole time, stared at the hand, licked it, didn't freak out. Which is all pretty nice, but he'll run, hide, tail-whip and lose his shit the second I touch him. Looking is okay, him licking it is okay, but no touchie. The basic idea is that by repeating this for several hours each day, he'll get so used to the hand that he stops fearing it entirely, even if it touches him. No shitting, less struggling, less stress for everyone. But also waaaay more time-consuming. Lots of patience required. And very tempting to slow down progress more than necessary. "Okay, had the hand right next to him, he didn't freak out, that's good enough for today." Nope, gotta keep at it. Physical contact.

When he doesn't have to put up with me pestering him, he's a perfectly normal, healthy monitor. He hunts down bugs like a pro, digs around, climbs, bathes and basks just the way he should. Which is great and much preferrable to hiding, refusing to eat and being a pussy.
Oh, speaking of pussies - Jiji has taken an interest in our new reptile, as well. She spends most of her time in front or on top of the new tank. The two of them stare at each other a lot, but he usually gets bored after a while and resumes his daily routine. The cat is batting at the glass and freaking out a little, but he doesn't seem to care. At all. No defensive posture, no hissing, no hiding. Which is great, since they all have to get used to each other.

In fact, the cat might be helpful to the overall taming process. If the lizard can get used to her, he can get used to me. If nothing else, she'll provide a bit of entertainment. Monitors are known to get bored from lack of action and she's gonna serve as a bit of a stimulus. The real fun begins once he's ready to be picked up and held outside of the tank, allowing the cat to have a better look at what's still a relatively puny lizard. She'd better behave, because he's eventually gonna outgrow her. A lot. Heh!

I'm excited. This is a fun new experience for me. First times are always a bit scary. Picking up a beardie for the first time. Picking up our garter snake. Picking up the python. Touching my first bug for feeding. Putting yucky, wiggly maggots in a little food bowl. All these things have been a little creepy before they became perfectly normal. There will be a whole lot of new 'firsts' with this monitor, even scarier ones, some potentially painful ones. If all goes well, we're gonna end up with a giant, friendly reptile, who will become a scaly version of what's the family dog to other people. Sweet!

-Cat