bosc

[kevlar]

right i bought a bosc from a reptile shop in cambridge about two years ago, he had a brother too but sadly the brother died around a week after purchase, when taken to the vet he was found to be very ill and that was what killed him so i nursed the other bosc with help back to health.

with me so far, anyway i have tried for a solid two years now to tame him down and it just is not working i spoke to a very well respected reptile shop owner over the weekend and he told me it is nearly 100% that the bosc is wild caught and may never calm down which has really upset me as he was my first return to rep keeping, does anyone have any ideas of how i may be able to tame him before i have to rehome him as i really couldnt face doing that.

by the way after a month or two of working with the rspca officer at the time i had the shop shut down.

cheers guys, oh and looking at recent posts i dont want people having a dig i just would like some advice.

[Pro Mantis]

Always start with tongs, thick gloves and patience. What does he eat, that will help us give you an answer.

[kevlar]

WELL AT THE MO HE EATS EVERYTHING LOL, sorry caps, er well he eats locust, crickets mice every now and then he likes dog food and has a thing foe carrots belive it or not i found very strange. but the gloves and tongs have been done for a long time with no effect

[Daniel]

how do u hold him if u need to move him if u et him in a lock then u may just be agravating him try and loosen up??
and maybe he dosent like gloves and tonags maybe trust him a bit if u get a bite well its experiance lol
just a though i no nout though
dan

[kevlar]

No I Never Grab Him Hard And Belive I Have Been Bitten Alot Without Gloves

[daisyleo]

even if he was wild caught as a baby surely from proper tempting with food, and slow introductions to handling he should be at least a bit calmer, our bosc is very skittish but once out he does sit still for a while, he has been hard work but nothing I didn't expect knowing what monitors in general are like.
The only other thing I can think of is wear an old t shirt for a day, and put it in or near his favourite hide for sometime to let him get used to being exposed to your scent, I know it works with some other reps and exotics good luck.

[Ssthisto]

Originally Posted by kevlar

with me so far, anyway i have tried for a solid two years now to tame him down and it just is not working i spoke to a very well respected reptile shop owner over the weekend and he told me it is nearly 100% that the bosc is wild caught and may never calm down which has really upset me as he was my first return to rep keeping, does anyone have any ideas of how i may be able to tame him before i have to rehome him as i really couldnt face doing that.

Two questions, really.

1. How does he behave when you get him out? Does he tail whip, bite, lunge, charge (Aggressive defense) or does he freeze up and bite as a last resort (Fear-defense) or something in between? What does he do if you just open his cage and have a sit down next to him? Does he lunge and charge at you, or does he avoid you?

2. What would YOU call "tame" when referring to him? What do you WANT to be able to do with him, and how do you want him to behave?

[kevlar]

well i do not need to open the viv for him to charge it there is no deffence with bowser he just wants to eat me lol i had a bosc along time ago and altho i could never say he would not bite i would hold him freely and there would be no threashing or hissing, he has calmed to the point where i can put my hand in the viv sometimes but most of the time it is a no go.

but he has the attitude of just leave me alone.

[Ssthisto]

What methods have you used to try to tame him? And what's his viv set up like?

I have some ideas that I personally would try if he were here and living with me, but I don't want to just make suggestions that you've already tried.

Most of my immediate suggestions would be extremely hands-off and completely disconnecting "you" from "main meals" - so that if he's food aggressive, he's not going to be charging at you expecting your hands to instantly turn into food for him.

[kevlar]

well at the mo he is in a 4x2x2 he will sit at the glass all the time, i have tried in the past tong feeding then i tried the tennis ball approch but he still thought i was gona feed him lol, i fed seperatly for 6 months but still he likes to have a pop whenever poss to be totally fair he has calmed a touch but not alot, i havent tried the t shirt approch that sounds like a good one to try.
in fact he did calm for a couple of months so i could stroke him in the viv but then just switched again, could he be mentally ill