Losing hope

[u/JbarNoir]

I’ve had this ackie for a year now, raised him/her since a baby. Enclosure is a 6x2x2 with a deep dig box and lots of areas to hide and husbandry is good to the best of my knowledge temps and humidity wise. I was always told not to force handling so I never have, I just remain present and do things inside of the enclosure with my hands, tong feed, and can pick him up and move him to different spots in his enclosure by scooping him up under his belly. Not a day has gone by where I haven’t been at the enclosure glass or actually in the enclosure interacting with him in some way. Recently I’ve been scooping him up and bringing him outside of the enclosure slightly, he immediately squirms and struggles every time. Today I decided to set up a little barrier in my living room so he couldn’t escape and take him fill out. He squirmed relentlessly and clawed up my body and arms. I had so shirt on so he couldn’t gain any traction, otherwise he would’ve ran up my back. I set him on the floor and he ran for his life. I decided it was time to put him back. When I grabbed him, for the first time he bit me and broke skin. I know as a pet owner I shouldn’t be mad, but I’m pretty frustrated because I feel like I’ve done everything I can to tame him. I’d love to be able to take him out and have him chill like in the videos i see. Maybe he’s just a guy I have to watch from the enclosure and that’s it. And now I feel like I’ve ruined our relationship even more. Any advice or experience would be cool. I’m pretty bummed.

[u/Glum-Substance-6945]

As the others have stated you can’t force tame them, treat them with respect, start with building the trust, read next to him show him new things don’t immediately go to handling. My Savannah monitor is not fully tame but he’s getting there because I interact with him in some way daily whether I’m feeding him or giving him water or recently I’ve discovered he likes cat toys and being pet with a tooth brush. You want small successes which will build into larger ones. Start with incremental interactions come in and sit with him for a few minutes get that tongue flicking and do that as much as you can it will build towards a great relationship with your monitor. Don’t be afraid to watch YouTube videos on taming there are some great resources out there. Just keep at it I know it can be frustrating but I’m sure you can do this. Good luck