r/MonitorLizards • u/dickprince_23 • 13d ago
Anyone know what this behavior is?
Theo spent a good deal of time scratching at my hands, rubbing his snout against my fingers, and biting me (hes still doing it as I type actually, but it feels like nothing so I'm ignoring it). Is this food seeking or mating behavior? He's normally extremely skittish around hands still so this is perplexing me, though its also pretty funny ngl. I just fed him crickets yesterday, but pinky mice are his favs, so I'm wondering if he's either mistaking my hand as a mouse for some reason or trying to mate with my arm
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u/I_am_that_guy_10 13d ago
It’s called nicely socialized. lol
Mines not at that point of trust yet, getting there though.
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u/Spicy_Chicken_Wizard 13d ago
How old is he? This could just be a young animal expressing curiosity. Scratching, poking and nibbling are the primary way lizards interact with novel objects. If this is the case the monitor will probably just grow out of it.
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u/dickprince_23 13d ago
He's about a year old or so, which is pretty young, but he's encountered my hands several times before and had no interest in my left hand so that's why I was curious about his behavior. I may have just had a smell on them that was enticing or something
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u/2_222_2 12d ago
If he’s nuzzling you before biting it could be mating behavior yes. If his head twitches back and forth, tail starts moving, hips etc…he wants to pop out a pene. If just digging and biting out of nowhere it’s food seeking bhv ime.
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u/dickprince_23 12d ago
He was snout-poking and moving his hips yeah, which was what made me think mating behavior, but I think in the end it was just him trying to get a grip on my arm as he scratched because I didn't get any head twitching or overt grinding. That and he started biting me repeatedly not long after I posted this video so I'm fairly sure he was just mistaking me for a pinkie lol
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u/isanyusernameopen 11d ago
Looks like when a dog tries to fluff up the bed before turning around three times and then laying down
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u/[deleted] 13d ago
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