How to get Fred to go live somewhere else

[Rimmer]

I think he was born inside our wall and grew up here but now he is eating the Coy Carp in the pond so he has to leave, any ideas how to catch him and re locate him to another nearby pond without hurting him.

Fred is not tame and does not come when we call him

[GarryP]

I thought they only ate carrion. Unusual to take live fish unless the fish are sick. You are going to have to set a trap, perhaps a large crate baited with a dead fish and drop the crate using a string to pull out the support stick. But you could be in for a long wait. Also, once in the box you need to grab him/her which will not be easy as they do bite. Another alternative is to bait a a rabbit snare. But you need to be quick after snaring him. If you leave it too long you could hurt him or even end up killing him.

[Litlos]

Looks like a monitor type lizard. Give him a feed to slow him down, then grab by the tail and lift off the ground, keep at arms length and headfirst into a reasonably thick sack. Keep clear of claws and teeth as any bites or scratches will get infected. From memory Harry Butler demonstrates this technique on his old "In the wild" series which may be on Youtube.

Cheers

[dotx]

Looks like a monitor type lizard. Give him a feed to slow him down, then grab by the tail and lift off the ground, keep at arms length and headfirst into a reasonably thick sack. Keep clear of claws and teeth as any bites or scratches will get infected. From memory Harry Butler demonstrates this technique on his old "In the wild" series which may be on Youtube.

Cheers

One showed up in my garden last year and this is how the security guard caught him.

[hanno]

I thought they only ate carrion. Unusual to take live fish unless the fish are sick

Actually, you are wrong. Water Monitors are very good swimmers and more than capable of catching fish. They will eat carrion but it is not their main diet.

[Tywais]

A PVC pipe with a rope through it. http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/videos/water-monitor-roundup/

Or make a house pet of him.

[Rimmer]

I caught him with a live coy in his mouth one day and that did it for him as far as I was concerned. I told him to drop it and he did and ran off, I put the coy back in the pond and he was non the worse for having been in Fred's mouth apart from a nasty red mark on the side of his head.

Here is another pic I just found of him.

[Sheryl]

Looks like a monitor type lizard. Give him a feed to slow him down, then grab by the tail and lift off the ground, keep at arms length and headfirst into a reasonably thick sack. Keep clear of claws and teeth as any bites or scratches will get infected. From memory Harry Butler demonstrates this technique on his old "In the wild" series which may be on Youtube.

Cheers

One showed up in my garden last year and this is how the security guard caught him.

I think not wise to attempt this unless you are experienced.

Ask around the neighborhood and find someone who has done this before.

[lovetotravel]

Yes, be careful! Or your bluegrass picking days may be numbered! 555555

Maybe one of the security guards nearby can help? Or nearby construction workers?

[harrry]

Monitors are much more interesting to look at than fish. Why not get him a mate....you have the food supply allready installed.

[Tywais]

Monitors are much more interesting to look at than fish. Why not get him a mate....you have the food supply allready installed.

Perhaps you don't realize how much a good, mature Koi can cost. 1000 - upwards to 7000+ Baht. Pretty expensive pet food.

[Totster]

Would a small fence around the pond stop him ? Would that also affect the aesthetics of the garden ?

totster

[wayned]

A PVC pipe with a rope through it. http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/videos/water-monitor-roundup/

Or make a house pet of him.

Best way. Iv'e caught numerous snakes and Tokays this way and relocated them. Loop a rope through a long joint of 1/2 or 3/4 pvc.

[Rimmer]

Monitors are much more interesting to look at than fish. Why not get him a mate....you have the food supply allready installed.

There is another one already if Fred has not eaten her, I call her Freda , She is smaller but I suspect came out of the same nest at the same time. The drain that Mum would have come in through has now been blocked with a grill because of the constant stream of monocled cobras coming to visit so they cant now get out.

I like the vid that Tywais put up but don't think him or us are ready for cuddles just yet But the part where they drag a dead animal along the ground and the monitor chases it is interesting I could maybe do that and lead him out of the gate.

GarryP has also given me an idea, maybe I can build a Giant trap along the lines of a conventional box style rat trap, when he goes inside and takes the bait the door snaps shut and I can take him and the box away

We already have a 3mtr alu pole with a sliding loop on it that we use for the cobras

[Rimmer]

Would a small fence around the pond stop him ? Would that also affect the aesthetics of the garden ?

totster

Thanks for the good suggestion regret the pond is too big for that, this is a part of it

[Tywais]

Would a small fence around the pond stop him ? Would that also affect the aesthetics of the garden ?

totster

Thanks for the good suggestion regret the pond is too big for that, this is a part of it

Lovely pond. Wish I had the area but as it stands we have two small basins with those tiny mosquito eating fish and a small aquarium on our front porch.

[Totster]

Would a small fence around the pond stop him ? Would that also affect the aesthetics of the garden ?

totster

Thanks for the good suggestion regret the pond is too big for that, this is a part of it

I'm gonna go ahead and call that a small lake...

totster

[AjarnNorth]

A plastic garbage can works well if you can corner the monitor and chase it in. The attached in my garden... the property is walled in and the dogs were not pleased with Floyd's presence. Chased, canned, and relocatd just on the otherside of my wall. The next night I watched him ravage a Myna nest at the top of a very high dead palm while getting dive-bombed by the parent Myna's.

[Rimmer]

That is a great suggestion AjarnNorth thank you

I'll give it a try tomorrow, hopefully he will head for that rather than the pond.

[AjarnNorth]

The following evening... same monitor enjoying his freedom by ravaging Myna nest...

[BruceSmith]

Play some Zappa

[siamjimi]

I didn't read all the reply posts - however - I rescued a much larger version of this same creature off the Bangkok motorway.

I found that once you have the creature snared - throw a cover over his/her head and it will become compliant to just about anything - and can be handled by hand to pick it up etc...

I am not saying to get anywhere close to its mouth - keep diligent at all times to prevent a bite - these creatures saliva is some of the most bacteria laden of all creatures - read up on the info if you like.

Their tails are razor sharp as well - at least the larger one I captured hit me 3 or 4 times with quite good precision when I tried to capture it and when it's tail met my bare skin it cut through my skin and the slap from its tail was quite hard like cracking a whip - the size of the lizard I captured was about 2.5 meters in length and weighed probably 45 kilo (?) it was a quite healthy monitor lizard I rescued off the motorway.

otherwise - call your local boys and offer a small reward if you really want it trapped and relocated without riskign yourself - most Thai guys would be up for the challenge - but be careful it does not end up on someone’s dinner plate as a result – LOL - I have been told these lizards are well liked at the dinner table in some circles

[Regyai]

'No rat' glue

[monkey4u]

Monitors are much more interesting to look at than fish. Why not get him a mate....you have the food supply allready installed.

Perhaps you don't realize how much a good, mature Koi can cost. 1000 - upwards to 7000+ Baht. Pretty expensive pet food.

Maybe the fish are expensive but what about having your own monitor lizard.

Super cool

They are smart enough to come when offered food, just be careful of your pinkies

[PoorSucker]

Monitor Lizard Taming

http://www.herpcenter.com/lizard-videos/39267-monitor-lizard-taming.html

[PoorSucker]

Try to feed him something from the market.

[PoorSucker]

http://www.idakoos.com/gifts/monitor-lizard

[LeeThayer]

Call a Rescue Foundation, in addition to helping people in accidents, they also remove snakes and monitors.

[Rimmer]

Thanks for the other ideas guys

We tried the dustbin but he just runs for the safety of the pond then makes like a submarine , finding him is also a big problem so the rescue people are out for the moment unless he gets so big he cant find anywhere to hide.

The story up to date: We have built a large box trap from plastic pipe, the mechanism is identical to the box rat traps you see everywhere, the structure itself is finished and just needs a mesh over it and probably a floor so he does not get his feet caught. The theory is the spring will snap the door shut when he grabs the food, I like the bulldog clip idea in Poor Sucker video it will hold the food better than a hook and he wont get hurt with that.

I'll see if I can get some photos of the progress of the trap and hopefully later of him moving to another pond outside our wall.

[DekDaeng]

Monitors are much more interesting to look at than fish. Why not get him a mate....you have the food supply allready installed.

Perhaps you don't realize how much a good, mature Koi can cost. 1000 - upwards to 7000+ Baht. Pretty expensive pet food.

Maybe the fish are expensive but what about having your own monitor lizard.

Super cool

They are smart enough to come when offered food, just be careful of your pinkies

Pinkies is pretty expensive monitor food!