How to get Fred to go live somewhere else

[BlackJack]

put a chicken leg on a string

he will swallow it whole

then reel him in

then relocate

[jacko45k]

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.

Wean him off Koi carp and onto cheaper fish...... that is silly money.

My pet turtle seems quite happy on the dry packet cat food now.

[Rimmer]

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.

Wean him off Koi carp and onto cheaper fish...... that is silly money.

My pet turtle seems quite happy on the dry packet cat food now.

that is a VERY good suggestion but unfortunately despite having had it explained to him with actual fish for him to compare Fred still can't tell the difference between the 2000 Tilapia in the pond and the 50 or so Coy that also live there, maybe the colourful coy are just easier to spot than the drab grey Tilapia, or maybe they just taste better.

Come to think of it I am also missing a turtle.....

See how easy it is for Fred to become confused:

[umbanda]

I think that you have to "monitor" this lizard better...Its attitude sounds fishy to me...

[harrry]

Maybe some aversion therapy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoTR8sBGfyY

[sunshine51]

Rimmer....

Good advice given here. You can also try 2 tactics I have used with success and no damage to the

monitor came about...other than perhaps some damaged monitor pride.

1. Try to make or have made a large box type rat trap and place either a chicken leg or cheap

market fish inside it. Whe n he enters he can't get out then transport him to a remote location

possibly with a nearby stream.

2. Buy a cast net...the ones local fishermen use...you know...toss out by hand...when Fred

appears heave the net. If you manage to net him he'll roll like a croc and won't be too pleased

so use thick gloves when handling the net/Fred in it. Then remove to a monitor friendly

location. Be careful of the claws on the feet...they can shred an arm in seconds.

3. Tame him. It's really not that hard....just very repetitive and somewhat time consuming.

You're lucky at the price of Koi....a Chinese friend of mine in KL paid 25K MR for one of

his.

[sunshine51]

Just a pet water monitor named Brenda...

They do make good pets BTW....but if you have pricey fish

in a pond....Hmmmmmmm...your call.

[Benmart]

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

I believe the OP was asking for serious help. His fish are quite expensive and your try at humor fails to amuse.

[harrry]

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

I believe the OP was asking for serious help. His fish are quite expensive and your try at humor fails to amuse.

Too bad.

I could not care less what you think.

[marell]

Maybe his names's not Fred.

[Naam]

make a deal with Fred. you deliver chicken and Fred leaves your koi.

caveat: don't shake hands with Fred to seal the deal!

[Torrens54]

How about offering to donate him to the Zoo and get them to come and capture him.....or am I just being a bit silly???

[Speros]

Why not feed Fred and he won't attack the Coy carp.... Just an idea

[fatfather]

Do you know that the Thai word for monitor lizard (hia) is the worst thing you can call a Thai?

Fatfather

Sent from my phone

[Nooky2]

Cobras, monitors, sounds like they need to stay and you move.

[hanno]

How about offering to donate him to the Zoo and get them to come and capture him.....or am I just being a bit silly???

Unlikely that the zoo would be interested in a very common animal.

[gwynt]

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

The only thing with the reward for the local lads is that you may find that the lizard mysteriously returns and another reward is required, this happened in the village where my wife, who is terified of them, paid a young lad for the removal of a large tokay three times, the last time giving the lad a bit of a talking to.

[Paangjang]

Try to feed him something from the market.

Was thinking the same thing. How about "over feeding" him with cheap market fish etc. That way you could keep him and the Koi. He'd be full up and too lazy to catch your fish.

[Cuban]

How about offering to donate him to the Zoo and get them to come and capture him.....or am I just being a bit silly???

Unlikely that the zoo would be interested in a very common animal.

....oh! my mistake - I thought the idea was that Fred would be fed to a bigger animal like a Sabre Toothed Elephant or some such.

[Rimmer]

Here is an update:

The good news:

I have completed a nice friendly trap for him hopefully when he tries it out we can lift him and the trap into the back of the SUV and re locate him.

The bad news:

We definitely have two of them living in the pond saw Freda laying on a tree branch sunning herself whilst Fred lay on the ground and let me take some pic of him, attached, I shall call her Freda as she is not so big and must be a lady.

[Tywais]

Here is an update:

The good news:

I have completed a nice friendly trap for him hopefully when he tries it out we can lift him and the trap into the back of the SUV and re locate him.

The bad news:

We definitely have two of them living in the pond saw Freda laying on a tree branch sunning herself whilst Fred lay on the ground and let me take some pic of him, attached, I shall call her Freda as she is not so big and must be a lady.

Excellent job on constructing the trap.

[Cuban]

Excellent job on constructing the trap.

Indeed 'tis a great thing - I have no use for one but I want one.

What spring are you using?

Does the spring cause too much friction on the bait-hook trigger?

I would speculate that you might need a two stage initiator.

( Will you use Koi as bait? )

[Paangjang]

Please keep us updated on Fred, this is an interesting fred to read Sorry

[Rimmer]

Excellent job on constructing the trap.

Indeed 'tis a great thing - I have no use for one but I want one.

What spring are you using?

Does the spring cause too much friction on the bait-hook trigger?

I would speculate that you might need a two stage initiator.

( Will you use Koi as bait? )

The spring is one I had laying around, it works well but was worried it will not be strong enough to hold the door if Fred tries to get out so I fitted an elastic bungee cord as well but now feel it is too strong and it might hurt his tail if it gets trapped when the door comes down too suddenly and hard, so am making a device to keep the door locked when it comes down.

Attached close ups of the friction bait hook and spring, it seems to work well, my only concern is that Fred could set it off by stepping on the floor of the trap before he is fully inside and this is why I have discarded the very strong bungee cord idea.

[hanno]

Excellent job on constructing the trap.

Indeed 'tis a great thing - I have no use for one but I want one.

What spring are you using?

Does the spring cause too much friction on the bait-hook trigger?

I would speculate that you might need a two stage initiator.

( Will you use Koi as bait? )

The spring is one I had laying around, it works well but was worried it will not be strong enough to hold the door if Fred tries to get out so I fitted an elastic bungee cord as well but now feel it is too strong and it might hurt his tail if it gets trapped when the door comes down too suddenly and hard, so am making a device to keep the door locked when it comes down.

Attached close ups of the friction bait hook and spring, it seems to work well, my only concern is that Fred could set it off by stepping on the floor of the trap before he is fully inside and this is why I have discarded the very strong bungee cord idea.

By the time you are done, the 12,000 Dollar trap will be so amazing that Fred will take up permanent residence with Freda

[Rimmer]

The trap has been set for two days or more now but the special fish bought at great expense in the market does not seem to interest Fred so maybe we have to try some of the other ideas on here.

But meanwhile here is a nice picture of Fred taking the morning sun and smelling the flowers, then one of him going for a swim, he is getting quite used to me now and I can get quite close. Also one of Freda asleep on her tree.

[Litlos]

Throw a cover over the trap so it resembles a cave, leave the same bait in there until it gets a bit "ripe". They are basically carrion eaters and like to hide in a hole in the ground. Maybe even better put the trap in the shallow part of the lake and then cover it, a few inches of water may make it a bit more appealing. Apparently they like to dig holes into riverbanks until they have a bit of water to slosh around in. All else fails it is the throw net or the hand grab.

Cheers

[Rimmer]

Thanks Litlos that's a great idea.

Events have however overtaken my last post.

Around six thirty we heard a loud bang outside and part of the house electrics went off, checking our transformer we found one main HT fuse had dropped out and laying on the ground close to the pole was a very scorched Minor bird. Picked it up and exchanged the shop bought fish for the dead bird and a while later Fred was firmly caught inside the trap.

We loaded him and the trap on the garden truck and took him to a big pond on the nearby golf course, When we opened the trap and he happily made his way into the water to meet lots of new friends.

You can see Fred is already 1 mtr long by the the length of the trap which is 120cm

[Totster]

Nice one Rimmer ! This has been a great thread, thoroughly enjoyed following the story.

Funnily enough I actually saw a "Fred" the other day, he was crossing the road and I had to stop the motorbike to let him get across, he was a big un too !

totster

[Rimmer]

We reset the trap and a couple of hours later Freda was inside it, We duly re located her to the big lake on the golf course where hopefully she can find her brother.

Just goes to show that its the bait that is important not the quality of the trap.

Anybody need a Monitor lizard trap, hardly used