Reptile "Taming" - Building a Relationship of Trust With Your Pet

okay but how do i connect with my red eared slider? ive had him for like 3 years since he was just a quarter and we are chill but like we dont do a lot of play time so im trying to figure out how to bond with him a little more now that hes getting bigger

I rescued a brown basilisk. It came to me in a 10 gallon tank from a pet shop. No uvb and a 25w bulb. I gave it $500 worth of stuff. I worked with it for over a year. It looked so much healthier and it would let me touch it's feet. They are flighty though and you have to grab them to control them. It didn't like that. I went to go put it back and it gave me a hard bite before running back into his tank. It got out another time and I used gloves. I got an even harder bite and he was trying to torque his head sideways to rip me open. That first bite was a warning bite. I don't blame him, but I gave him to a better reptile place that rescues. I gave him all the equipment I bought and sent that lizard on his way. I never wanted him in the first place, but when I learned how bad of care he had compared to what he needs I was surprised he was still alive and couldn't not take him in.

My God, 2 legends in 1 place. Wow! 🥰

Clint is just in aw after hanging out at nerd. Great video.

Does this work with testudines? (tortoise turtle terrapins)?

Does this work for king snakes? I have two and they are always crazy when I pick them up.

I think my Ackie's breeder was good with handling. He's around six months old and the store had him for about a month. I've had him two weeks. He lets me pet him and doesn't fight to get away when I hold him. Lots of licking/sniffing

Why are these animals being killed? It their territory they eat animals is included. We are smart enough to stay away. Why should they die for that? We choose to go where they live because we think we rule everything. No disrespect to this man’s family. I’m talking in general with shark attacks etc. we don’t kill venomous snakes when they bite us. The whole taste for humans thing won’t matter if we stay out of their territory.

Two of my favorite reptile guys together in one awesome video. Great advice!! Thank you!!! 🙏

The whole "wolf pack mentality" thing with dogs is actually a bit of a myth, positive reinforcement is a far more effective way to train dogs than dominating them is

This was so fascinating to listen to the thinking process in establishing relationships with these amazing animals. This may be one of my favorites of all of your videos.

Love this! Took some notes:

Reptiles have 4 modes: sleep, eat, defence and think. Try to avoid defence and handle them in thinking mode.

Give them multiple treads of trust s day:

Handle it as if you don't get bit.

Make sure you are relaxed and slow in your movements.

While handling hold it over your head.

Don't overstimulate. With other animals, tv etc.

Give heads up before picking it up or entering the cage.

Make sure it's okay with you being in the same room while in its cage.

Try to avoid 'defensive mode'. Keep interactions positive.

Leave a worn shirt in their cage so they get used to your smell.

Eye contact can be seen as hostile behavior so trying to not look them in the eyes while interacting.

Aproache the animal with hands palms faced down and make fist when they try to bite.

Make sure the interaction is pleasurable for both of you.

Make sure you know the difference between freeze ( defence state ) and relaxed in the thinking state.

Start with petting the underside of the tail while holding it over your head.

Do not restrict the animal.

Interact regularly.

If anybody can keep a dragon snake alive it should be this guy lol

Something i learned while breeding birds is Definitely how i present my eyes. Predators generally have binocular vision and look with two eyes forward. If you close one eye and look a bit sideways toward the animal you dont appear to be a threat nearly as much. My birds would look at me like they were trying to decide if im just a big bird or not.

Kevin is the best! He is a true reptile whisperer. Clint you are awesome too.

People just generally don't know to make reptiles feel comfortable, because they don't act in a familiar way. Much like some of those snakes, one of my cats only feels safe if she's up high and can see everything going on. I have to let her observe everything when I make a change in her environment. I'd be scared too if i had no idea what was going on and I couldn't see anything.

I really love him He hot into this conversation over the Video and you see how you both absolutely love those animals

Could you talk about tame something that small, quick and skittish like Emerald Swift?

So many of these techniques are very familiar to me, from dealing with rescued horses and other animals. Such valuable information that applies to more than just reptiles. Thank you so much for sharing this! You have helped me better understand why some approaches work better than others. Lots of things to bear in mind for the future!

It's funny seeing how much the guy from NERD wants to talk about reptiles so much that when Clint says 3 words he jumps in to explain a little early. Give Clint a whole sentence bro lol 😂😂

I've worked with fearful dogs a lot and this is very similar advice to what you would do with a fearful dog.

I don’t think I know of a pet that shouldn’t be seen as a wild animal based on this definition. 😂 Seeing animals for who they are means knowing where they came from and how their behavior and instincts have changed based on long term interaction with humans. Working dog breeds need regular tasks, such as a common herding breed might need children or animals to look after and protect. Hunting dogs may need to chase or follow interesting scent trails.
Cats and dogs both need a power hierarchy with a human at the top, or you can’t correct their behavior. But, just like the steps with reptiles, you have to build trust and get them comfortable around you first. The best way to correct bad behavior in an animal is to redirect their attention. My cat is eyeing the top of the cabinet, which I don’t want him jumping on— quick, redirect with a toy.

So much of this advice is also what you'd do in dog training - building on small success & having a positive experience is so important.

The parts about averting your eyes & giving them your smell apply heavily with unsocialized/abused dogs, too! Plus, keeping them in a calm environment... some people call it "trigger stacking" with dogs, where small stressors can build up one by one to push a dog over its bite threshold.

I've never seen it applied to reptiles before - this is amazing!

Oof. Agreed with everything until the dog thing. Dogs are biologically and behaviorally distinct from wolves, though they can freely interbreed, and there is so much I could say about "dominance" training dogs.

But I'll just say, if you wouldn't do it to your *reptile*, and you wouldn't do it to your *kids*, I sure hope you're not doing it to your dog.

- Most definitely a game changer. To say nothing of the amazing customer service that New England Reptile offers. Had a chance to deal with their staff lately and I was blown away. Really admire Kevin for what he's built and shared with the animal community. He's quite opposite of a monster, in my experience!

Some reason I feel calmer when he doesn't look at the camera. Just like a reptile.

I've instinctively done some of this with animals without thinking about it

These handling techniques remind me so much of modern horse training techniques. Very cool!

Me in the first few seconds: huh wonder why Clint looks like a slightly grizzled and distressed Frodo Baggins
1 min in and seeing him handle multiple highly venomous grumpy snakes: Ah

Ever since I first discovered NERD almost two decades ago….I’ve wondered what drugs he’s on.

I would wholeheartedly agree with not using gloves. The first step in my eyes of building trust with an animal is yourself trusting the animal to begin with. If you mask your flesh because you're afraid of getting bit then YOU don't trust the animal, how do you expect the animal to trust you in turn? This is an amazing point.

Anyone who's ever seen Kevin interact with animals knows that he loves them. You don't get well socialized animals without that level of care and respect.

Is it just me or does that albino monitor look like a raw chicken? lol

Used this on Niles and alligators and more before seeing this it's about finding trust. I have made friends with black bear and deer as well do not try lol

My leopard gecko is pretty intelligent. Some people say they're kinda derpy. But I can tell that the wheels are turning in Oscar's brain.

Maybe I can use those techniques with my leopard gecko. I got him from a friend, he wasn't socialized, and he was tormented by cats. Plus he's an adult lizard.

This reptile guy is A genius.👍👍👍👍

Energy NEVER lies. I approach my Lizard underneath ALWAYS and I never look her dead in the face and rarely at the same eye height. I don't ever want to appear as a Threat, coming too close to the Enclosure too fast, moving too fast etc. If I'm not in the right state of mind, I wont even bother handling her. I've only seen her Defensive 1 time. And that was when I first got her as a Juvi. To control her/calm her, I've also noticed that holding her higher than I, she's more comfortable. She needs to see her surroundings and KNOW that I'm not trying to 1-UP her. We're very close to 1 another now and the trust we've built doesn't lie. She loves hanging out on me more than being in her Enclosure. Humans do suck tho! I tried Blue Nitrile gloves to clean her Enclosure 1 time,.. Big mistake. She went immediately into defensive mode. Maybe giving her flashbacks of a crappy past. Lizards do have feelings and emotion. She's literally my best friend. Thank you! 🐲♑

thinking mode? like socrates?

This is such an amazing video with such great advice. Except that he's wrong about dogs. They're not wolves, and don't operate like wolves in the wild. The newest science tells us the "pack mentality" and domination is inaccurate. His main points stand, though.

this video finally got me to decide i need to do this with my leopard gecko. he (or maybe she, we don't know) was free, so i felt like even if i cant hold him its no big deal. and aside from convincing it to eat in its new location it was good enough till today. i am going to try these methods over the course next year if necessary while im recovering from the two surgeries im going to have soon.

btw, if anyone has advice on enclosure decorations for an urban-feral lizard, please share any ideas you have. a bit of background so you understand what i mean by that, he was free because the pet store we got him at found him in their pump room, he was too big to sell, and they also couldnt guarantee his health as well as having no record that he even existed in the store to begin with. as such having spent his whole life in a pump room he HATES substrate, doesnt matter the type, he prefers the bare glass floor of the tank, he also prefers more smooth surfaces with a man made feel. smooth, hard angles, needs to look manmade/artificial. he also hides from UV lights and the sunny window, but will (sometimes) bask in standard household lightbulb light.

I have a kitten. She definitely has modes. I’m not sure where thinking mode is yet.

My two favorites. Kevin and Clint.

Caesar Milan says what Kevin says about the mode an animal is in. Dogs too, single minded, very similar to your lizard being threatened, hungry, relaxed, curious, etc.

I got a ball python 3 weeks ago, he's a nippy active baby, very defensive. The "cover your eyes" advice was the only thing that mellowed him down during handling, I physically could feel his body giving up some of the tension he's been building. That and the elevating the snake above you. I even have a little chinese lantern as a lamp in my room and he usually inspects it when I bring him up. All of these advice WORK. He's still a sassy bitey baby and I am still, in his eyes, the scary monster roommate, but these were incredible tips to have positive interactions with him and, slowly, nudge him over to tollerate me. His latest reaction when I come to the enclosure to spot clean and change the water is peeking his head out of his hide and check me out, even if I'm rotating his substrate to boost the humidity after watering, when before he would just squeeze in a corner of the hide and hope that I'll stop making a mess and go away asap. Inbetween the defensive modes I am finally seeing glimpses of the snake I was hoping of buying 3 weeks ago and it's all thanks to these tips and, most of all, having my admiration for these cool animals win over my fear of getting bit.

Also, after seeing this video multiple times, OF COURSE Kevin is an Obituary fan! Thank you from a fellow metalhead (now also fellow reptile lover) for these invaluable tips! Made my transition to reptile pets a lot easier and rewarding!

Clint, I can easily say this is the most important video you’ve uploaded on your channel, because it shows that having a positive relationship with your reptile can go both ways. I see all the time in some online forums, people who don’t know reptiles insisting that you cannot train them, that at best they have moments where they aren’t freaked out and trying to kill you. You may not be able to train a snake the way you might a dog, but any animal that can have its behavior shaped via operant conditioning can learn to have a positive association with humans, if you make interactions positive.