# Ackies Monitor - how to identify stress?!



## Jamie XVX (Nov 24, 2014)

I've had my CB Ackies for about 6 weeks now (I'd guess he's about 2 or 3 months old) and he has started to respond well to regular handling - he climbs out of his viv and onto either me or my girlfriend perfectly happily. We don't "force handle" him and generally he does not appear stressed. 

What I find strange is that he has taken to "falling asleep" whilst handling. Now I know with other monitor species this would either be a stress reaction or him being cold. I'm very wary of temperature outside the vivarium, but my flat tends to be around 70f which is cool for a monitor, but not cold. It is more of a night-time temperature, but it's within a safe level. 

As far as stress goes, he climbs out onto a hand out of choice, which doesn't seem like th ebehaviour of a stressed monitor to me. When eturned to the viv, he doesn't burrow away or run off. He leisurely steps off the hand and wanders around his viv for a bit, usually settling either on top of a cork-bark log he has or under his basking lamp.

He doesn't spend much time in his hide, doesn't refuse to eat, doesn't hiss or whip or poop on me, so "normal" monitor stress indicators all seem to be fine apart from the fact he sometimes closes his eyes and stops running around. He tends to do this first thing in the morning and later on in the day, so it could just be him actually sleeping, but it seems unlikely to me that he would sleep out in the open away from his viv. I'd like to think he was comfortable, but being that comfortable in 6 weeks seems really unlikely.

I know Ackies aren't quite like other monitors, so maybe I'm reading too much into this. I'm just confused. Anyone more experienced with Ackies - What are their stress indicators?


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