Yes.
In 4 days, he grew 1 inch.
He gets lots of exercise, we feed him crickets to chase on our kitchen floor and we toss super worms in different directions to force him to run around. He will explore and climb on us before walking back to his cage when he's ready.
Herbert has found a new love for the bathtub he seems to enjoy swimming and a good soaking. Which is necessary since he dug a HUGE burrow and is ALWAYS dirty now, not to mention shedding like mad.
Greg cut Herbert's nails just yesterday and he was VERY good while he did so. He is becoming calmer but still full of spit and vinegar.
We read somewhere to actually give him a command such as "Hold" or "Stop" then he begins to squirm, then to praise him for heeding our request. I thought this sounded ridiculous at first but it seems to be working! He seems to understand our positive and negative tones, (when he is in the mood for it of course. :)
He is beginning to understand and remember the places he cant go on his leash, (under the oven, fridge and couch) he will try half heartedly to go there then quickly move on. Perhaps our little raptor is just testing the fences but learning is learning right?
Why are things going so well?
Personally I give a lot of credit to the leash. It has allowed us to ultimately maintain control over the situation but it gives Herbert his right to choose what he wants to do. The only time we force holding him is when we are putting the leash on, we give him his time eating but he doesn't mind being pet and scratched. Herbert started climbing on us first and got to know us on his own time. He trusts us but still demands respect.
We spend 30 - 60 minutes with him everyday. If he's in the mood for walking and exploring then maybe longer, if we ignored this lizard he would NOT be so cool.
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