How to Care for a Nile Monitor

The Nile monitor is one of the largest of the monitor lizards. It can grow up to seven or eight feet long and can be very ill tempered. They are very strong and take a lot of work to be tamed. This lizard is not recommended as a pet for beginners with reptiles.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Enclosure
• Large water container
• Heat pad
• Full spectrum lighting
• Heat lamps
• Substrate
• Feeder insects and rodents
• Vitamin and mineral supplements
• Cage decorations

1. Construct an enclosure that will suit your lizard's needs. The Nile monitor can be kept in a small aquarium (55 gallons) when it is young. But for an adult monitor you will need to provide an entire room converted to an enclosure.
2. Cover the bottom of the cage with a substrate that helps maintain humidity. About two feet of dirt is a great substrate because it will allow the monitor to burrow as it would naturally.
3. Leave one end of the cage at room temperature and heat another area to around 110 degrees Fahrenheit. You will also need to provide a large heat blanket that the monitor will be able to fit its whole body.
4. Provide a large shallow pool that the monitor can not easily tip and can fit its entire body into. This pools water should be cleaned daily and changed once a week or more as needed.
5. Clean the entire enclosure thoroughly once a month with a dilute bleach concentration. Be certain to remove all bleach before allowing the monitor to reenter the cage.
6. Use full spectrum lighting to help the monitor properly synthesize calcium and other vitamins.
7. Feed your juvenile monitor a mixture of feeder insects like crickets and mealworms. The adult monitor should be fed appropriately sized live rats.
8. Compliment the Nile monitor's diet with a regular schedule of vitamin and mineral supplements. If you have trouble getting your monitor to eat the supplements, simply dust their food with a powder version of the supplement.
9. Decorate your Nile monitor's cage with plenty of logs, rocks and artificial plants as suits your liking. This will provide your monitor with entertainment and hiding places.

Tips & Warnings

• Reinforce the walls in the enclosure room. The Nile monitor can tear though drywall easily. They can also easily chew through most chicken wire.
• Using fake plants is a good idea because a curious monitor will usually kill live plants fairly quickly.
• Adding night colored lighting can be a good idea to view your monitor's night time activities.
• Do not use gravel as a substrate as the small rocks may be ingested and your monitor could die from blockages.
• Be sure to supervise your monitor when feeding live rodents to be sure the monitor is not injured by improper digestion of the rodent.