How to properly care for your Water Monitor

A Water Monitor is not a pet for the faint of heart. While rewarding to keep, these animals are aggressive carnivores! Some people feel that a Monitor Lizard is the ultimate pet. A great conversation piece, an Ice Breaker for meeting new people. They think a huge lizard is Cool.

While these things may be true to some degree, keeping a Monitor Lizard is challenging and can be dangerous.

There are various species of Water Monitor and each has it's own personality traits.

NILE MONITORS are the cheapest of the large water monitors... there is a reason for this. Some make good pets, few make really great pets. Typical attitude and behavior of a Nile is Nervous, Nasty, and Nippy! They can grow to 6 ft but 4 ft is average. No matter how tame, NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON A NILE! They are used as watch-dogs in their native habitat. And rightly so!

SALVATORE WATER MONITORS get Huge. Males often make 7 ft or more, with females ranging around 5 ft. They are easier to tame and many become quite docile. Much more expensive in the pet stores and their calm almost affectionate nature is why. Some individuals can have the same temperament as Niles.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Water Monitor
• Lockable enclosure of sutable size
• Huge water bowl that is easy to empty and clean... A challenge in itself!
• Aspen shavings, bed a beast, printer paper, or other such substrait for the enclosure.
• Hide log of sutable size
• Heat lamps
• UVB lamp
• Wire Covers for Heat and UVB Lamps

1. 
    
   This is not a Water Monitor but is a Cape Monitor, he is showing a threat display warning that he will whip you with that formidible tail of his.

   First you need to ask yourself if you are really up to the task of properly caring for a large monitor that could be potentially dangerous if you are unable to tame him or keep him tame.
   These animals can live for 15 years or more and consume a vast amount of meat. They are powerful apex predators in their native habitats, the top of the food chain.
   Being large and aggressive is a successful survival skill for these animals that has worked for thousands of years.
   Just because we bring them into our homes and love them as pets does not change their nature. We are bringing a wild animal into our homes, tame does not mean domesticated. Even domesticated animals attack their owners at times, so we can not fault a wild animal should the same occur!

2. 
    
   Water Monitors can get huge. This pic is of a 7 ft Salvatore Water Monitor. This is Raptor he was seen on the Jay Leno show with Steve Irwin when he was expecting the birth of his son.

   The most important thing is to research the animal you want to bring into your home before you actually make the purchase. Ask yourself if you are really serious about caring for this animal for it's lifetime. Be honest here, anything less is not fair to the animal.
   Can you honestly take care of a large lizard that can potentially be dangerous to other family members?
   Monitors are intelligent animals that recognise individual people, so keep this in mind.
   They will be powerful requiring huge enclosures at least the size of your bathroom to remain happy and healthy. They can break thick glass with their tails, and fingers with their teeth. Enclosures must be strong, lock able and escape proof, hopefully in a room with a closed door. These guys are great escape artists. Imagine the havoc one could wreck in your home should he escape... Worst yet, Imagine the local neighborhood if even your 3 ft Monitor were loose in the neighborhood! Lizards scare people, huge lizards cause Panic! Panic creates news coverage and pleas to local governments to restrict our rights to own such beautiful and unusual creatures... BE RESPONSIBLE!!!

3. 
    
   This is a young female Salvator that is suffering from Metabolic Bone Disease. Note her shortened muzzle and buldging eyes

   Acquire a healthy animal.
   Never buy a sick reptile at a pet store because you feel sorry for them! If you do you are just asking for Thousands of Dollars in health care costs at the local reptile Veterinarian! And with all that money spent, you may still be without your Monitor when the sick one eventually dies...
   
   Look for clean enclosures and knowledgeable staff.
   Unless it is already tame, obtain a baby, even though they are harder to raise they are less dangerous to tame and deal with than an untamed sub adult or adult animal.
   Hold the monitor in your hands, does he appear to have enough weight on him? Is he active and alert, looking around at his surroundings? Does he try to get away from you? Are his eyes and nostrils clear? Can you hear him breathe??? Monitors make huffing noises when agitated so this would not necessarily be a bad sign, however you don't want to hear rattling or wheezing when he breathes.
   Ask what they are feeding and how often, young monitors should have a varied diet of both insects and meat items or live prey.
   How does he move around in his enclosure, is he active and alert or sedentary.
   
   Pick one that is active, alert, and appears to be aware of his surroundings. Has no nasal discharge or wheezing. Appears to be in good flesh without any signs of deformity or improper movement in his joints.

4. 
    
   These are Vision Cages, they are moulded into one piece with sliding doors. Make sure you install a lock on the door to prevent escape!

   You need a suitable locking enclosure for your monitor.
   
   An aquarium with a slide in screen lid may be acceptable for a baby but a larger Monitor will use his formidable claws to rip an escape route out of that lid and be somewhere loose in your home. Monitors are escape artists, if there is a way out, they WILL find it. Preferably you will want a well made wood or heavy plastic enclosure with sliding lock able doors. The newer Vision cages are ideal for keeping these powerful monitors as long as you have the size appropriate for the Monitor. For a smaller monitor the glass doors will be no problem, but for adult animals you will want to replace those glass doors with Lexon or Plexiglas, they will need to be replaced from time to time due to scratches from your Monitors Claws. While a Vision Cage is not essential you will want an enclosure that is close to their style and lock able. Raptors enclosure when he was an adult and just over 7 ft long was 4 ft wide by 8 ft long and 8 ft high! I installed the Glass windows to this enclosure well above the reach of his tail to prevent him from breaking the glass when he was in a foul mood.

5. 
    
   Improper use of heat lamps caused this severe thermal burn in this Cape Monitor. It took more than 6 months and intensive therapy for him to heal. The scar was ugly!

   Lighting and Heating the Enclosure.
   Heating such a large enclosure can be a difficult task and many are tempted by hot rocks which are Plaster or clay flat rocks with a heating core inside. DO NOT USE THESE! As a Reptile Rescuer I can not tell you how many poor reptiles have been seriously burned, electrocuted, or killed by these things... They crack and can expose the heating element creating a possible electrical contact point that if it gets wet can cause electrocution. The heating elements over time begin to get hotter and can cause severe thermal burns. If you insist on using one of these devices Please install a dimmer switch on the cord so that you can adjust the output temperature. Even Pig blankets have this problem. I have a large one that easily gets hot enough to burn you! I have it plugged into a dimmer switch to keep it safe. Place your hand firmly on the hot rock, if it is too hot for you to comfortably leave your hand there it is too hot for your Water Monitor.
   
   Heat Lamps
   Heat lamps are the most preferred method for heating reptile cages, they increase the air temperature making it easier for your Water Monitor to regulate his body temperature. They Must however be placed inside of a lighting cage to prevent the Water Monitor from accessing them and tearing them down or breaking the bulbs.
   
   Your enclosure needs a hot and cool area. The hot area should be maintained between 86-95 degrees, the cool area should be in the mid 70's. Place Thermometers at the floor of the cage, you need to know what the temperature is where the Water Monitor is.
   
   Thermal Burns can occur if your Water Monitor gets access to your lighting/heat source. Either by basking too close to the bulb or by physically tearing at it with his Claws. Yes, he is not the sharpest pencil in the box! They do not understand our lighting/heating methods, in the wild they can't get too close to the sun!
   
   UVB must be provided to prevent bone diseases such as Metabolic Bone Disease (discussed in step 7) Follow the directions on the lamps carefully! Replace as Directed even if the light still lights up. After about 6 months the lamps no longer produce sufficient UVB to be of any benefit to your Water Monitor. Your Water Monitor needs to be able to get very close to these lamps without being burned. More than 12 inches away is totally useless as the amount of available UVB reduces with distance. It can NOT be blocked by glass... glass stops the beneficial UVB.

6. 
    
   This is Raptor at 7ft having a nice soak in my bath tub. This is not a small tub! Think about this pic when you are considering a large monitor species as a pet!

   Supplying sufficient clean water for soaking and drinking. Water Monitors Love water, that goes without saying. They will soak for hours in their water bowls. They will feed from their water bowls, they defecate in their water bowls... Hence they need a water bowl that is large enough for them to get their entire body into to soak, it needs to be easily cleaned and refilled. Not an easy task for a large Water Monitor! While Raptor was alive he had a Huge walk in enclosure. It was 4ft wide by 8 ft long and 8 ft high (for me to get around comfortably) He had a 4ft x 2ft x 3ft den that was his uvb and main heating source. On top of the den was a stock tank that I installed a spigot on to. This made cleaning chores much easier as all I needed to do was attach a garden hose, stretch it out and open the spigot, Hose the tank, close the spigot and refill. I installed a ramp for Raptor to use to get into the tub. The biggest benefit of having the tub on top of his den was that any heat that rose naturally would heat the water!

7. FEEDING. Feeding your Water Monitor can be rather simple as baby's, but gets expensive as they get older and larger! Baby's and adults alike need a varied diet to remain healthy. This should include insects, fish, shrimp, crustaceans and birds. They are messy feeders especially if given live prey. They will shake and bang their food around breaking up bones to make it easier to swallow, this usually ends up in a bloody cage or feeding area! It is best to clean the enclosure before and after feeding. Remove all substrate so that your Water Monitor wont eat any that becomes attached to his food items. After feeding you can replace it. For very large enclosures you can sweep the substrate away from the feeding area and put it back later. You need to make sure, especially with young animals that they are getting adequate Calcium and Phosphorus in the proper proportions to prevent Metabolic bone disease. Left untreated Metabolic Bone Disease or MBD can cause severe deformity thru softening of the bones and in the advanced stages the bones can loose enough density that they wont even show up on x-ray! MBD is fatal if allowed to progress to far! Best to prevent it by feeding supplemental Calcium and Phosphorus than to try to treat it later. Young Water Monitors in the wild are more Arboreal meaning they spend a lot of time in trees and dense bushes. This is to avoid being food for the larger adults. Babies eat more insects than meat so they should be fed accordingly with careful attention to Calcium / Phosphorus supplementation. In the wild they will eat adult feces to get gut bacteria, calcium and some other nutrients that they can not get from the insects. In our homes we can't allow that so we must provide proper supplementation. Water Monitors can eat any meat source, use care when feeding fish, Goldfish often carry parasites that will need to be periodically treated by your Veterinarian. Eggs can be given in moderation either scrambled or raw. Insects can include crickets, cockroaches, mealworms, waxworms, phoenix worms (see my article on attracting Black Soldier flys for Phoenix worms). Because of the vicious nature in how Water Monitors feed you should consider training him to take prekilled or dead food. To do this you need to use tongs to give the dead animal some "life" by moving and shaking it till the monitor seizes it in his mouth. Eventually you can just put the prey item in his food dish and he will take it. Do NOT use fingers to make the prey move

8. 
    
   Raptor and my son Tommy in the front yard

   Taming your Water Monitor is rather straight forward. Keep him in a small enclosure at this time so that he will be easy to capture. You need to use extra caution to insure you catch him properly or he can turn his head to bite you with that long neck! To catch him safely you want to use your hand so that your first and second fingers wrap around the neck and the thumb and rest of your fingers wrap around the body. You can use a towel to capture him but be careful he may still be able to bite you thru the towel. Hold him firmly without causing damage. Talk to him but try to avoid any words that have a hissing sound in them like shhh. Hissing is how a monitor begins a threat display and will frighten your Water Monitor. Rub his neck near the ears they find this pleasurable. If you rub on top of his head he will open his mouth and try to bite so be careful you don't feed him your fingers.

9. 
    
   This is a Black Throat Monitor in full threat display! He is warning you that he is frightened and will whip his tail and will lash out to bite. You sould exercize severe caution when handling a monitor in full threat display.

   OPPS he bit me now what do I do to get him off??? If you have a Water Monitor or any other Wild Animal (he is a wild animal after all) sooner or later you WILL be bitten! When a Water Monitor bites he will either bite and slash or bite and hold on. If he bites and slashes you will have several cuts that need to be attended to. Wash the area with plenty of clean running water, apply an antibiotic ointment and cover with a band-aid. If he bites and hangs on you need some help to get him off fast, they tend to clamp down, relax pressure and then re-clamp, they may try to shake your hand. Using mouth wash, hand sanitizer, or alcohol you will pour some into the Water Monitors Mouth. It will burn your cuts, but it will also cause him to release his hold on you. When he does you will need to have a safe place handy to put him so that you can then attend to your wound. If it is minor you can treat it as above but if he got in a really good bite or is a larger Water Monitor you will need to be seen at Urgent Care for some stitches! Watch the wound for signs of infection and if you develop an infection you should follow up with your doctor!

10. 
     
    Escaped Water Monitors can cause panic in the neighborhood and may result in local regulations prohibiting such large dangerous species. Prevention of such escapes keeps everyone happy!

    Escapes. Water Monitors are powerful animals capable of escaping from most enclosures. Care must be taken to insure that the enclosure is secure. Screen is clawed thru, glass is broken with a tail whip, doors are forced open, vents removed. If there is a possible exit your Water Monitor will find it! While you may be able to keep your small monitor in an aquarium with a screen lid, larger animals of course need huge enclosures. The enclosure should be equipped with a lock and preferable the enclosure should be in a room that is also escape proof with a door that locks! Escaped monitors will try to get outside, it is their nature. Once outside they may climb a tree, crawl under the house or worse inside your car's engine compartment. They may get into bushes or crawl down a hole in your yard. Once outside the sunlight with all the real UVB kicks in and many Water Monitors especially Niles will forget they were ever tame loving pets and become quite dangerous when approached. Even if you take your monitor outside on a frequent basis, this can happen. He may become frightened because he is loose and in unfamiliar surroundings, frightened animals are dangerous ones! You can try making a trap to capture him again. If he is not real large you can take a wire cage, cut a hole in it near the bottom that is about 5 inches larger than the width of your monitor. Make a cone with wire the opening on the small end should be a little larger than the distance around your monitors shoulders, the larger end should be secured to the hole in the enclosure with the cone extending into the enclosure. Place food and water into the cage and place it near where you think your pet is. With luck he will be drawn to the food and water and crawl thru the cone to get back into the cage. Once in the shape of the cone makes it difficult for him to use that as an escape route. If he is a large Water Monitor you may need the equivalent of an animal control Catch Pole. Large animal traps may also be effective but if the door comes down on his tail he may still be able to escape and you will find an empty trap. If he gets caught by the trap but escapes it is unlikely that the same trap will be visited again. Try to recover him as fast as possible, especially if he is large, when he gets hungry the local cats and small dogs will begin to disappear as he catches and eats them. This is newsworthy and can and often will result in restriction of ownership of exotic species in your area!!!

Tips & Warnings

• During taming you may want to use thick gloves in the beginning to save your fingers while you learn how to properly catch and hold your water Monitor.
• Water must be changed at least daily
• have the name and phone number of a Veterinarian handy that treats reptiles should your Water Monitor ever require care.
• Keep mouth wash or hand sanitizer near the enclosure to make your Water Monitor let go in case of a bad bite
• Water Monitors can inflict a painful and serious bite.
• Escapes are common and need to be prevented by utilizing proper cages and locks
• Seek medical attention for any bite or scratch that appears to be infected
• Monitors have a heavy bacteria load in their saliva which will almost always cause an infection if not treated aggressively.
• Water Monitors become large and powerful so you need to take extra care to insure they can not access lights or wiring.
• If they rip down their lighting or heating they can cause a fire!

Resources

• Reptile Rapsody Reptile Rescue
• Code 3 offers discounted merchandise to police and fire personell