If it is not their time of the month or if they are inactive, they are often seen in different places such as waterside, logs, trees, rocks and vegetation to bask and to rest. Forums Reptiles, amphibians and other exotic vivarium pets. Their captive home should at least close to or mimic their natural habitat. It serves as an oar to help it have power through the waters, serves as a counterweight in the running and uses its tail to whip off an assailant to defend itself. It is a lightweight monitor that has fully adapted to the life of forest canopy. Do not use commercial sprays available in the market because it may contain harmful chemicals that may cause harm to your pet. Captive and wild specimens have an approximate life span of 15 years. These substrates allow their fingers to stay in the same position and not to be deformed. Their housing should also be versatile, where you could set up some lighting and ventilation equipment in assisting their growth. Nile monitors make great pets for the EXPERIENCED OWNER and are not recommended as beginner pets. They are considered to be the largest lizard in, Africa where it can grow up to five feet in length with a weight of around 45 pounds. Begin the taming process by means of rewarding them with food such as vegetables, crickets, cockroaches, and meat dropping it into the cage, make sure that you don’t pose aggressiveness in feeding them so as not to create tension as well. Adult Nile monitors can be fed a staple diet of frozen-thawed mice or rats. Scientists are also studying the possibilities that like dinosaurs, monitor lizards also have the ability to distinguish colors. Regardless of what kind of a pet they make though, Nile monitors are popular with the large lizard lovers because of their swimming and tree-climbing abilities and sheer beauty. Juvenile Nile monitors can be raised on a … If you observe an unusual behavior or changes in the physical appearance of your pet, then it is best to seek help from a professional who specializes in taking care of lizards. The female Nile monitor would prefer to lay their eggs in the brood of termites where the heat coming from these termites act to incubate the eggs. Communication. Savannah monitors are carnivores and opportunistic eaters that are prone to obesity. Nile Monitors has high levels of digging activities; that is why the best substrates in their housing should have mixes of peat moss-based potting soil, some coarser material such as a fine grade ground limestone, with ground fir bark and sand to as to protect their nails as well. The Nile Monitor is an African cousin of the Komodo Dragon. Larger monitors will require an entire room for an enclosure. Nile monitor feeding and info session. There are some places wherein taking good care of this type of reptile is not common that is why having knowledge if it is legal to own a Nile monitor where you live and if there is an expert or a professional that you could be able to ask for help if you pet is sick or if you just want to ask something about Nile monitors. Until now, there are no initiatives to take some Nile Monitors into Africa’s habitat to rebound its population but there are private organizations that breed in captivity, but as soon as there are offspring, it would be taken into the wild. Nile monitors should be fed crickets daily and offered a pinkie mouse weekly. You will know that you’re pet has been tamed if you can now handle them easily without tension and when they can already climb up into your arms. They wear a striking coat of colors with an earthy coloration. In captivity, Nile monitors can be prone to burns if the lighting equipment or heat source gets too close. Using bowls that can be firmly attached to the side of the cage is the best way to prevent spillage. Even though this reptile is big, breeders love to take it into captivity because of their good adaptation personality wherein they can thrive anywhere as long as they are still able to move. Distribution Their continuous predation on crocodile and snake nests serves as a control to these reptile populations. This reptile has an appeasable appetite; there are some times when they seem so hungry even though you just feed them. As its name implies, it is the color black all throughout its lifecycle. It is also advisable to observe their physical appearance and behavior daily so that you can easily attend to their health problems in the quickest way. I am getting a bigeer tank soon. A basking spot temperature should reach 120 F with a temperature gradient down to the 80s during the day and not dropping below 80 at night. Vicki Jauron / Babylon and Beyond Photography / Getty Images. They eat a lot and sometimes ingest sand or other things they can't digest. Monitor their weight to prevent excess weight gain. Some experts suggest that they do not see the actual looks of their prey, predators or breeders but they are able to sense due to shadowy illusions that they see which is black and water matter that is moving. It is advisable to use lighting equipment that can penetrate through all sides of their tank. This monitor is a common captive pet because of its strong resistance to different illnesses, and it is also not a high maintaining reptile. The Spruce Pets uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Nile monitors are like other reptiles that do not like to be handled often. Nile monitors will not hesitate to bite if they are stressed, and given their size, this is not pleasant. I. It is carnivorous in nature, often going after the eggs of the Nile crocodile. Other food items will be eagerly accepted, but are not necessary for balanced nutrition - feed them only for your entertainment or that of the monitor. During this phase, it is not yet advisable to hold them. This monitor grows in a considerably longer in length compared to other monitor species. To prevent this illness, exposure to proper lighting, feeding them with the right diet, and supplying them with calcium and vitamin D3 is helpful. They have an aggressive personality from childhood that they can carry out until adulthood, especially if they are grown in their natural environment. If you suspect your Nile monitor has one of these conditions, you should seek treatment from a veterinarian who specializes in lizards. They are often seen basking on the rocks, branches of a tree or near the water. These are usually fed insects when they are young and pre-killed rodents like rats and mice as they get larger. The Nile Monitor uses its forked tongue and the organs on the roof of its mouth to taste its surroundings to help identify different chemical compounds. Nile Monitors are hardy reptiles; they can thrive in almost all different kinds of weather and temperature. The housing also needs to be secure enough to prevent a monitor from escaping by burrowing under a fence or climbing out. The Nile Monitor lay eggs about 20-60, and it may take 6-8 months for it to hatch. Yes, they have teeth. They may not be a good pet that can also show their affection to you like domesticated animals such as dogs and cats do, but they are hardy animals that won’t have bodily issues from time to time. Use sturdy bowls for food and drinking water. Even though you cannot see any signs of diseases on its physical appearance and that it is still active, experts would suggest having it checked by a veterinarian at least once a year so that they could also check its health on the inside. Nile monitors are native to Africa (although an invasive population is thriving in Florida) where the weather is hot. However, there are places where their population is about to extinct because of man-made destructions to their habitats and due to hunting for the leather industry such as in Malaysia and Africa. Population In Wild: Unknown The Nile monitor (or Varanus niloticus) is a large species of reptile that lives in the non-desert area of Sub-Saharan Africa. Buffrenil (1992) considered that, when fighting for its life, a Nile Monitor was a more dangerous adversary than a crocodile of a similar size. Very few of the people who buy brightly-colored baby Nile Monitors can be aware that, within a couple of years, their purchase will have turned into an enormous, ferocious carnivore, quite capable of breaking the family cat's neck with a single snap and swallowing it whole.". They grow up to 48 to 55 inches in length and may weigh more than 30 pounds. In captivity, it is advisable to mimic temperate temperature with at least 85-95 degrees Fahrenheit. They can reach over 3.5 meters long (9 ft), which crowns them as one of the largest types of Lizard in Africa. Nile Monitors located in tropical countries or those that are located near the equator can breed and reproduce any time of the year, but in countries mostly in southern regions, they only have a limited timeframe where they can mate, which is from June-July. The Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) is not only Africa’s largest lizard but also one of the continent’s most voracious predators. They are active during the day time and hide or burrow themselves at nighttime. The Ornate Nile Monitor is restricted to the southernmost sections of its wild distribution. When considering how much an adult monitor eats in a week (several large rats) you can see how expensive owning a Nile monitor will get. The lizard has extremely sharp teeth and claws, and will tackle animals much larger than itself, even Nile crocodiles. They represent harm to other native species such as tortoises, owls, birds, and other egg-laying animals because they eat their eggs and hatchlings that may be an additional cause to extinction. When the Nile Monitor attacks you, your skin might have some bruises, and cuts, and it may cause a fracture to your muscles, joints, or bones. The skin of the Nile monitor has been used for different purposes, such as medicine, dietary protein, cultural ceremonies, and leather making. Feed your monitor a few times a week and adjust the meal schedule if your pet becomes too thin or overweight. Of course, bigger is always better when it comes to reptile housing and this is especially true for a monitor that likes to climb, swim, run, and can grow to be nine feet long. Nile monitors use both visual and olfactory cues when sensing the environment. They require large cages or tanks as they grow quickly when fed with a nutritious diet. When the female Nile Monitors reached the age of 2 or when it is about 14 inches in length, that is the time it reaches sexual maturity. The Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) is a large member of the monitor family found throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa and along the Nile.The population of West Africa forests and savannahs is sometimes recognized as a separate species, the West African Nile monitor (V. stellatus). I had him 4 weeks and he grew 4 inches already. Sometimes the females would return to their shells to break it and free the hatchlings, but on a normal basis, females would leave their eggs; that is why the eggs are eaten by other reptiles and mammals. An excessive supplementation to these nutrients may lead to hypercalcemia which is fatal. Ideal foods are; mice, rats, fish, crawdads, crickets, superworms, beef heart, and hard boiled eggs. 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