Monitor Advice

I just adopted a juvenile Nile Monitor from a local guy here who couldn't take care of it. It's about 28 inches long now, and i've got it in a 6 foot long, two foot wide, 2 foot tall tank (more or less, haven't had a chance to fully measure the dimensions of the tank). The monitor is thin and underfed, and the guy I got her from was keeping her in this same tank, but with a small tupperware for water that she could barely fit into, and no UVB lighting or daytime lights of any kind, only a red-bulb heat lamp with bad wiring. SOOOOO...

I fully upgraded the tank, I've got full-spectrum UVB, day light heat and red bulb heat (3 lamps in total). I'm using coconut bark for the substrate, 5 inches deep for 3/4 of the tank's length. The other 1/4 of the tank is water, with a plastic liner at the bottom and rounded, smooth "turtle stones" (brand name, I think) for the substrate there, with several large rocks at the "beach" where the water and coconut bark meat. This gives the lizard about 4 square feet of water (which I'm currently keeping at around 4 inches deep) to swim and soak in. The land portion of the tank has some thick climbing branches as well as a large hide and sphagnum moss to retain moisture. I keep the overall temperature in the cage at around 83 degrees F, with the basking spot in the 94 degree F range. The water portion stays significantly cooler, in the low-mid 70's.

With the monitor being underfed and kept in poor conditions beforehand, she's skittish, sometimes very sluggish, and prone to freezing in place for long hours whenever i'm in the room. I'm feeding her a varied diet, super mealworms are in a bowl in her cage, feeder guppies in the water portion, and every couple of days I'm feeding her adult mice, frozen-thawed.

Can anyone offer more advice on keeping this monitor species? I'd appreciate any comments or critique to improve the lizard's care.

The basking spot temperature is to low.
The basking spot NEEDS to be at least in the 120 to 130 deg range. (very important).

Hide spots within the cage are also important, especially at this time.
Put some on the cool side and hot side of the cage.
You want the animal to feel secure.

Dont handle it!
It will only retard its progress and stress it out.
Just leave it alone, and give it what it needs.
Heat, humidity, food, water, security, etc, etc.
The more options/choices you can give it, within the cage, the better.
Let the lizard tell you, what it prefers.

Good luck Bob

Alright, i accidentally broke the daylight heat bulb, so I replaced it with a second red heat bulb, pushing the basking spot to around 125 degrees, which should be nice. She has a hiding log filled with peat moss that she loves, so that's also taken care of. I've fed her a few times now, she'll only eat live mice it seems, and also enjoys mealworms and possibly feeder fish (i put six feeder fish in, two have been trampled to death, and the rest have gradually disappeared, so now there's only one left swimming). She's not tame per se as of yet, but seems to tolerate handling to a degree.

Sounds like your Varanus niloticus lives in 7th heaven ! Why don't you feed it more mushy bowl food (ya-know, like raw egg mixed with ground meat, cannedcat-dog food, rat organs&guts,etc). Beware ~ these grow into giants. London Zoo had one 8',100lbs+ in a room size exhibit, eye-balling a 10' black mamba accross the isle ! Best advice; fatten it up and swap it for a Timor - just as mean, but won't tear your hand off !

Originally Posted by Wayne Fowlie

Sounds like your Varanus niloticus lives in 7th heaven ! Why don't you feed it more mushy bowl food (ya-know, like raw egg mixed with ground meat, cannedcat-dog food, rat organs&guts,etc). Beware ~ these grow into giants. London Zoo had one 8',100lbs+ in a room size exhibit, eye-balling a 10' black mamba accross the isle ! Best advice; fatten it up and swap it for a Timor - just as mean, but won't tear your hand off !

I'm well aware of how large the animals get, I've already started plans for a full-sized cage that I should be able to finish early next year, but I appreciate the heads up.

I'd never swap her for a Timor though, i've always loved Niles, and she's doing fine so far.

As for feeding, I've heard a lot of mixed information on that. One source mentioned raw eggs as unpalatable, saying that since chicken eggs are unfertilized, they make the monitor's sick. Ground turkey seems to be worth a try though, and possibly some other more easily-attainable foods.

Sorry for the teasing nature of my last reply! The Nile Monitoris a historical creature, known to us throughout human existance. I inherited one (about the size of yours) from a soldier who got deployed to the Varanus griseus range. It seems satisfied with its 45gl solid glasstank- lo0ts of newsprint substrate, hide box, water crock and hot spot. Good luck with your adoption ~ a lucky li9zard!

Wayne is going to send you back to the stone edge with his help. Dog food is for dogs and a quick google search will show you that is linked to fatty liver disease (= death) and supports kidney failure (= death). Sorry Wayne, no pun attended.

Pics of setup are worth a thousand words. Basking spot needs to be 120-150f (surface temp measured with infrared gun) and you need to offer different ranges (may need to basking spots) using rete stacks or multi levels. Sandy dirt is the best substrate. If it is on bark then it needs to be changed. Bed a beast is okay but buying enough for 1ft min. substrate is going to cost you. High humidity. I can only hope you do not have a screen top currently. These guys require lots of heat and humidity and the hot air will go out the top and take the humidity with it.
Start building the adult enclosure now. You are looking at a min. of 12'x6'x6' (LxWxH).
I had salvadorii going from 20in hatchlings to 6ft in one year. Once set up right this guy will take off and double its size in a years time (at least double)

Feed more mice. Like 3-5 a day!!! You can also try head on shrimp, crawfish, large roaches, chicks, anything that is whole food (complete animal). You do not need full spectrum lighting and is up to you whether you want to keep it. Monitors gain d3 and vital nutrients through food. Mine produce eggs, hatch, and live happy lives with just basking bulbs and a plant light for my plants.

P.S I can almost be positive that london zoo does not have an 8ft 100lb nile or it would be a record. Most likely a water monitor you seen Wayne. Similar but different

Most important- find an active monitor site. Google varanid forum, varanus, or monitor and pick a forum that is active and dedicated to monitors. Of coarse come back here and share though