The younger ones eat mostly dusted insects of various kinds, but they can be given thawed rodents and ground meats as they get larger. The important thing to know is that Nile Monitors
Nile monitor
The Nile monitor is a large member of the monitor family found throughout much of Africa, but is absent from the west, where it is replaced by Varanus stellatus. Other common names include the African small-grain lizard, water leguaan or river leguaan.
What can I Feed my Nile monitor?
Diets for juveniles can be 4-week-old crickets gut loaded with a multivitamin/ calcium/ vitamin D3 supplement. Nile monitors should be fed crickets daily and offered a pinkie mouse weekly. For older juveniles, king mealworms can substitute for crickets, and larger mice can be offered.
How do you take care of a Nile monitor?
Gut-loading crickets and dusting them with calcium powder before feeding your Nile monitor is vital for a growing reptile but if you are feeding whole mice or rats it is not necessary to add anything to them. Juveniles should be fed daily and adults should be offered food a few times a week.
How much should I Feed my Nile?
Niles are almost always hungry and fare best if fed measured portions once daily, although babies can be offered as much as they will eat per feeding. For adults, I feed an amount roughly equal to the volume of the monitor’s head every 2 days.
Can Nile monitors eat live mice?
Wild Nile monitors eat live prey items but it is not recommended to feed live mice or rats to a pet Nile monitor due to the risk of the prey biting your lizard. Monitors that have especially large enclosures with numerous hiding spots may be at less of a risk for injuries from their food but the potential for bites is still there.
What can I feed a baby monitor?
Crickets, mealworms, waxworms, and roaches should be considered required items in the monitor diet. Many roach species are now available to monitor owners, and keepers are strongly encouraged to maintain a small breeding colony of them as a constant source of feeders.
What can a Nile monitor eat?
Nile monitors are carnivores (scavengers). They feed on fish, snails, frogs, crocodile eggs and young, snakes, birds, small mammals, insects, and carrion.
Can I feed my Nile monitor raw meat?
2:0412:54HOW TO FEED REPTILES RAW MEAT - BE CAREFUL! - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThat are really rique unbelievable pours to the GI tract of your pet lizard. So if I take this rawMoreThat are really rique unbelievable pours to the GI tract of your pet lizard. So if I take this raw meat. And then make a nice little meatball put some calcium d3.
Can a Nile monitor eat fruit?
While most monitor lizards are carnivorous, eating eggs, smaller reptiles, fish, birds, insects, and small mammals, some also eat fruit and vegetation, depending on where they live.
How much do you feed a baby Nile monitor?
Nile monitors should be fed every 1-2 days. Niles are almost always hungry and fare best if fed measured portions once daily, although babies can be offered as much as they will eat per feeding. For adults, I feed an amount roughly equal to the volume of the monitor's head every 2 days.
Do Nile monitors need calcium powder?
Gut-loading crickets and dusting them with calcium powder before feeding your Nile monitor is vital for a growing reptile but if you are feeding whole mice or rats it is not necessary to add anything to them. Juveniles should be fed daily and adults should be offered food a few times a week.
How long can a Nile monitor go without eating?
Depending on the situation, house lizards with constant water sources can live between 10 to 30 days without food. However, they can only hold up to a maximum of three days with no water. Before they would even feel hunger, they would die out of dehydration.
Do monitor lizards eat vegetables?
Can my savannah monitor eat fruits and vegetables? Given that savannah monitors are strictly insectivorous, plant matter is not a natural part of their diet and should not be offered in captivity.
Do Nile monitors eat worms?
Nile Monitors are carnivores. Babies and juveniles will eat a variety of insects. Offer crickets, cockroaches, mealworms, waxworms, and superworms.
How do you tame a baby Nile monitor?
2:4121:24How To Tame Your Monitor Lizard From Start To Finish - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipUm you kind of just want to stay around in the general area that he's in you know let him see youMoreUm you kind of just want to stay around in the general area that he's in you know let him see you let him notice you and then pretty much just let him be.
Can Nile monitors eat chicken eggs?
Diet: Nile Monitors will eat anything that fits into their mouth and can be swallowed as a whole, like fish, snails, slugs, frogs, toads, eggs (in particular crocodile eggs), birds, small mammals, young crocodiles, turtles, crabs, large insects, termites, caterpillars and carrion.
How fast do Nile monitors grow?
Nile monitors grow generally fast, reaching maturity in the span of just a single year; one monitor lizard has been recorded as having grown from...
How long can a Nile monitor go without eating?
Depending on the situation, house lizards with constant water sources can live between 10 to 30 days without food. However, they can only hold up to a maximum of three days with no water. Before they would even feel hunger, they would die out of dehydration.
Can a Nile monitor be tamed?
Wild-caught animals should be checked for internal parasites. Nile monitor lizard has a very aggressive nature, and has a strong bite its tail, so it is very dangerous. With regular communication with a host of positive Nile monitor lizard can be somewhat tamed.
Do Nile monitor need a heat lamp?
Nile monitors need a basking surface temperature of 110-130°F and a warm side air temperature of roughly 88-92°F. The basking surface should be a stone or concrete platform large enough to accommodate the lizard's entire body.
Do Nile monitors have venom?
Are monitor lizards venomous? Contrary to previous beliefs, most lizards do possess glands that secrete venom. While the monitor uses its venom to kill its small preys (symptoms include rapid swelling, drop in blood pressure, and blood clot inhibition), it has a relatively mild effect on humans.
Why are nile monitors not recommended?
Nile monitors are occasionally seen in the pet trade but are not typically recommended as pets due to their large size and agility. 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. Names: Nile Monitor, Water Leguaan, ...
Where are nile monitors native to?
Nile monitors are native to Africa (although an invasive population is thriving in Florida) where the weather is hot. 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.
Why are monitor lizards so sick?
Common Health Problems. Monitor lizards are susceptible to metabolic bone disease, the result of a diet that lacks calcium. It can also occur if the lizard is not getting enough UVB lighting. These lizards are not as prone to parasitic infections as other breeds but can suffer from constipation due to impaction.
How long should a nile monitor be?
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. At the bare minimum, your enclosure for a Nile monitor should be twice as long as your full-grown lizard. This means your six-foot monitor would have an enclosure that is 12 feet long.
What animals does Adrienne Kruzer work with?
Adrienne Kruzer, RVT, LVT, has worked with a variety of animals for over 15 years, including birds of prey, reptiles, and small mammals. Nile monitors are occasionally seen in the pet trade but are not typically recommended as pets due to their large size and agility. Regardless of what kind of a pet they make though, ...
Is a nile monitor a good pet?
Nile monitors are beautiful, large, strong, and aggressive reptiles. They do not make good pets but are hardy nonetheless. If you are considering getting a pet Nile monitor make sure you have a large and safe enclosure.
Can a nile monitor be a pet?
Nile monitors can thrive in captivity but aren't always the friendliest as pets. If raised from a very young age and handled regularly, you may be able to trust your monitor a little bit but more often than not they aren't very tame or trustworthy. These reptiles are strong, can be aggressive, and are large.
What do nile monitors eat?
Nile Monitors are quick hunters and opportune scavengers, eating insects, mollusks, fish, amphibians, rodents, small mammals, bird eggs, and other reptiles --just about any animal they think they can swallow. Young monitors are better fed every day and do well on crickets, roaches, and other bugs.
How big of a tank do nile monitors need?
They grow fast and will get quite large. We recommend starting out a baby monitor in at least a 3' x 2' x 2' tank. Exo Terra's Large lowor Zilla's 40 gal critter cageboth work.
How big of an enclosure do water monitors need?
They also need a large container of water. A good rule of thumb is to have an enclosure at least 1 1/2 times the length of your monitor, including tail. They are active and smart.
How do nile monitors live?
They are often seen in or close to water. At night they sleep on tree branches, in burrows which they dig themselves or submerged in water. Nile monitors are highly aquatic and can remain underwater for 12-15 minutes. They are also excellent climbers and quick runners on land. In the colder parts of their range, Nile monitors hibernate, usually in burrows or in rock cracks. When they sense any danger they tend to run away or may even jump into the water from the tree branch. When threatened juvenile monitors will tail whip as a defensive measure, and as adults, they are capable of inflicting moderate to serious wounds from biting and scratching.
What is a nile monitor?
Nile monitors are large African lizards. They are the second-largest reptile in the Nile river. Nile monitors have muscular bodies, strong legs, and powerful jaws. Their teeth are sharp and pointed in juvenile animals and become blunt and peg-like in adults.
Why do people kill nile monitors?
These lizards are heavily hunted for food and leather. In some areas, local people kill Nile monitors to obtain fat from specific organs for traditional medicine.
Do nile monitors hibernate?
They are also excellent climbers and quick runners on land. In the colder parts of their range, Nile monitors hibernate, usually in burrows or in rock cracks. When they sense any danger they tend to run away or may even jump into the water from the tree branch.
What do savannah monitors eat?
Recent studies have shown that presumed rodent eaters such as savannah monitors, actually consume mostly termites, millepedes, and scorpions. In captivity, these foods may be difficult to procure, but other insect species are readily available, and should be part of every monitor diet. Crickets, mealworms, waxworms, ...
Should you feed rodents to captive monitors?
The debate over whether or not to feed rodents to captive monitors is a heated one. In all likelihood, there is probably not a right or wrong answer. Instead, the keeper must carefully evaluate other aspects of their husbandry and from that decide to what degree rodents should contribute to their pets diets.
Do monitors eat mice?
However, most monitors only rarely eat rodents in the wild, and if fed artificially high numbers of them (as often occurs in captivity) they can quickly succumb to a variety of health problems. Mice and rats are generally considered to be too high in fat for most captive, exercise-deprived monitors.
Behavior and Temperament
Food and Water
- Nile monitors have voracious appetites. In the wild, they feed on a variety of prey items including fish, eggs, insects, rodents, birds, and even other reptiles such as snakes. As pets, Nile monitors are usually fed insects (like cricketssince they are readily accessible from pet stores) when they are young and pre-killed rodents like mice and rats...
Housing
- 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. At the bare minimum, your enclosure for a Nile monitor should be twice as long as your full-grown lizard. This means your six-foot monitor would have an enclosure that is 12 feet long. The housing also needs to b…
Heating and Lighting
- Nile monitors are native to Africa (although an invasive population is thriving in Florida) where the weather is hot. A basking spot temperature should reach 120 F with a temperature gradientdown to the 80s during the day and not drop below 80 at night. A Nile monitor also requires UVB lighting. This light should be on a 12-hour cycle and the bulb should be replaced every 6 months…
Choosing Your Nile Monitor
- Nile monitors are beautiful, large, strong, and aggressive reptiles. They do not make good pets but are hardy nonetheless. If you are considering getting a pet Nile monitor make sure you have a large and safe enclosure. You should also make sure you have the regular funding to pay for all the food it will eat over the next 20 years, check to see if it is legal to own a Nile monitor where y…
Common Health Problems
- Monitor lizards are susceptible to metabolic bone disease, the result of a diet that lacks calcium. It can also occur if the lizard is not getting enough UVB lighting. These lizards are not as prone to parasitic infections as other breeds but can suffer from constipation due to impaction. They eat a lot and sometimes ingest sand or other things they can't digest. If you suspect your Nile monito…
Similar Breeds
- If you're interested in monitor lizards as pets, check out these similar breeds: 1. Black-throated monitors 2. Savannah monitors 3. Dumeril's monitors Otherwise, explore our full collection of monitor lizardprofiles.