Care Sheet Supplied By : The Snake.Org
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Housing : A Nile needs a considerable amount of room. If you start with a 10 gallon aquarium, it will only be adequate for about 3 months, I suggest getting the largest enclosure that you can afford, or you will spend more money by upgrading every few months.
In my opinion the best starter cages are the plastic enclosures made by Neodesha Plastics, but a glass aquarium will work if it is set up properly. Keep in mind that this is only for a juvenile monitor. An adult will eventually need an enclosure at least the size of a walk in closet.
It is best to provide a monitor with a choice of temperature ranges. There should be a basking area that has a constant temperature of 80 to 90 degrees. The other side of the tank is about 10 degrees cooler which allows the monitor to regulate his own body temperature. I use a combination of heat lamps and belly heat. Avoid using "hot rocks" or narrow heat strips, these can become too hot and burn your reptile! I once had a narrow heat strip that became so hot it cracked the glass on the bottom of an aquarium, and charred the wood cabinet it was sitting on. At the present time, I use a 12" wide heat strip under the metal tray of Gus's cage. This provides a constant source of heat that feels only slightly warm the touch. The heat lamp operates on a timer, and is only on for about 6 hours a day. Be extremely careful about the placement of heat lamps. They need to be close enough to provide heat, but not so close that the animal can touch it. The surface of a heat lamp is hot enough to severely injure a curious reptile. Gus is currently living in a cage designed for a large dog. It is three foot by four foot, and three feet tall. The sliding metal tray on the floor makes cleaning much simpler. I don't really like using a cage for a Nile monitor, especially if the monitor is prone to nose rubbing.
My future plans for Gus include a 12X15 room with hills and artificial trees and plants to make the room appear more natural. There will be a large landscaping pool, to be used for soaking and drinking. The pool will be drainable, for easy cleaning and refilling. There will be a drain in the floor at the lowest point in the room. This will allow me to spray down the entire enclosure, as well as Gus. My plan is to be able to feed and clean without disturbing Gus any more than is absolutely necessary.
Cleaning Tips : A young monitor may not seem like too much hassle, but remember, when that baby gets a little bigger, he will be producing copious amounts of solid and liquid waste. If you are lucky, you can go for 2 to 3 days without a mess, but often times you will have to clean every other day. Do not use cedar chips as substrate for a monitor lizard, or any other reptile for that matter. Cedar chips contain an oil that causes skin, and respiratory problems. I have found that the best thing to use is simply old bathroom towels. These can be reused over, and over again, all you have to do is remove any solid waste and put them in the washing machine. It is a good idea to add vinegar and baking soda to the wash, along with regular detergent. A suitable alternative towels is newspaper, which is inexpensive and disposable but tends to be dirty and easily shredded by a Nile monitor's claws.
If a large enough water container is provided, a Nile will almost always defecate in the water. This makes cleaning a lot easier, but care must be taken to disinfect the container before the animal is allowed to drink from it. I use a product called Quatricide to clean all of my cages. It does an excellent job cleaning, and it is completely harmless to the animal.
Feeding : A nile monitors have enormous appetites, and tend to be very aggressive feeders. It is important to keep safety in mind when feeding such an animal. Always use tongs or similar devices to offer food to your monitor, and as an additional precaution heavy leather welding gloves should be worn. Keep a spray bottle of vinegar or rum near the cage in case you are bitten. If the monitor bites you and refuses to release, a squirt of vinegar in the mouth is a safe effective way to make it let go. I used this technique once when I was bitten by my Burmese python who mistook my hand for a rat. I was amazed at how fast she let go of my hand, there wasn't the slightest hesitation. Luckily I have not had to try this on Gus, but I have been told it is equally effective on monitor lizards. If you are feeding a particularly large and/or aggressive monitor have someone else near by in case of an emergency.
Only offer food items that are smaller than the diameter of your monitor lizard's head. It is much easier for a monitor to consume several small items than a single large one. Monitor lizards can not "un-hinge" their jaws in order to accommodate a huge meal the way a snake does. If your monitor seems to be having difficulty swallowing the item, or makes attempts to tear it apart with it's claws, it is probably too large. A juvenile should be fed every two to three days. As it gets older, feeding can slow down to twice a week or less. During the winter when Gus doesn't get as much exercise he only eats once a week. However, this is only acceptable for healthy adult monitors at least 2½ to 3 years old.
At least twice a month I sprinkle Gus's food with a multi-vitamin supplement. My veterinarian told me it is easy to overdose with liquid vitamins, so I stick to powder, or granule types. At about every other feeding add some type of calcium supplement. I have used both pills and powder with varying degrees of success. It may take some trial and error to determine which is easier to sneak past your lizard. Any supplements from a reputable company designed specifically for carnivorous reptiles should be adequate.
Try to provide your monitor with as much variety in their diet as possible. In the wild, nile monitors are opportunistic feeders and will eat just about anything they can find or catch. Adding different food items to a monitor's diet will provide it with different nutrients as well as keeping it from becoming tired of the same old thing The biggest part of a monitors diet should still be whole prey items, such as rodents or birds, the others items are only supplements and do not provide complete nutrition. Be creative with meals but do not give him processed food, such as hamburger, lunchmeat, hot dogs etc. These products have entirely too much salt and additives that can be harmful to your pet. The basic idea is to provide a diet similar to that of a wild nile monitor.
When you feed your nile monitor rodents make sure that you only use pre-killed rodents. Feeding live prey animals to a captive monitor may do more harm than good. A mouse or rat bite can easily become infected, and it only takes one time to seriously wound your pet. I have received several e-mail messages from people who claim they feed live rodents with no problems. I still say it is not worth the risk, and I will continue to suggest that you never under any circumstances feed live prey animals (except worms and insects) to a nile monitor or any other carnivorous reptile.
Several people have asked for suggestions of other things to increase the variety of their monitors diet, so here is a list of some of the things Gus has eaten from time to time ; hamsters , young rats , raw beef heart , brds , baby chickens , chicken gizzards and hearts , eggs , boiled chicken breast , beef steak , goldfish , superworms , fat canned dog food , cat food , green anoles , cockroaches
If you cannot locate embryonated eggs, feed only the yolks. Excessive feeding of whites from non-embryonated eggs can lead to a vitamin B4 deficiency.
How to hande : The first thing to consider about handling a Nile monitor is that they do not like to be handled. Our goal is to learn how to handle a monitor without injury to ourselves or the lizard.
I wear a pair of leather welding gloves when I reach into Gus's enclosure. I know that the gloves will not stop the crushing power of his jaws, but it will take some of the pain out of being smacked by his tail. You may not think you need gloves when your monitor is young, but it is a good idea to familiarize him with the gloves so they will not agitate him later on when you really need them. When necessity compels you to pick up your large monitor, remember to watch out for the tail. When a Nile monitor turns his body sideways, puffs himself full of air and raises his body up high, this is a warning sign that your monitor is on the offensive. This is body language for "back off, or I'm gonna kick your ass." If you don't listen to the warning and get closer to the angry monitor, be prepared for a smack that sounds and feels like a bull-whip. (actually I've never been hit with a bull-whip, but it couldn't be much worse) Gus has got me a few times and it raised welts on my arms and legs, trust me IT HURTS!
Before you attempt to grab the monitor, try throwing a towel over his head as a distraction. I sometimes use a large beach towel that covers most of his body. With the towel in place, take hold of the base of his tail and his neck at the same time. Prepare for a battle as he squirms his body, thrashes his tail, and tries to hook his claws into your arms. Try to pin his tail between your legs and keep holding on to his neck. Use your free hand to wrap the towel around his body, trapping his legs down against his side. Be careful not to use too much pressure or body weight, your monitor may seem incredibly strong, but you can still cause injury while attempting to restrain him.
With the towel wrapped around his body you should be able to move him around or examine him with less chance of being scratched or bitten. If you are planning to trim the toe nails on a large monitor, don't try to do it by yourself. One person should hold the monitor, while the other person carefully pulls one leg at a time from under the towel. Just like cutting the claws of a cat or dog, be careful not to cut too short and cause bleeding. If you are not comfortable with the idea of trimming the claws yourself, either leave them alone or seek the help of your veterinarian.
The more you work with them while they are young, the better your chances are for having a manageable adult monitor. Some monitors will never get accustomed to being handled, and are better off left alone. If you find yourself with this type of monitor, just take him for what he is and use utmost caution when you have to handle him.
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