Nile Monitor - Captivity

Captivity

Nile monitors require experienced care as pets and are not recommended for beginners; nevertheless they are often found in the pet trade.

Nile monitors require a very large cage. Because of their large size, adults are likely to need custom-built quarters. Soil, sand, or bark chippings can be used as substrate. The enclosure should contain things to make a suitable habitat such as rocks, driftwood, plastic plants or hollow logs. A water dish large enough for the lizard to soak in should be used. Nile monitors have a tendency to defecate in the water dish, so clean it whenever soiled or at least daily.

Nile monitors should have a daytime temperature gradient of about 27–32 °C (81–90 °F) and a night time temperature of about 26–27 °C (79–81 °F). A basking spot of approximately 50 °C (122 °F) should be provided at least 12 hours a day. A thermometer can be used to verify the temperature. The humidity should be moderate.

This species is very hardy in captivity when properly maintained. Wild caught animals should be checked for internal parasites. The Nile monitor has a very aggressive temperament with a powerful bite and a lashing tail and therefore is very dangerous. If raised with regular handling and a positive view of its keeper, a Nile Monitor can to some extent be tamed.

Albino (amelanistic) specimens have been found and propagated in captivity.

"There are few of these lizards less suited to life in captivity than the Nile monitor. Buffrenil (1992) considered that, when fighting for its life, a Nile Monitor was a more dangerous adversary than a crocodile of a similar size. Their care presents particular problems on account of the lizards' enormous size and lively dispositions. Very few of the people who buy brightly-coloured 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."
(Bennett, D. 1995. Little Book of Monitor Lizards, Viper Press, Aberdeen, UK)