Reptile Specialists - Tucson, Arizona

Nile Monitors

General Information: Nile Monitors are native to Africa from as far up as Egypt and down to southern Africa, practically anywhere there is water. They are excellent swimmers and thrive around rivers where they feed on mainly reptile eggs, mollusks, mammals, and arthropods. They are very proud, territorial animals and normally do not come together except to breed. When kept as pets, one is usually a better choice than two. Their size can range from 4 to 8 feet, depending on diet and subspecies. They can live 10 to 20 years in captivity.

Nile Monitors as Pets: Niles tend to have a bad rap throughout the reptile community as being some of the most aggressive reptiles to keep. This can be true if they are not handled routinely and correctly. Babies are flighty, scared animals and if not handled and tamed, they will remain so and become aggressive; however, Nile Monitors can also be some of the most inquisitive and rewarding pets out there. If you want a friendly, tame monitor, take into consideration the amount of time it takes to produce a tame Nile Monitor; you must be willing to handle it every day. If you are patient and diligent and are looking for an extremely intelligent, interactive animal, the Nile Monitor might be the right pet for you. If this is to be your first monitor, we recommend looking into Achies, Savannah, Black Throat, or Black Roughneck monitors. They are all smaller, and more naturally tame.

Housing and Habitat: At least a 20 gallon terrarium is recommended to start off a baby Nile Monitor and a 30-40 gallon is an even better choice as these animals grow fairly quickly. They enjoy digging and constructing tunnels, as well as swimming. Providing enough substrate to tunnel will make the monitor feel secure and more at home. Putting a large water dish big enough to completely submerge and swim around in will also help them acclimate quicker as it is closer to their natural habitat. An adult Nile will eventually need an enclosure at least 6-8 feet on all sides. Something the size of a bedroom is really better suited for these large animals. Outdoor enclosures work very well, considering the amount of room required. When building an outdoor enclosure, be sure to enclose the whole thing, top, sides, and bottom as they will either climb or dig out if the opportunity is there. Also, be sure that there is always shade and sunlight provided to thermoregulate.

Substrate: Eco Earth is one of our favorite beddings to use with Nile Monitors because it is cheap and usually comes in large enough quantities to provide plenty of digging potential. We have also had good luck mixing it or other beddings with Excavator, which helps it hold together so that the monitors can build tunnels. The more you provide, the deeper they will dig and you will have a very happy little monitor. Cypress mulch, reptibark, and Carefresh paper bedding are also other good options. They like some humidity so it is not a good idea to use dry substrates such as aspen or sand.

Heating and Lighting: Nile Monitors require a hot spot of 120-140°F. The cool side should be around 80°. Night temperature can fall into the mid 70s. If this very warm temperature gradient is not provided, they can’t fully digest meals and will end up having long-term health problems. When keeping young monitors or babies, full spectrum lighting is important during the day, especially if they are slow to start eating rodents. This helps them attain all the calcium they need. For more information visit our heating and lighting FAQ.

Feeding: Baby Nile Monitors should be fed every day as they have very high metabolisms. They will eat mostly insects and the like if they are very small such as crickets, cockroaches, mealworms, and super worms. It is best to dust any insect prey with a calcium supplement. They will soon start eating pinkie or fuzzie mice and feeder fish are also an excellent addition to their diet. Once they are eating mice or fish, you can offer a few at a time and start feeding every other day. Once on adult mice, which will be just a few months down the road, one should be offered every other day or every couple days if you wish it to grow a little slower. As they get larger, you may offer larger prey items and feed it a couple times a week. In the wild, they eat a lot of mollusks, such as snails or crustaceans like crawfish, as well as eggs. You don’t want to offer them raw chicken eggs as that will make them sick but you can give them fertilized eggs or hard-boiled eggs every so often, which they will thoroughly enjoy. If you want your monitor to be tame, it is best to establish a routine with its feeding. Many keepers have a certain area that they always use for feeding, such as a particular room like the bathroom or a large plastic container. Using the same dish every time works as well. You do not want to feed it by throwing the food straight into its terrarium because they will become accustomed to this and might think your hand reaching in is food. Feeding them in a separate area will serve to avoid this situation. Also, it is not a good idea to hand feed your monitor as you do not want it to associate your hands with food at all. They very much love to eat, so it is best to form good habits from the beginning. Most of their aggression stems from food aggression. They will become used to a routine very quickly and as long as you handle them regularly as well, they should not have reason to bite.

Maintenance: Niles prefer to defecate in water, therefore, the water dish must be checked once a day. Some keepers include a good soak in warm water as part of their daily routine. The monitor is allowed to bask for a while and then before too much handling, it is placed in the water. The monitor will defecate in the bathtub (or wherever it is soaking) and should keep its terrarium much cleaner. Misting the terrarium once or twice a week is also a good idea to keep the humidity up.

Sexing: Coming Soon