By What size enclosure does a Nile monitor need?
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 be secure enough to prevent a monitor from escaping by burrowing under a fence or climbing out.
What bedding is best for Nile monitor?
There are many acceptable substrate choices for Nile monitors. Reptile (orchid) bark, aspen (shredded or chipped), cypress mulch, and clean soil have all been used successfully. Ultimately, one should choose a bedding that is affordable, easy to spot clean, and not overly drying or dusty.
How do you take care of a Nile monitor?
Nile monitors should have a daytime temperature gradient of 80-90 °F (27-32 °C) and a nighttime temperature of 78-80 °F (26-27 °C). A basking spot of 140 F SURFACE temp should be provided at least 12 hours a day. A thermometer should be used to verify the temperature. The humidity should be near 60% ideally.
How big do Nile monitors get?
Nile monitors can live up to 20 years in captivity. They are the largest lizard species in Africa and can attain lengths of about 6.5 feet and weigh up to 17.8 pounds, although a typical adult averages 5 feet in length and weighs close to 15 pounds.
How smart are Nile monitors?
Nile monitor lizards are actually Africa’s largest lizard. They are also considered the most intelligent of all lizards, when kept in captivity they can be trained to count to 6 and in the wild, they are able to remember where their hiding places are, specifically the various routes to get there.
How smart is a Nile monitor?
Nile Monitors are quite intelligent. However as mentioned above, they are not for the beginner. Once they reach puberty, their hormones kick in and can become aggressive. A lot of people think they can tame a nile monitor.
Can Nile monitors 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.
Can monitors eat raw chicken?
Saying that, boscs are adapted to eating raw meat (and rotting meat?) so as long as he is healthy and has the right temperatures to digest at they shouldn’t be any problems.