Distribution:- Western to southern Africa and Zaire to northern Angola and rocky savannah regions.
Size:- These animals can reach sizes of between 0.9 - 1.5 meters (3 - 5ft) in length.
Diet:- Many monitors in the wild are mainly insectivorous animals. Foods taken consist of arthropods, amphibians, small lizards, birds, mealworms, wax worms, black field crickets, locusts, crickets, earthworms, fish, pink mice, rats, eggs and some fruit. Unfortunately, not all of the above foods have a high nutritional content and many illnesses are due to an unfortified diet and incorrect environment. You are responsible for what your pet eats. It's not you who suffers in the long term.
Heat source:- This can be either reflector (spot) lights in green, red or blue, ceramics or tubular heaters.
Wire mesh guards:- These should be fitted over all heat sources used in order to prevent thermal burns.
Thermostat:- An essential part of any vivarium and is required to regulate the internal temperatures within the vivarium and to prevent your pet from becoming too hot or too cold.
Thermometers:- One should be placed each end of the vivarium in order to give an accurate reading of the temperatures within the vivarium. Never go by the temperature on the thermostat as these are often inaccurate.
UV light source:- Reptisun 5.0UVB or Arcadia D3 lamp. These should be left on for 8 - 12 hours a day and replaced every 12 months unless otherwise stated by the manufacturer.
Housing:- This should consist of a dark wooden vivarium with a glass frontage and adequate ventilation. Juveniles would require a vivarium measuring 60cm (2ft) long by 60cm (2ft) deep by 45cm (18 inches) high. Hatchlings will require a small hatchling tub (pen pal, Geoflat and ventilated sandwich boxes) which can be placed in a heated vivarium. An adult would require a vivarium measuring 1.5 meters (5ft) long by 60cm (2ft) deep by 1.2 meters (4ft) high with a fitted pool. These measurements are to be used as a guideline only.
Hides:- These are essential to prevent stress and to allow your pet to hide away from the outside world. Artificial plants, boxes, plant pots etc. all make excellent hides.
Temperatures:- A basking area of 31 - 32°C (88 - 90°F) is required at one end of the vivarium. A background temperature ranging from 24 - 30°C (75 - 86°F) is also required.
Longevity:- Monitors if kept under the right conditions and given the correct diet can live between 10 and 15 years with some exceeding this.
Substrate:- This can be anything from newspaper, brown paper, wood chippings, cork chippings or even Astro turf. Whatever you use, remember that it must be cleaned on a regular basis to prevent contamination from disease.
Water:- These animals require a water container which will allow them to bathe without constriction. This water should be changed daily as this is also the water they drink from.
Obesity:- It should be noted that due to the way that these monitors are kept as pets, they are prone to obesity. Monitors will eat as much as you can give them and if they're not running around after their food, they are not burning off those excess calories. Excess fat deposits on the tail as well as around the liver and kidneys. This can cause fatal liver problems later on in life often resulting in death. So beware!! Do not overfeed. These animals should be slender and be able to raise their bodies well off the ground when walking.
Salmonella:- Many reptiles carry the naturally forming bacteria Salmonella. It must be stated however that salmonella bacteria can only be contracted by ingestion (via the mouth). Good hygiene is therefore very important when keeping any animal. Remember, you are just as likely to contract salmonella from your Sunday lunch, cream cake or dog so don't automatically assume that your monitor is the only suspect!
This information is given as the opinion of Proteus Reptile Trust only.
Revised: March, 2001.
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