While monitor lizards are not the best choice for beginners, they can be an intelligent and interesting pet for skilled reptile hobbyists.
Monitor lizards get their genus name — varanus — from an Arabic word that means “monitor”. These lizards have an occasional habit of standing on their two hind legs. It seems like they are monitoring their surroundings! Legend says that monitor lizards rear up to warn people that crocodiles are nearby.
Across the board, monitor lizards are known for their intelligence. Rock monitors at the San Diego Zoo can distinguish numbers up to six. Nile monitors cooperate while foraging — one lizard lures a crocodile away from the nest while the others raid the eggs. Komodo dragons in zoos recognize their keepers and even seem to have distinct personalities. Some monitor lizard owners have compared their pets’ personalities to those of cats — they are independent animals with different personalities.
Monitor lizards are popular as pets. Among the most commonly kept monitor lizards are:
- The Savannah monitor
- The Nile monitor
- The white throated monitor (a type of rock monitor)
Water monitors, mangrove monitors, and papau monitors are also kept in captivity.
Monitor lizards can grow to very large sizes. The Savannah monitor is considered a mid-sized monitor, and it reaches between three and four feet as an adult. Their large size and their predatory nature can make them challenging pets — can you imagine a pet that is longer than you are tall? At 5’4”, there are a lot of monitor lizards that are bigger than I am.
Wild monitors will eat just about anything that they can overpower. These lizards are carnivores, and will need to eat insects, rodents, and fish in captivity. Crickets and gut-loaded worms dusted with vitamin powders can form a large part of your monitor lizard’s diet; pre-killed mice and rats can be fed as well.