How Big Do Asian Water Monitors Get

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ASIAN WATER MONITOR Caresheet

Mutual Name: Asian Water Monitor, H2o Monitor, Sumatran H2o Monitor
Scientific Proper name: Varanus salvator
Origin: Sri Lanka and eastern India to the Southeast Asian islands.
Size: 4' - 6'; 40 - 60 lbs.; males larger than females
Lifespan: 10 - xx years

Y'all will find many ways on the internet, on "how to" accept care of this creature. This care sheet is showing the way we found works best for u.s.a. from our many years of experience of caring for this species.

Water Monitors are not for the beginner. They require a long-term commitment in both care and financial costs. Yet, these intelligent animals are worth the attempt for those advanced herpers who know what is required of them.

HOUSING
Asian Water Monitors live upwardly to their proper noun in the wild, beingness semi-aquatic and very adept swimmers. Habitat includes swamps, river banks, and other areas near bodies of water. They are good climbers besides and can head up into the trees to escape danger..

They grow fast and will get quite big. Nosotros recommend starting out a infant monitor in at least a 24" x xviii" x18" Exo Terra's Medium or Zilla'due south 20L critter muzzle both work. However, past the time they accomplish 1 year or so, you will need a large custom enclosure or DIY project. You should plan for this well in advance, even before you lot buy your animal. Don't look until they are already large.

At around six months, an enclosure of 6'x iii' x 3' works well. At one year, (it'southward possible for your monitor to be 4-5 feet at this point.) motion up to at to the lowest degree eight' long 10 4' deep x 6' high. That'south the minimum size. Consider well alee of time where you will place this enclosure in your business firm. If you choose the basement or garage, understand that the enclosure must exist keep at proper temperatures. Or you can turn a spare room into an enclosure it's self.

Monitors are strong and accept powerful muscular bodies. Make sure your bootleg project is well-constructed and secure. Considering of their size, h2o monitors demand spacious enclosures. They like secure branches for climbing on and for basking. As well program for a large container or surface area of water that allows them soak their unabridged torso.

A expert dominion of thumb is to have an enclosure at to the lowest degree one 1/2 times the length of your monitor, including tail. They are active and smart. Error on the side of more room not less, and you and your monitor will be much happier.

LIGHTING & TEMPERATURES
Monitors are quite hardy creatures. Yet, like all reptiles, they are dependent on thermoregulation to control their body temperature. This substantially ways you demand to provide a hot and a cool side to your enclosure. All the heat elements should be on one side and the other will be the absurd side. This way your monitor tin can movement back and forth betwixt the different temperatures depending on its needs. A basking expanse of 120-150 degrees should exist provided. The rest of the enclosure can be in the 80s-90s range. At dark, temps tin driblet to equally depression as 72 degrees. Employ a good quality temperature gauge, like Zoo Meds digital temp approximate or Exo Terras Thermometer. Don't guess. The easiest way to increase the heat in your enclosure is with a Reptile basking bulb and/or an Exo terra or Zoo Med heat pad.

There is some controversy on whether monitors need UVB lighting. We suggest using UVB lighting to assistance them absorb calcium and to synthesize vitamin D3. Since they are not out in natural sunlight in our homes, we must provide UVB light in the class of a special fluorescent seedling designed to produce UVB rays. The best bulbs are the mercury vapors such as Exo Terra's Solar Glo bulbs, ZooMed's Powersun, or Solar bright bulbs. These provide heat and UVB all in ane bulb. You tin can also utilise separate basking (heat) bulb and UVB bulbs. If you lot utilize these, you'll want the Zoo Med 10.0 or Exo Terra UVB x.0 diversity.

HUMIDITY
As mentioned higher up, provide your monitor with a large container of water that allows them to become their unabridged body in. Proceed the water fresh because your pet will soak and drink everyday, and they might defecate or boot bedding into it. Scrub the bowl at least once a week to keep bacteria slime from building up. Exo Terra bowls or Flukers rock dish are nice naturalistic not-porous water bowls for babies. You will have to make something

Asian Water Monitors need a substrate that holds humidity. You can create this by having deep bedding and misting it. So even if the acme dries out, the lower layers remain moist. Another option is to provide a humid hibernate for your lizard. This is a hide with some wet moss or jungle mix inside. It'due south not easy to observe a hide for a big Water Monitor without making it yourself just our jumbo reptile hide box volition work for a awhile.

FEEDING
Water Monitors are quick hunters and opportune scavengers, eating insects, mollusks, fish, amphibians, rodents, pocket-size mammals, bird eggs, and other reptiles--just about any animal they retrieve they tin can eat. Immature monitors are meliorate fed every day and practise well on bugs, fish, frogs and occasional pinky rodents. Adults tin be fed every other day on a much wider diet. Don't ever feed them the aforementioned affair. As far as to how much to feed, make sure your lizard has a little bit of a rounded abdomen after it has eaten. When you are feeding bugs or other meat that is not a whole creature, you will need to supplement with calcium such every bit Zoo Med calcium with D3 or Repashy calcium plus.

Y'all tin can feed in the cage or out. If inside the cage, practise not mitt feed your monitor. Rather, put the food on a plate or dish. You don't want your lizard associating your hand with food.

SUGGESTED FOODS
Proteins:
Live bugs: crickets, dubia roaches, mealworms, hornworms, etc
Canned insects, snails
Mice/rats of appropriate size (alive or frozen/thawed)
Chicks
Ducklings
Shrimp
Difficult-boiled or scrambled eggs
Fish
Chicken organ meats
Repashy chow pie
Repashy meat pie

TEMPERAMENT
Asian Water Monitors are quite intelligent and can become very friendly and even seek out human affection. Baby monitors, being pocket-sized, are naturally a bit nervous. You are large and scary to them. All the same, water monitors are very curious. Then only be patient and consistent with your handling. Offset ho-hum and go them used to your presence. With patience, they can exist very friendly and some will even get quite attached to y'all.