Monitor Lizards: Natural History Overview & Experiences with Intelligent Escapees Hi All,

[Deac77]

I plan on it someday

[findiviglio]

Nothing like getting out there, I hope you do, Frank

[Lixra]

Very interesting read!

My husband and I have two Water Monitors; a 1 year old female (sulphur morph) and a 5 year old male. You definitely can see the wheels turning when these guys look at you! They're also the only lizards I have ever seen that actually use their feet in a cognitive fashion. Our big male will actually use his front feet to lift things up to look under to see if it's somewhere he wants to crawl into.

That being said, the biggest benefit to this (for us anyway), is that they both know the difference between our hands and a rat, which as far as I'm concerned is a definite bonus!

[findiviglio]

Very interesting read!

My husband and I have two Water Monitors; a 1 year old female (sulphur morph) and a 5 year old male. You definitely can see the wheels turning when these guys look at you! They're also the only lizards I have ever seen that actually use their feet in a cognitive fashion. Our big male will actually use his front feet to lift things up to look under to see if it's somewhere he wants to crawl into.

That being said, the biggest benefit to this (for us anyway), is that they both know the difference between our hands and a rat, which as far as I'm concerned is a definite bonus!

Hi Coleen,

Thanks very much...interesting observation concerning their hands. Recently, Black tree Monitors have been observed using their hands to extract insects from crevices; enrichment activities have been designed around this at zoos; please see this article: Reaching out for Enrichment in Arboreal Monitor Lizards « AAZK. I'll be posting a new article on monitors (general) soon.

I've been feeding many monitor species in zoos for decades, ranging from Storr's to Komodos - please take my word that they will bite your hand in time! Movement, distractions, scents all come into play, really has nothing to do with length of time in captivity, aggression, etc. Please use a feeding tongs, cuts can be deep, and serious infections are common. Best, Frank

[Lixra]

Ah yes, well we do use tongs for feeding, I definitely wouldn't want to get bitten by either one of them!

When they were very little we trained them to know that closed hand meant food was coming, open hand meant no food and we were reaching down to clean, give a bath, etc... I still will walk into his room with a closed fist before bringing in the rats and he immediately knows what's coming

[findiviglio]

Thanks; monitors really do seem to learn quite a bit; even things we do in passing when caring for them at the zoo are noticed and before long they are responding and even seem to be "predicting".

Are water monitors commonly kept and bred in the UK?

Best, Frank

[Lixra]

I wouldn't say they were common but I have seen an increasing number of people keep them as of late. The ones your most likely to find are the Savannah Monitors, Ackies, and (for what reason I really do not know!) Niles. The rarer ones being the salvators, Mertens, and Lace Monitors. Our little Sulphur Salvator girl is one of only three that have been captive bred in the UK.