Care For Us Monitor Lizard - Compressed 1

Care For Us
Water Monitor Lizard (Varanus salvator)

Animal Welfare
Animal welfare refers to an animal’s
state or feelings. An animal’s welfare
state can be positive, neutral or negative.
An animal’s welfare has the potential to

differ on a daily basis. When an animal’s
needs - nutritional, behavioural, health
and environmental - are met, they will
have a good standard of welfare.
A good life in captivity might be one

where animals can consistently
experience good welfare - throughout
their entire life.
Understanding that animals
have both sentient and
cognitive abilities as well as
pain perception, reinforces
the need to provide
appropriate husbandry
provisions for all captive
animals, to ensure positive
welfare.
In captivity, the welfare of an

animal is dependent on the
environment provided for
them and the daily care and
veterinary treatment they
receive.
Water monitor lizards can be found in parts of
south and southeast Asia. Adults rarely grow
beyond 1.5 – 2metres but males can grow larger
than females, reaching breeding size at just
40cm long. They are primarily a solitary species
unless resource competition is very high.
Water monitor lizards are powerfully built with

a long tail which can be used to defend
themselves from predators. They also have
strong jaws and serrated teeth to help them
predate and consume their food. They are
carnivorous.
Being excellent swimmers, they are classed as

semi-aquatic but are also excellent tree climbers.
They are a heavily traded lizard, used primarily

for their skin, in the pet trade and sometimes for
meat. This can lead to a decline in healthy
population numbers but currently the
population remains stable.
Water monitors like to
explore
Water monitors are well adapted to
using water, especially as an escape
from predators. They like to explore
their environment through climbing
around it, digging into it and swimming
between places. Their claws make them
excellent climbers, and their tails are
used as paddles when swimming.
Positive Behaviours to Encourage

To make their enclosure more
interesting for them, give them rocks
and branches to climb on as well as
varying substrates to dig into. This will
also be useful to wear their claws down
naturally. A large area of water will also
give the lizard choice to bathe or swim if
desired.
Monitor lizards like to
hunt and forage
Water monitor lizards like to actively hunt
prey and use their powerful muscles to tear
into large carcasses. They will also eat carrion
and insects so will forage for smaller food
items within an enclosure too. They are
intelligent and like to explore complex
environments for food. They also use their
highly developed sense of smell to search for
food.

Anchoring large pieces of meat to one place
and whole carcass feeding where possible will
encourage hunting and muscular usage. Hiding
smaller pieces of meat around an enclosure,
and the use of puzzle feeders will stimulate
foraging behaviours and cognitive use.
Monitors lizards can get
diseases
Monitor lizards can get a disease called
metabolic bone disease where the internal
skeleton, particularly the spine becomes
brittle, crooked and painful. This can be
due to a lack of calcium within the diet
coupled with a lack of vitamin D from
sunlight or basking opportunities.

Keeping monitor lizards in an enclosure
with various basking spots means that the
lizard can choose where they want to bask
as well as getting enough exposure to
vitamin D and UV rays from specialist
lighting. Supplementing the diet with
calcium powder will help with mineral
imbalances.
Monitors have a good
sense of smell.
Monitor lizards have an advanced sense of
smell which is explored through their
forked tongue. Each fork helps to sense
the direction of a smell and the tongue is
brought back into the mouth to be
assessed by a specialised organ. Their
sense of smell helps them to locate food
and communicate with others.

Providing scent trails can be a good way
to encourage monitor lizards to use their
sense of smell to explore their habitat and
locate food. Scattering food items around
an enclosure will also promote the use of
this behaviour. Harsh chemicals can have
a negative impact on a monitor lizards'
sense of smell and should be avoided.
Monitor Lizards need to shed
their skin
Lizards naturally slough off their skin but need the
right conditions to have a successful shed. Shedding
helps rid lizards of external parasites and ensure
scales are healthy. The lizard will need to shed
more whilst it is still growing and less as an adult.
Health checks of lizards should always include
observations of skin health and shedding progress,
including in places such as inside the ear and
nostrils. Sheds can sometimes get stuck in these
places and may need to be manually removed.

Access to water to bathe in helps soften the old skin
and rocks or logs to rub on helps slough it off.
Damp substrates such as soil and mulch can
provide some relief for itching whist sloughing is in
progress.
Monitor lizards need a
specialised environment
Water monitor lizards are very active and
wide ranging. They require appropriate
lighting, temperatures between 220C and
300C and high humidity within their habitats.
Temperatures should be gradients between
an ideal maximum and minimum
temperature to allow for choice. There should
be furniture within the enclosure such as
vegetation, substrates and log tunnels for the
lizard to hide from view if desired.

A large and complex environment with a
range of temperatures, basking spots, high
humidity and enclosure furniture (which is
often changed and moved) should encourage
choice, exploration and investigation within
the enclosure.
Water monitor
lizards enjoy
A suitable environment that promotes
all their natural behaviours, an
appropriate diet presented in a
stimulating way and the opportunity
to experience choice within their
environment.
In captivity we should always try and

replicate their natural and normal
behaviours, so they are happy and
healthy throughout their lives.

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Care For Us

Water Monitor Lizard (Varanus salvator)

An animal’s welfare has the potential to

A good life in captivity might be one

In captivity, the welfare of an

Water monitor lizards are powerfully built with

Being excellent swimmers, they are classed as

They are a heavily traded lizard, used primarily

Positive Behaviours to Encourage

Positive Behaviours to Encourage

Positive Behaviours to Encourage

Positive Behaviours to Encourage

Positive Behaviours to Encourage

Positive Behaviours to Encourage

In captivity we should always try and

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