Mangrove Monitor
Appearance and Behavior
The mangrove monitor looks similar to other monitor lizards with its sturdy legs, five sharp-clawed toes, and long neck and head. The forked tongue of a mangrove monitor is dark purple, surrounded by sharp, serrated teeth. The mangrove monitor has a long, heavy tail which it uses to swim.
The body of a mangrove monitor is black with bright yellow spots. This coloring sets the mangrove monitor apart from other monitor lizards.
Male and female mangrove monitors are difficult to tell apart because they have similar body shapes. A female mangrove monitor has a slightly longer abdomen, while a male mangrove monitor has longer forelimbs and head, and a wider chest.
Size and Lifespan
Newly-born mangrove monitors are 9–10 inches long and grow up to 3.5–4 feet when fully grown. Mangrove monitors grow quickly and should be placed in an adult-sized tank from a young age.
Mangrove monitors live up to 20 years in captivity when looked after correctly. Give mangrove monitors enough space to live, with a healthy carnivorous diet to prolong their lifespan.
Keeping a mangrove monitor requires long-term commitment due to this lizard’s long lifespan.
Temperament
The mangrove monitor is a solitary lizard that is nervous when first introduced to a new habitat. Give the mangrove monitor plenty of hiding spots in a large enclosure to help it feel secure. Mangrove monitors are better kept separate until breeding season.
Mangrove monitors are fast and aggressive when they feel threatened, and their bite is harmful to humans. Mangrove monitors release venom when biting their prey and while their teeth will cause damage and pain, their venom isn’t deadly to humans.
Often when threatened, mangrove monitors defecate on the perceived threat. Mangrove monitors don’t like being handled and will lash out with their teeth and tails if they are stressed.
Housing Mangrove Monitors
In the wild, mangrove monitors live in hot and humid areas near rivers, while enjoying damp forests filled with vegetation and trees. Mangrove monitors stay close to water where they swim to catch fish to eat.
Keep the mangrove monitor’s enclosure warm with heaters, and filled with live plants. Place a large water dish in the enclosure to give the mangrove monitor a place to swim.
Keep the mangrove monitor lizard in a custom-built enclosure to best accommodate the adult’s large size, and to provide plenty of space for decorating with branches to climb and water to swim in. A unique enclosure offers more flexibility to create an environment similar to the natural habitat of the mangrove monitor.
Enclosure size
While juvenile mangrove monitors can be kept in a 20-gallon tank or vivarium, it is better to place them directly in an adult-sized enclosure to accommodate their large and rapid growth.
Make the custom-built mangrove monitor enclosure at least 6 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 4 feet high. Mangrove monitors will feel more comfortable and secure in larger enclosures like this one. Add vertical branches for these avid climbers to enjoy.
Lighting
Keep the lighting stable in the mangrove monitor’s enclosure to keep the lizard healthy. A mangrove monitor needs 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness, which can be created with a timer attached to lightbulbs.
The enclosure’s light source can come from heat lamps, UVB lights, or fluorescent lighting. All bulbs should be placed outside of the enclosure to prevent the mangrove monitor from burning.
Temperature and Humidity
Keep the mangrove monitor enclosure hot and humid like the lizard’s natural environment, to extend the lizard’s lifespan.
The general temperature in a mangrove monitor’s enclosure should be stable, between 82°F and 90°F. Reduce the nighttime temperatures to 70°F or 75°F. Raise the temperature around the basking area to 95°F or 97°F using regular reptile heating lamps.
Maintain a level of 70%–90% humidity in the mangrove monitor’s enclosure at all times to keep the lizard healthy. To maintain the humidity levels, manually mist the enclosure twice a day or place an automatic mister in the enclosure. Use a hygrometer to check the humidity levels often.
Although a mangrove monitor sheds old skin with ease, mist the enclosure more often during shedding season to help the shedding process. When a mangrove monitor starts shedding, ensure that there is plenty of water in the enclosure.
Substrate and Decoration
Add cypress mulch, newspaper, or reptile carpet to the enclosure to help keep the humidity levels stable. Soil can be used as a substrate but is difficult to keep clean. Mangrove monitors like to burrow in the substrate, so make the substrate 7–8 inches deep.
The mangrove monitor’s enclosure should be filled with live plants and vertical branches because this lizard enjoys climbing and basking in trees. Give the mangrove monitor space to relax by creating basking areas with flat rocks. Create sheltered areas and hides with moss and cholla wood.
Place a large water tub in the mangrove monitor’s enclosure to give the lizard a source to drink from, as well as a place to play and rest. Add coconut bark to the enclosure as a moisture-holding bedding option.