Can tame adult nile monitors roam the house like cats?

Question

considering gettin another nile monitor. miss the one i had. ive read when they are larger and tame people let them roam around like cats. if so, would a large adult nile monitor eat our cat? lol. well if they got used to each other over time b4 the monitor got big enuff. our cats have not messed with other pets ive had. includin ferrets and parrot. anyone know of any stories similar to them bein free indoors and things goin good?

Answer 1

I don't think I'd want one roaming all over my house with the salmonella risk.

Answer 2

A 'tame' Nile monitor?!!  You're talking about a Komodo-wanna-be from all the experiences I've had with, or heard about, the creatures.

Friend of mine owned an exotics pet store in NoVa.  'Had a Nile not feeling too good.  Lil guy, just over six foot.  He was trying to get it crated to go see the vet, and long story short, his darlin pet he'd had since he was a baby grabbed his hand, and didn't wanna let go.  Did a job on it, too.  My friend ended up with a metal 'external skeleton' which was drilled into the ruined bones of his hand for anchoring.  He wore the thing over a year, and needed further corrective surgery beyond that.

As for the cats bothering the Nile?  I would think it'd be the other way around.  If the Nile decides those cats look like a snack - he won't be slow to grab one, or all.

That brings us to potty training your Nile.  Do you think he'll use the catbox, or the family bathroom?

Nope... I think it's a bad idea for several reasons.

"The Lion King" is just a kid's movie.  Lions don't curl up with and ignore zebras.  THEY EAT THEM!

Good luck with all that.

Answer 3

LOL ! tame nile monitor. thats a good one! the short answer is NO! NEVER!anyone who says otherwise is clueless as to monitor care! gotta love these silly questions.

and the leopard gecko person....."You should consider a Savanah Monitor because they become very docile/tame over time and could safely roam around your house." come on now! stick with leo. questions.

pigeonracer1994.... that muffdaddy charicter is one of the most CLUELESS herpers i have EVER seen! all he can teach you how to NOT properly care for a sav. or any other reptile for that matter (except maybe the MOST BASIC species, ill give him just that much.) if you wana kill your sav. slowly, than follow his care advice.  he is a perfect example of a care sheet/computer chair expert.  again muffdaddy is UTTERLY CLUELESS!(also a notable part of savannahs diets in the wild is made up of snakes! the rest inverts(mostly a species of cricket), and very few if any rodent. bet most of you folks didnt know that like pigeonracer.)

Answer 4

Nile monitors are one of the hardest lizards to tame, so if you had a tame adult, consider yourself lucky. I have a 5 1/2 Nile monitor that would kill me if it had the chance, and it tries every chance it gets. The last guy that let them roam free in his home was eaten by them. It's a true story. Here's on newspaper article from when it happened in 2002.

DOVER, Delaware - Police discovered the body of a man being eating by 7 flesh-eating lizards in his apartment. The family of Ronald Huff, 42, called police when he did not show up for work. They went to his apartment only to find his seven pet Nile Monitor Lizards feasting on his corpse. The smallest measured about 2 feet long, and weighed 2 lbs, and the largest was 6 feet and 25 lbs. John Caldwell, SPCA director of DE said the lizards were very aggressive... "Actually going toward you, mouth open." The cause of Mr. Huff's death was undetermined. The SPCA will try to place the lizards with zoos or educational groups, Caldwell said. Barring that, they will be euthanized.

Here's another link:

http://forum.kingsnake.com/njhs/messages...

Answer 5

yea they can i have a savannah monitor and i let it, and i used to have a tegu and it did, but their nails are very very sharp so try not to let them on the furniture, or just cut their nails. check out MUFFDADDY on youtube he also lets his roam the house like cats and dogs.

Answer 6

I wouldn't be worried about salmonella, i would be more worried about the other pets and there scents around the house.

If you want to let it roam then you should have a room for it where no other pets go, if it smells a cat, ferret ect and decides it's dinner time then you could end up with a tasty accident.

I wouldn't personally have one roaming my house

Answer 7

Nile Monitors are a very hard to tame animal/reptile. Very few become tame. Most of them never do, plain and simple.

The Nile Monitor may or may not attack your other animals. I really wouldn't let it roam around in your house with the other animals around. I would mainly leave it in a big enclosure and only let it come out for feeding.

You should consider a Savanah Monitor because they become very docile/tame over time and could safely roam around your house. But i can't  be sure it will be friendly towards other pets. I know some people that have savs and they are friendly towards other reptiles including snakes.

Answer 8

You must be the monitor whisperer. I have never heard such a thing about a tame nile monitor, of all monitors out there niles have to be one of if not the nastiest one out there in the pet trade. Do you think you can come to my house and tame my gaboon viper so i can let it roam around my house?

Answer 9

3 main issues...

1. Niles don't always tame, and when they do, it usually takes a long time (have a good first-aid kit), and is rarely 'perfect' (expect accidents). Many reports of 'tame' exotic pets involved animals that are not well cared for, stressed, etc. For example, 'tame' iguanas often have major dietary deficiencies and fractured bones.

2. Your home is not Nile Monitor habitat. It is unlikely your house has the 8-=90F, moderate to high humidity the lizard wants. Drafts, things laying around it can try to eat and choke on, etc. make it trickier. This ignores the issue of monitor p**p all over.

3. Niles don't 'play nicely' with others. The cats MAY not mess with it, but it will almost certainly mess with them.