In addition, the males are territorial and often aggressive
to one another. Serious injuries may result when males
(and smaller females) are housed together with insuffi-
cient space and/or suitable hides. Females are generally
smaller and much more placid than the males. They tend
not to attempt to bite but prefer to hiss and retreat. Both
sexes are fairly reclusive until about two to three years of
age, at which time they are commonly found swimming or
basking. This makes them great to observe, especially
when they are actively hunting for yabbies (which they
love).
Mangrove Monitors often have a red-tinged appearance to
their mouths. This is actually a combination of blood
mixed with saliva, and while the purpose isn’t fully under-
stood, it is thought that it may attract prey or potentially
ward off other predators. They can also suffer from
infections and tramautic oral injuries that can lead to
bleeding in this area, so if it appears excessive then it is
worth having a closer look. Thankfully in most cases the
red appearance is nothing to be worried about and
considered normal for this species.
Adult housing requirements.
Mangrove Monitors live in the tropics and spend their
lives in and about water. They are strong swimmers and
can stay submerged for long periods, but are also
excellent tree climbers. Their eggs are laid in deep
burrows where the temperature remains relatively
constant at around 28-30 o C (with slightly cooler
temperatures in winter).
It follows that a suitable enclosure must be relatively
large, have ample room to swim (in relatively warm
water), climb and hide, and be relatively humid, with
daily ambient temperatures in the low thirties, hotter
basking spots and nightly temperatures no less than about
18 o C. Temperatures and humidity should be cycled during
the year to simulate the wet and dry seasons. For breeding
adults the substrate needs to be of sufficient depth,
moisture and temperature to provide suitable burrowing
and egg deposition sites.
Ideally, the perfect enclosure would be outside if you
lived in the tropics. But this is not possible in the southern
states of Australia where it is just too cold to maintain
these monitors outside. Reproducing these requirements
indoors may appear at first to be daunting to the home
herpetologist. However, they can be reasonably achieved
with a little bit of effort and forethought.
Enclosure size and construction.
We have two enclosures for adult Mangrove Monitors.
Left: adult pair - the male is in
the foreground..
Below respective ends of the
large adult enclosure. Note
female basking spot at left, and
pond in base at right.