CBS 2 (Chicago, Illinois) 19 December 07 Owners Find Lizard Too Hard To Handle - Nile Monitor Dropped Off At Chicago Animal Care And Control
Chicago (CBS): Dogs and cats aren't the only animals hanging around Chicago's Animal Care and Control these days.
Andy, a nile monitor, the largest lizard in Africa, showed up Tuesday night looking for a new home. His owners dropped him off apparently because they could no longer take care of him.
The nile monitor is a relative of the Komodo Dragon, and his native habitat is near lakes and rivers there. Right now, Andy is about three feet long and weighs about 25 pounds. He has the potential to double in size so it's no wonder his owners wanted to give him up.
By Wednesday morning, he was waiting for a ride to the Chicago Herpetological Society, which would find him a new home, most likely in a sanctuary, Ann Kent, executive director of Animal Care and Control said.
In the meantime, he was basking under a light while camera crews came in and out to see the creature with scaly skin, big claws and a powerful tail.
Nile monitors "are not recommended as family or pets in the home," Mark Rosenthal, operations manager for Animal Care and Control said. These types of animals need to be handled very carefully and as they grow, it can be difficult to keep up with their dietary needs, Rosenthal explained, adding that Andy currently eats a couple of times a week, two or three rodents at a feeding.
Nile monitors are best left alone, which became clear when Rosenthal prodded him, and Andy let out a hissing sound much like a vacuum cleaner, a clear warning to back off.
"If you really antagonized him he's capable of giving you a very severe, bad bite or scratching you or they'll lashing out with their tail," Rosenthal said.
Nile monitors are really meant to be observed. "The fun of having a reptile is probably the fascination of the uniqueness of the reptile," Rosenthal said.
Dr. Marek Dygas, executive veterinarian at Chicago's Animal Care and Control said people should try to "avoid keeping an animal like this as a pet" because they are aggressive and can carry bacteria like salmonella. He also said a nile monitor needs to live in a temperature controlled environment.
"You couldn't keep an animal like that walking on the floor in your house," Dygas said.
Owners Find Lizard Too Hard To Handle

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