Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i went to a pet store looking for a monitor that i would like to have and i found a pet store that had a nile monitor. aware of the life time agression they usually have i declined when he tried to tell me that they were calmer monitors then black throats. i was talking to him about ackies and he told me they dont have as long of a life span as most monitors (which i think was just a ploy to unload the nile on someone) and i just wanted to get on here and see what the truth about that was.

I have one thats 17 years old. Is that long enough.

Most all monitors die from keepers getting animals they are not prepared for. So they die very quickly and young.

I would think a normal lifespan for an average ackie would exceed ten years. Which for most folks is far to long. They will get rid of them long before they die of old age. Larger monitors can most likely live over 20 with decent care. Cheers

i wouldn't necessarily say that niles are more calm than albigs. my albig isn't too bad, albeit does want to bite, but calms down when handled. a lot of niles i've come across are barely even handlable, if at all. a friend of mine has an adult female that doesn't protest human handling at all. i guess it's all in how you treat your animal.

i've noticed the best way to "tame" monitors is by just being around them, use force as little as possible. it's a long process, but can pay off in the end when you have a 5 or 6 foot lizard that's very calm with human interaction.