Editing Monitor lizard (section)

== Human uses ==

===As pets===
[[File:Dada Panchal with monitor lizard 6 x 4.JPG|thumb|right|Injured [[Bengal monitor]] being nursed at the [[Lok Biradari Prakalp]] in India]]
Monitor lizards have become a staple in the [[reptile pet]] trade. The most commonly kept monitors are the [[savannah monitor]] and [[spiny-tailed monitor|Ackie dwarf monitor]], due to their relatively small size, low cost, and relatively calm dispositions with regular handling.<ref name="Sprackland"/> Among others, [[black-throated monitor|black-throated]], [[Timor monitor|Timor]], [[Asian water monitor|Asian water]], [[Nile monitor|Nile]], [[mangrove monitor|mangrove]], [[emerald tree monitor|emerald tree]], [[black tree monitor|black tree]], [[roughneck monitor|roughneck]], [[Dumeril's monitor|Dumeril']]s, [[peach-throated monitor|peach-throated]], [[crocodile monitor|crocodile]], and [[Argus monitor|Argu]]s monitors have been kept in captivity.<ref name="Sprackland"/>

=== Traditional medicines ===
Monitor lizards are poached in some South- and Southeast Asian countries, as their organs and fat are used in some [[traditional medicine]]s, although there is no [[scientific evidence]] as to their effectiveness.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/wildlife-watch-india-monitor-lizard-poaching-plant-root-hatha-jodi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303205156/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/wildlife-watch-india-monitor-lizard-poaching-plant-root-hatha-jodi|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 3, 2021|title=How Lizard Genitalia Became a Black Market Craze|website=[[National Geographic Society]] |date=7 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/pets-and-environment/040717/visakhapatnam-monsoon-activates-monitor-lizard-poaching.html|title = Visakhapatnam: Monsoon activates monitor lizard poaching|date = 4 July 2017}}</ref>
[[File:Road kill lizard. India - Flickr - gailhampshire.jpg|thumb|A dead monitor in India, with its hemipenes removed. Monitor hemipenes are often trafficked and illegally sold.]]
The dried and dyed [[Hemipenis|hemipenes]] of [[Bengal monitor|Bengal monitors]], and less often [[Yellow monitor|yellow]] and [[Asian water monitor|water monitors]], are frequently trafficked and illegally sold in India and online under the deceptive term 'Hatha Jodi', where it is claimed to be the root of a supposed rare Himalayan plant in order to fool buyers and retailers, and to disguise the trade from wildlife authorities. Sellers advertise 'Hatha Jodi' as having the [[Tantra|tantric]] power to bring wealth, power and contentment. A pair of hemipenes may sell at a value of up to US$250.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=D'Cruze |first1=N. |last2=Singh |first2=B. |last3=Mookerjee |first3=A. |last4=Macdonald |first4=D.W. |last5=Hunter |first5=K. |last6=Brassey |first6=C.A. |last7=Rowntree |first7=J. |last8=Megson |first8=S. |last9=Megson |first9=D. |last10=Fox |first10=G. |last11=Louies |first11=J. |last12=Sharath |first12=R.S. |date=2018 |title=What's in a name? Wildlife traders evade authorities using code words |journal=Oryx |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=13 |doi=10.1017/S0030605317001788 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In India, the body oil of monitor lizards is sold for thousands of [[Indian rupee|Indian rupees]] to residents in metropolitan cities as a treatment for [[rheumatism]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bhattacharya |first1=S. |last2=Koch |first2=A. |date=2018 |title=Hatha Jodi: An Illegal Trade of Misused Scientific Facts or Blindfolded Myths and Beliefs? |journal=Biawak |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=97–99}}</ref>

Monitor lizard meat, particularly the tongue and liver, is eaten in parts of India and Malaysia and is supposed to be an [[aphrodisiac]].<ref name="Parameswaran2006">{{cite journal | title=Case series of eosinophilic meningoencephalitis from South India | last1=Parameswaran | first1=K | journal=Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology | volume=9 | issue=4 | pages=217–222 | year=2006 |doi=10.4103/0972-2327.29203| doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>[http://themalaysianlife.blogspot.com/2009/04/eating-biawak.html Eating Biawak]. The Malaysian Life (April 2009)</ref>

Consuming raw blood and flesh of monitor lizards has been reported to cause [[eosinophil]]ic [[meningoencephalitis]], as some monitors are hosts for the parasitic nematode ''[[Angiostrongylus cantonensis]]''.<ref name="Parameswaran2006" />

=== Leather ===
"Large-scale exploitation" of monitor lizards is undertaken for their skins, which are described as being "of considerable utility" in the leather industry.{{cn|date=April 2025}} In [[Papua New Guinea]], monitor lizard leather is used for membranes in traditional drums (called ''[[Kundu (drum)|kundu]]''), and these lizards are referred to as ''kundu palai'' or "drum lizard" in [[Tok Pisin]], the main Papuan trade language. Monitor lizard skins are prized in making the resonant part of serjas (Bodo folk sarangis) and dotaras (native strummed string instruments of Assam, Bengal and other eastern states). The leather is also used in making a [[Carnatic music]] percussion instrument called the ''[[kanjira]]''.

=== Food ===
The meat of monitor lizards is eaten by some tribes in India,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1170108/jsp/7days/story_129083.jsp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812181533/https://www.telegraphindia.com/1170108/jsp/7days/story_129083.jsp |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 12, 2018 |title=Meats We Also Eat |newspaper=The Telegraph India |date=2017-01-08 |access-date=2018-08-12 |language=en }}</ref> Nepal,<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Ghimire HR, Phuyal S, Shah KB |title=Protected species outside the protected areas: People's attitude, threats and conservation of the Yellow Monitor (''Varanus flavescens'') in the Far-western Lowlands of Nepal|journal=Journal for Nature Conservation|volume=22|issue=6|pages=497–503|doi=10.1016/j.jnc.2014.08.003|year=2014|bibcode=2014JNatC..22..497G }}</ref> the Philippines, Australia, South Africa, and  West Africa as a supplemental meat source.{{citation needed |date=December 2013}} Both meat and eggs are also  eaten in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Thailand as a delicacy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOBq37xAsVc| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/XOBq37xAsVc| archive-date=2021-11-07 | url-status=live|title=Eating a DINOSAUR in Asia!!! RARE Mekong Delta Food you will only find here!|first=Sonny|last=Side|date=5 June 2019|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>