Nile monitors are generally solitary and only sometimes may interact with other monitors outside of the breeding season. They are active during the day and spend their time foraging or basking on the shoreline vegetation, trees, logs, or rocks. They are often seen in or close to water. At night they sleep on tree branches, in burrows which they dig themselves or submerged in water.

Near Mpondo dam in the Kruger national park we found three nile monitors in one tree. Even though they are reported to be mainly solitary, it looked like they shared a hole in the tree trunk.