Nile Monitor Assistance

Not much. About $50.
Make sure the nile cannot come in contact with it.

Hmm...not bad.. When I get the light, it will be outside his cage.

Ok first i am going to say this don't take offence to this at all i have owned niles for 5 years....

Bird cages are for birds... Not monitors. monitors need a wooden cage fulley inclosed niles need alot of humitdy and they love to Dig. so your cage for a full grown nile will have to be 10 ft long 5 ft deep and 5 ft tall.. and you want 2ft of dirt from your back yard...


Ok with cageing done lets go to feeding him.. food mice rats chicken peeps whole food items NO ground meets or hot dogs they are for people..

Heating...
Lights ALL lights.. use 45 watt flood lights sespended from the roof of the cage. since he is what 4 Ft use s many that wil cover his body. basking spot needs to be 135+

Water
a HUGE i mean huge water bowl like a kiddy pull is best the thick rubber made ones are BEST. they has to be changed every day tho.

Niles are a full time Job to own but they aee Very rewording in the end.. i'll tell you reight now that nile is noe tame he is cold you sould not be ablot to sit on a chair with him chilling on our lap.. if u want more help. u can Pm me.


cheers
Neil

Pretty much everything Nile Man said
Looks like you have an Ornate! "Varanus Ornatus"
Buy this book!
http://www.amazon.com/Nile-Monitors-.../dp/0764116401
It has everything you need to know about Ornate Nile Monitors.

In the meantime, here are some quick tips!

"Our Ornate Nine Monitor Feeding Schedule"

Monday - White Meat (or fresh seafood)
Wednesday - Red Meat (beef, buffalo)
Friday - Whole Prey (farm raised Rodents and Birds)
Sat, Sun, Mealworms, Crickets and Roaches
And you can give him whole little quail eggs if you can find them for treats!

Remember not to over feed him, and make sure he gets exercise!

For a lamp you will need a 100 - 150 watt Basking Spot Lamp. ($25 for the fixture, 10 for the bulb) Place the lamp around 2, 2.5 feet away from his basking platform (whatever it may be). Niles like to rest on things when they bask like a pillow. <--- see my avatar
Place your hand under the lamp and rest it on the platform. Make sure it is hot but not too hot that it burns your hand.
He will want to bask at the time of day when the sun is at 45 degrees morning and evening.
Provide fresh filtered water at all times.
Obtain some chlorine remover from your local fish or pet store that will make tap water "safer" and you can give him bath time.
I actually trained one of mine to go potty in the shower when the water is running so give it a try. Warm water stimulates their digestive system so it get's them in the habit of using that area of the house instead of your living room floor
Get rid of the hotrock and use a heat blanket for his bed. Make a cardboard castle for now, he needs to sleep in a cave eventually. You can build one out of wood like a smaller doghouse, but make the hole just bigger then his diameter. They love to lurk.
Playtime is a great idea. Niles are usually very aggressive and hostile, but you can successfully train them if you put the effort and time in. But seriously get that book, it has a LOT of good information on your pet dinosaur

Hey everyone, thanks for all the great help! Yes I know bird cages are for birds... but right now we are thinking of building him a cage. And no offense was taken at all... He does get exercise, just going out in our front yard and chilling on the cement or digging in the plants for him. He loves that for sure... Feeding is just meat and sometimes mice... I also feed him salmon and he goes nuts for that. Ground meat raw and chicken we give him too, and also cat/dog food. Oh also I make him some scrambled eggs with teh egg shell in there as well.


My nile monitor is really relaxed and tame, is that not a good thing, lol? He will sometimes hiss and put his throat out if I want to take him out, and swing his tail a little, but never hurt me. I've had him for a little over six months and he's doing great with me!

Salmon is great for them I can't believe I left that out!
Get rid of the dog/cat food it'll mess up his organs.

Originally Posted by Nile.man

Ok with cageing done lets go to feeding him.. food mice rats chicken peeps whole food items NO ground meets or hot dogs they are for people..

And stay away from the peeps, too, those things aren't even for people.

Originally Posted by Uroboros

And stay away from the peeps, too, those things aren't even for people.

Goldfish are so dirty.....I would not recommend feeding him goldfish of any sort. If you want to feed him fish feed him some other feeder fish or tilapia.

haha lol to the peeps posting. And thanks for the advice. Why stay away from goldfish though, I clean them in tap water before feeding it to him?

So far salmon is his favorite, along with ground or raw meat. Chicken, beef salmon, etc..