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Nile Monitor Assistance

L

LizardCrazy

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Hello everyone, I have a 4ft 3in male Nile Monitor that I adopted from my friend. This is my first lizard this big, I currently have 9 other lizzies. What are proper feeding and caging care? He is currently in a dog kennel, I think the medium size, and is not trapped in there. I take him out everyday, clean his home everyday, and feed him every 2-3 days. So far I have fed him live goldfish, cat food, scrambled eggs with the shells, and some hot dogs. I was told to not feed him vegetables.

If anyone can tell me more information on he species (what he eats, how long he can live, how fast he can grow, etc) that's be great!!

Thanks all, Chantal.
My "Pitter" and I
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Wow. I don't know a whole lot about Niles but I do know that he needs a much larger enclosure than what you are keeping him in. He also needs areas in the cage to hide and things to climb on. He needs a heat gradient (warm area of the cage and cooler area of the cage) and probably an even warmer basking area would be a good thing. Are you aware that full grown Niles are sometimes 6 feet long and require extremely large enclosures?

Here is some more information about Niles-
http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/lizards/nile-monitor.php
 
:iagree:

Also, very important, if you want that Nile to keep his demeanor, it will be important to continue to interact with him regularly. They have a habit of becoming quite defensive and intractable otherwise as they get older (and some do anyways). You've got the second or third biggest species of lizard in the world there, you don't want to be on his bad side :rofl: Good luck!!
 
Wow thanks for the replies all! I play with him everyday... he loves being held and just walking in our front yeard. He loves to climb on me too.. I crack jokes saying instead of me having a new toy, he has one...I'm his personal jungle gym.. I love it though. I forgot to mention he has a heating rock, and soon will get a special UVB bulb.. My freind forgot to bring that over when he dropped Pitter off. My mom will soon have someone build him a cage that can roll... I'm excited to see that final project.
 
Another suggestion, get rid of the heat rock as soon as you can. They can and do develop extreme hot spots after time that can end up burning their bellys. Would be best to use a basking lamp or two from overhead, or a heat mat designed for use inside the cage along with a thermostat.

Make sure you post more pics, we love 'em!:yesnod:
 
Here are some more picture of us together.
we were watching tv here
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he was in his "threatning" language
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Pitter on my back
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its the lochness monster!!!
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Hey we just got him a new cage today... Went to the swap meet, and they had this bird cage... It looked amazing and it was!!! Here are the pictures I took of Pitter in it.
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What is the temp of the basking spot and the overall ambient temp?

I have yet to see a tame nile when kept at optimum temps. They are out there but VERY rare.

When kept cool, they are handleable but once they warm up (basking spot of 135 degrees) they revert back to typical niles.
 
Not much. About $50.
Make sure the nile cannot come in contact with it.
 
i'll help u

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-Robert-J-Faust/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!
 
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..
 
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