All good information FR. I understand where you are comming from and I realize that a lot of the post here end up containing worthless info. Being not a pro at this, sometimes it is hard to weed through the bad husbandry and care advice. I really got to think about it when I was reading some older post and the information gave was a little sketchy, like monitors having 24 hour light cycle and feeding only crickets. I too had a megaray like the other poster said, and they are amazing with ambient temp as well as basking. You keeping the monitors outside would mean there is a light cycle year around and from what you say they were healthy a repoductive. Running a 24 hour light cycle would not only use much more energy and burn through bulbs double the speed. From what I can remember when the lighy cycle kicked off and night ceramic heater turned on to keep ambient temps up, my monitor would go down in its hole and usually stay there. In the morning when the light cycle bulbs turned in he would come out and sit and bask and be fed shortly after that. I don't know if I would call it a routine with the lizard but it sure seemed like it. This way he got fed at mostly the same time every morning and every other time I was in the cage later in the day he wasn't charging me for food. Mabey I am missing an advantage to 24 hour cycle or the poster is just blowing smoke. Like I said I am not out to breed monitors, I just am set for having a good health, non-over weight, long lived, active monitor.

I went to a show this weekend and actually picked up ornate nile. So far so good at the moment, feeding good on dubai roaches that I breed myself. I was happy to see that it already will eat from tongs. Hopefully I got a winner, I hate overseas farm bred monitors but it seems as thats what I was gonna get. Now I plan on passing the GOOD knowledge onto my girlfriend so she can learn how amazing monitor lizards are and we are already started on building a large enclosure although he is only 12 inches, as most my pro knowledge is in woodworking.

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