I guess Tylers pics show that they get along very well and in the same conditions.

As I have said, all these monitors require very close to the same conditions. The REAL difference is, tolerance to extremes. Those monitors that survive in the desert areas can withstand dehydration to a much greater degree. The point is, you should not dehydrate any monitors. The actual functioning conditions are the same.

That is, I keep desert monitors in the same humidity range I keep any monitor.

But then I actually one have Flavis that can be called a desert monitor. As ackies and gouldi and panoptes, are found is tropical areas. Even in the exact and I mean exact areas as mangroves or prasinus.

Another example is, someone here stated that kimberlys are from more humid areas the ackies and should be kept differently. My problem with that is, I have seen Kimberlys, ackies, tristis, within 50 feet of eachother.

I saw a kimberly in a road cut, and on top of that exact same road cut, I found an ackie then a tristis. The tristis was one of the funnist varanid chase seens anyone could imagine. I had my teenage son and his teenage friend with me. Those two and I were run silly up the a point of crashing into eachother as the monitor watched in amazement. The result was very benefitual, we never touched the thing. But we had a huge laugh.

The point is, what on earth gives you folks the idea that a cage is ever tropical or desert or anything inbetween? That type of thinking scares me.

A cage ONLY holds conditions a monitor can carry out its base functions and extract its base needs.

That Tylers monitors are growing and appear healthy, is the answer to your question. That you somehow have to think about conditions in nature that you have no idea about, can only cause you problems with your captive management. The turth is, there are many habitats in all areas monitors live. In tropical areas, they spend more time trying to stay dry and in desert areas they spend more time trying to stay hydraded. In hot areas, they spend most of their time finding cool temps and cooler areas, they spend time finding hot areas. After all, a monitor is a monitor and not a salamander.

The real approach should be, you create conditions that allows whatever type monitor you have, to PROSPER. You do not have to call those conditions a name like desert or tropical. You should call them successful if you do your job.

No matter what you do to your cage, it will never contain the choices the tropics do or what a desert does or will it ever be aboreal, oh unless you hang it way up in a tree. Cheers

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