Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am thinking about getting a pair of Nile and Water monitors. I would eventually like to breed them. I have never had these monitors before so I would like some advice on housing, feeding, etc. I am thinking about getting an 8'x3'x2' cage for each of the monitors, is this ok? I also am going to keep them in my garage and I live in Florida so what kind of eating and lighting should I need considering it is usually about 80 degrees in there.

if you are getting baby monitors that cage will be ok for the first few months, but after that i'd almost double the size of that cage...esp if u are planning to breed.think of the size of an average bedroom 12'x10'. its very easy to use flood lights as a heating source,just remember to have multiple basking areas.
keeping these animals can be an expencive task so think clearly on what you are doing. if these would be your first choice as monitors, i'd think of something else like a smaller species of monitor.

Thanks for the advice. I was planning to keep 1 monitor in the 8'x3'x2' cages though, not the breeding pair. Is that still ok as adults, and the only time that most of my animals spend in their cages is at night anyway, as soon as I wake up I take them out into my yard or whatever and let them sit around the house until I go to bed then I will put them away for the night.

I am not so sure it would be a good idea to free roam the monitors. I do not have a nile, but from what I have heard they can be quite nasty, but good luck anyway.

this might be the worst possible idea i have heard on the forum all year.

don't get into the giant monitors so arbitrarily. an 8ft cage is NOT big enough, even for a single adult. letting them "roam" is also a terrible idea.

find a species that you can keep in the conditions you have, like a Beagle.

we already have enough disposable animals, and monitors that don't live past 2 years old, don't contribute to that, make better choices.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

I was planning to keep 1 monitor in the 8'x3'x2' cages though, not the breeding pair. Is that still ok as adults, and the only time that most of my animals spend in their cages is at night anyway, as soon as I wake up I take them out into my yard or whatever and let them sit around the house until I go to bed then I will put them away for the night.

Where did you get those cage dimensions from? 8'x3'x 2' for adult nile or water? Sounds like you're measuring them up for coffins. You can't just shove them into something they'll fit into, but can't move around comfortably. They're not like a guitar you can play with in your room then put away in it's 'box' when you've had enough!

The idea behind the cage is that its their needed environment, our household environment is not healthy for them, nor can a house set up for humans be adapted to take their proper environment.
The 8x3x2ft cage sounds like a plastic cage your looking to buy that is set up for snakes, or an area measured under a shelf in a spare space.
They need to spend as much time as possible in their needed environment, not part time, or a little time.
If you want something to put away for the night that can benefit from this, get a puppy and crate train it. Monitor keepers dont get their captives out and play with them all day, they let them be monitors, that is if they expect to have them live a long healthy life.

Ok everybody that replied, I understand that keeping these large monitors in a cage like the one I mentioned is unacceptable. I figured that these monitors didnt get as big as the websites and other sources say because as many pictures as I see they are not nearly as big as what people say. And I volunteer at a reptile park and all the monitors that they have and had are not that big. I do want a large monitor though and I am especially fond of water and niles. I have had other lizards in the past and I didn't like them too much including tegus, blue tongue skinks, iguanas and savannah monitors. I really want either a water, nile, argus or crocodile monitor. I understand what the cage requirements and everything is now so thanks for the help.

The reason you rarely see these large monitor species get as big as they are supposed to is simple, the average keeper does not support them to be able to grow to their normal sizes, also most animal parks and zoos fail at this. Part of this is having proper food, environment, etc.
The definition of a large species of monitor is simple, a species that grows to lengths of 6ft or more.
My female albig is a few inches shy of 7ft and she was hatched in 2001. Its funny to think that both of my dogs are 2.3 to 2.5 times her weight.

What size cage to you keep the albig in? And what is the feeding schedule?

There is no real feeding schedule, it can depend on the age, the conditions they live in, the amount they need, the amount of growing they are doing, and many smaller meals are better than one big meal.
My albig only eats about 1 lareg guinea pig a week but sometimes she eats several peeps, or 2 medium guinea pigs. At one time she ate multiple adult mice a day, anywhere from 6-9 when she was around 3ft long. Depends on the age, at one time she ate 50-75 crickets a day as a hatchling, multiple quail, mice, roaches, etc.
The cage is enough space for a single large monitor. It has a couple of feet deep of dirt, some objects chained up to climb, a large water dish (not enough to soak). The cage is the size of a small bathroom, is made from almost 1 inch thick plywood lined with FRP, and sealed in all seams.

This had to have been a joke just to get a rise out of everyone.

I agree. This person cannot possibly be that ignorant. Either that, or it is a naive 'lil kid.

orinoco