Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Virtually all Nile monitors that come into this country are hatched on "ranches" in Nigeria, Togo and Benin. Gravid females are caught, placed into pens and watched until they nest. Eggs are then dug up, incubated and hatched. Then babies are sent to buyers in the U.S. and Europe mostly. A few W.C.'s do come out of Tanzania, but nowhere near what used to.

So, if we assume that a clutch of eggs produces males and females in a roughly even ratio, what the hell is happening to all the girls. I swear, almost every Nile monitor I've ever had has been a male, and I know other people have had the same problem. I'm betting however that nothing is "happening" to these female monitors, I simply have been unlucky in acquiring as many females because of "chance".

This has been one of my sore spots however with Nile monitors in general. I've been breeding Africans for several years and have had the least luck with my Orante Niles, because females seem to be difficult to come by. When I do find a female, its usually too old to be worth a damn! Not many others have had any real success breeding Niles. Just a few cases here and there. Is anybody else as interested in breeding Ornate Niles as I am, or am I the only one? The whole Ornate Nile breeing thing (or any type of Nile)in general seems to be turning into a lost cause! This is starting to sound more like a lament...sorry. I'm just frustratd, because I personally own one of the most stunning Ornate Niles in the U.S. and I have yet to get offspring sired by him.
RobFaust

I don't know Rob but i can't wait to get baby from your big boy....
Good luck!
Justin

Thanks for your interest. I will keep trying. I know of at least two female Ornates out there, but there owners are not comfortable with shipping there animal on breeding loan. I understand though, because it would be hard to send out one of my guys on loan. Well, a girl will turn up eventually...I just hope that beautiful male of mine is still alive by then.
Rob.

how do you sex an ornate nile?..do you still breed whitethroat> thanks Gerald

Not attacking, just curious:

"So, if we assume that a clutch of eggs produces males and females in a roughly even ratio, what the hell is happening to all the girls."

I'm guessing maybe that's where the problem lies: assuming an equal number of girls. Seems you're more educated than I am on these guys, but I'm wondering if maybe most clutches are mostly males? Seems to be the case with waters. If they are hatching out evenly, what if they're keeping all the females, the nicest males, and selling off the rest?

I really wouldn't have a clue on that, but I'm guessing it's worth considering that they aren't hatching out equal numbers of both sexes.

Rob,
I saw this post when you first posted it but at the time, for some reason, I didn't think about the female Nile Monitor I saw at an Orlando show back in July.

Take a look at this post where I placed a pic of it and if you're interested, contact me & I'll give you the name of the dealer that had it.

forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1180467,1180467

Take care!
HH
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

Hi Rob,
It's been a long while since I've been on this forum and I just happened to get on it today and read your posting. I've got an ornate (nile) female (have yet to see the hemipensis) left from my hatchlings from Nov. 1, 2000. She's the lone survivor of our clutch of 19 eggs. She's over 4' long (snout to tail) and weighs 10 lbs. and will turn 6 yrs. old on Nov. 1. We've named her Nessie, in memory of the first Nessie we had that died in Feb. 2003 from the air-borne virus that wiped out seven of our ornate monitors. Bruce and I now live in North Carolina, close to Raleigh, and she stays indoors most of the time. On warm sunny days, she has full roam of our large fenced backyard. We also have a 3.5' Argus that we purchased in So. Cal. back in 2005 before we made the move to N.C. in Jan. 2006.

I would love to breed my ornate and raise a clutch - I still have the commercial incubator that I used on my first clutch - but I don't know if there are any local males out my way.

Can our two ornates have a long distance relationship? Anyway, it's good to hear you are still on this forum. Sorry we never made it out to AZ to check out your monitor home.

I luv ornates,
Nessiesmom
My Ornate Monitor, Nessie