Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone know any info on keeping this species.. How long could you keep them in a 4'L by 2'W cage...how is there temperment and any other useful info. And whats the price on one of these. and one more thin, whats the diffrence between them and Niles?

Please don't get a Nile.

A 4' x 2' cage will last a few months. They're large and active lizards that require a huge enclosure (bedroom size is best). Any reptile as large as a Nile can cause serious damage if it were to bite or scratch.

The price of the actual lizard is by far the least expensive part of your investment. If you were given a Nile for free you'd still be in for a shock at how expensive they are to maintain properly.

Please look at the dwarf species.

More importantly, please do your own research.

Theres TONS of information regarding Nile care (and thats what Ornates are, Niles)- Ornates require exactly the same care as any other Nile: large meals, large enclosures, large heating/water bills, large injuries, etc.

Hell, theres even an entire forum dedicated to Niles and Water monitors (large, water-loving species).

4' x 2' cage?
A year- MAX. And even then, that animal, if husbandry is good, would be cramped. And then, you need to start looking at SERIOUS housing, which is alot gnarlier than most people think.

I have a 2 y/o Nile right now- hes not "freindly", he costs about $1,200 a year to feed, and housing is becoming a major issue. Basically, look elsewhere.

Smaller species are def the way to go here- if you REALLY like monitors, you will enjoy a group of ackies WAY MORE than a single Nile(lower cost, smaller housing, friendlier disposition, etc.).

If you ARENT interested in monitors that much, and just thought it would be cool to have a great big lizard.... look else where, please, look elsewhere.

I agree with everyone about there size, the room they require, the heating bills, the enormous food quantity. Yes I surly agree these monitors need more of everything.
Also they are the most exploited and neglected specie, because of the above.

However where I don’t agree and this is only my opinion!
Saying these aren’t good captives is totally wrong, they are in fact an excellent captive, if you provide there needs.

We are talking about a wild predator, one of the most unique African creatures, rich in history. Not your average poodle why would such an animal be tame? 100% of nil’s become trusty of there keepers if they are respected, treat them wrong and they will remember a long time.

We keep these lizards because they are different then other pets, theirs something about lager lizards that’s fascinating, personally smaller monitors don’t do it for me, iv tried to keep some and they just left me cold, the question is economics, if you can provide for a large monitor then keep one and enjoy it, surly its not anymore expensive then keeping a large dog, and you don’t have to walk him every day when you get home from work and tired.
Theirs nothing wrong with keeping a large monitor, be it a nil or a lace, black throat or bengalensis any large monitors are fascinating, regardless of specie you will learn far more from keeping them then any other lizards.

If you get bored your responsible for this lizard, finding a new home is next to impossible, you may have to consider putting it down at some point. Stupid peoples releases them in the wild or lets them suffer neglect.

Hello Jobi,
Very well said... - Mike

I agree with Jobi on this one. Niles do make great captives, just not for beginers. They take alot of time, patience, and work.If you are concerned about the amount of money you'll need to spend then look for some other species to work with. I had my ornate nile for eight years, got her when she two weeks old.She was a joy and a major headache all at the same time. It took a long time and alot of handeling (and some bloodshed on my part hahaha)to get her to trust me when i reached in to her enclosure.but it was well worth it in the long run. she grew into quite an enjoyable monitor.If this is the first monitor you have considered i would suggest starting small and working your way up to something larger, trust me when i say there's nothing like trying to pry a two foot nile off your hand when he's just not ready to let go.
Best to you, Chris

> > > "...trust me when i say there's nothing like trying to pry a two foot nile off your hand when he's just not ready to let go."

Ha! Ha! And trust me, it ain't gonna let go until its good 'n ready to. Another area that patience is vital in. Ha!

Have a good one!
HH
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

And dont think you are gonna have more patience than the nile is, heck, he's got all day to hang on. he's got nothin else to do for the next two hours. In fact they kinda seem like they enjoy watch'in ya struggle. hahahaha

Ain't that the truth! Ha!

I was following your story in the thread where you were tellin' jobi about it and I got a kick out of it. I could picture it just as if I was there.

Take care!
HH
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

Let me try that again.

What I mant to say was I was following that thread where sidbarvin was telling jobi about getting bit and I got a kick out of it. I think that's the same thread you posted some old photos in.

My bad! Oops!

Later!
HH
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

To realistically provide for the needs of a larger monitor though, it takes ALOT of work. You need to have alot of resources at your disposal.

Realistically, very few people that are looking at Niles as their primary choice are beyond "beginner" level. What I mean is, most people that want a Nile want it sheerly for the size/cheapness factors. I dunno if I personally agree with the whole buying a large monitor for the fact that its a large monitor; but I certainly dont agree with buying a Nile or Sav for the price tag.

Nevertheless, choosing a Nile for your first monitor is what id call a "crash" course in monitor keeping- you learn fast. The animal grows fast, its requirements change regularly as it grows in size and if you dont do things right, you can very quickly have a large, aggressive animal on your hands, capable of doing some serious damage (broken fingers/lacerations/etc + risk of infection).

Im just being realistic (ie, pessimistic). I have a Nile myself and I find him a treat- as long as I dont try to push myself on him. At start, he was as "tame" as I think they can get. Over time, as he became more aware and inquisitive, he didnt like to be confined (ie, handled), which made handling difficult if not impossible. This in turn came to a point where any human contact was just a no-go. Over time and trust, hes gotten to a point now where I can pet his back and neck, go into his cage/clean water, etc without too much fuss.... If I were to try to grab him though.... *cue the poop/tail/claws and, if necessary, teeth)

Upon reaching its adult size, its gonna require at least a decent sized room for an enclosure to truly be comfortable (guy told me today that a 10' x 5'x 2' requires 5 tons of soil to fill, which is about what you want to offer.

Its gonna require large meals on a regular basis. Large meals means rats, chickens, rabbits, fish, etc; most of which are gonna cost a few pennies.

If its aggressive, its going to require extra security- a loose Nile in the house (especially if you have kids or other pets) can become a serious problem (when the Pictus gecko and the Nile came face to face, I think if the gecko could have made a sound, he would have gulped, despite the glass between them). Not to mention what should happen if it makes its way outside... we've all seen what happens there.

Another thing of note with Niles is the breeding-
A. it dosnt occur often
and
B, even if it DOES occur, theres really no way to make any sort of money on this species when WC babys are offered for $15 a piece.
(honestly, Id almost like to see them put a 10 or more year halt to Nile importation into the US, with a 1-2 year prep stage in which breeders could get together breeding stock so that captive bred specimens would get a chance to come into existence and hopefully alleviate at least SOME of the strain on the wild population)

Basically, I cant see suggesting a Nile monitor (or any large monitor really) as a first monitor- its just not sensible.

Start with a smaller species- if not ackies, theres a number of other monitors that look very cool and many require the same things as Niles only on a smaller scale.

Side Note:

Keep in mind, when I say "smaller" species, Im being VERY general- Niles get BIG, REAL BIG if given absolutely optimal conditions.

Theres any number of monitors that grow between 2 and 4 feet as adults, as opposed to the "6 feet or more" for a Nile. As some may know, Im currently going through the headache of housing a growing Nile in a situation that isnt making it easy for me.

None the less, if youre going to take responsibility for an animal (ie, accepting possession, paying money for it, whatever), you are then responsible for a life and all that life needs to continue, erm, living.

...its late.

You are raising a number of important points, all very important to nil keepers.

First keeping an adult nil when you have children’s is almost irresponsible, the very least a keeper should do in this case is to have the lizards cage in a room with an alarm system and look on the door.

I understand when peoples are advising ackies as an alternative, sure is common sense, however in reality peoples buy on impulse, heck how many I see obtain horses without having the recourses to keep them, some have never mounted one to start with, yet 1000s end up on the meat market every year, this is the nature of humans, will not change this century.

Nil’s are one of the easiest to breed monitor, why? Because they are like tegus, they will pile up debris in one corner and nest there, furthermore they will use their body to bring water to the nest, it doesn’t get any simpler.

As for them being none viable economically, hers what my best friend and 30 years of import has said about my prior post (savannas not being worth breeding) False these are the most commonly imported monitors, they have been massively imported for decades, every use to be keepers of them, some are fathers now or grand fathers? Remember them as there pets, a lot of these will obtain a baby if they see one in a shop, its like the red ear sliders, 100,000s of peoples have killed them in turtle bowls but will buy an other and an other bowl at some point, that’s why companies keep doing the turtle bowls (they still sell)

Also as he says, it’s the common species that generates the most incomes, they are massively imported because they are plentiful, not because they are rare, that why I can buy all your African babies but only a few jobiensis, its easy to sell 100s of cheep lizards but doing so with more expensive lizards will kill the market, so if I was to produce 500 jobiensis a year, I could not sell them, imports are $40ea and they go for $200, witch will the dealer buy? Mine or imports?
An the other hand a clutch of 50 nil’s will be easy to pass strait out of the egg, plus any sold to private at higher price is a little more profit for you.

Then come designer morphs, surely once in a while a different looking monitor will hatch, we all know what happens in this case, nil’s or savannas are no different. Why those albino nil’s are worth more then any other albino monitors, peoples can relate to them. Remember all the berms keepers when they first saw albino berms? Same with albino retics, being albino doesn’t make them any better captives, heck balls are a much more logic choice! Again an example of common cheep imports becoming investment specie.

Now about your nil, obviously your enjoying him, but I know from experience that you can work this animal in many different ways, in fact your only limited buy time and knowledge, both of witch will change in time and so will your nil.

As for deep substrate, I don’t provide my monitors with the hole nine yards, why would I? theirs a deference between housing a single male, a pair or gravid female. I much prefer keeping my cages simple for individual monitors, focus on hydration and heat options, your monitor can use other means of hiding then to dig tunnels. If I needed to keep them with all this dirt in every cages, id stop keeping them.

Sure monitors love to dig, but they can play in leaf litter, at least the species I keep.

Im abit confused about what you were trying to say about the import thing.

Still, I agree that Niles are rather easy to breed in terms of their requirements. Still, you dont hear of alot of captive breeding going on- probably because most dont survive to that point, and the ones that do dont get the oppurtunity (id guess).

Honestly, with people buying the albinos and such for exhorbitant prices, I dont see why more people havent given it a try.
If I had the room.... erm, WHEN i have the room, Im going to give it a try; or at least I hope to. But thats way down the line.

As far as I see it, whichever way you go about it, these animals require a few things:
A. SOME dirt, leaflitter, whatever in which to burrow
B. a relatively large water supply, comparative to the animal
C. at least 1 high temp spot with relatively high ambients
D. lots and lots and lots and lots and LOTS of food
E. someone whose willing to be bitten, clawed, crapped on, etc. and still come back for more.

Basically, is a Nile a good pet?

Thats a relative to the person.

If you have the resources, the know how, the patience, the time, the phsyical strength and unwavering interest- yeah, Niles are good times!

But if you have limited resources, very little technical knowhow in the areas needed (ie, the actual construction), short attention span, limited time, limited knowledge of reptiles in general (let alone monitors), a risk to children and/or ADD.... well, maybe you should look elsewhere, ya know what I mean?

And I mean, what it comes right down to here is:

"Does anyone know any info on keeping this species.. How long could you keep them in a 4'L by 2'W cage...how is there temperment and any other useful info. And whats the price on one of these. and one more thin, whats the diffrence between them and Niles?"

Is a person asking these questions ready to care for a Nile?

Im sure youd agree with me, the answer is probably no.

For most people, the answer to "Are Niles good pets?" is, almost undoubtedly, NO!

Hell, have you seen the way some people take care of their dogs? Hell, their KIDS? And half the people looking into a Nile are young, cheap, and/or dont know what they are getting themselves into (impulse buy).

Basically, for the most part, the answer is "No... for YOU, they arent good pets at all.... At least, not right now. If youre still interested down the line, and its within your bounds, go for it!" And, for the most part, people would simply lose interest. As you said, most are impulse buys to begin with.

(no offense to original poster, just making a point)

Your question is easy to answer! Look at the statistic, more then 90% nil keepers fail, thereof 9 out of 10 should not keep a nil simple enough. However they will keep buying them regardless, humans keep repeating the same mistake over and over expecting different results, that’s in everything we do.
The point I wanted to make was that nil’s have economic potential, and they make good captives when viewed for what they are (not pets)
many of us have kept venomous snakes or crocodilians and these are surly no lap pet, yet we enjoyed them.
A well designed smaller cage like pro exotic 10x3x4 are good enough to breed BT or nil’s, lace, waters, female nil’s start producing at 30inces total, and as long as she’s productive will grow slowly, the male however will keep growing, that’s why you need work on his feeding, otherwise you end up with a 6 footer that will bully your much smaller female for food shelter, basking. My cages are 8x3x4, they have a opaque divider I use only when feeding, I keep my males lean and mean.

((As far as I see it, whichever way you go about it, these animals require a few things))
((A. SOME dirt, leaflitter, whatever in which to burrow ))

Leaf litter works very well with forest monitors, its cheep and light, no issue here.

((B. a relatively large water supply, comparative to the animal))

I use large enough for the lizards to enter, however some keepers only use a drinking bowl size, doesn’t seem to matter.

((C. at least 1 high temp spot with relatively high ambients ))

Preferably more then one hot spot and part of the enclosure with high ambient, there should be accessible lower ambient too.

((D. lots and lots and lots and lots and LOTS of food ))

NO no big mistake! Food should be consistent and frequent not in large quantities. Witch is better feeding 1 larger rodent a day or 3 smaller rodents 3 times a day? Same quantity but different energy support. Also males should be fed less, this is the real problem when keeping pairs, learn to work this out and you’ve got your husbandry pretty much nailed.

((E. someone whose willing to be bitten, clawed, crapped on, etc. and still come back for more.))

I don’t expect to be bitten, I use gloves or any other manipulation techniques to protect myself from harm, this is the responsibility any keeper of potentially dangerous animals, accident can happen but if one doesn’t learn from it he should stop keeping them.

Hey don’t worry about offending me, these are only words on a screen, I take then lightly and see no emotions in them.