Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I noticed your Niles grew quite a bit (3 feet) by their first year. In my experience, they haven't grown this fast.

What do you feed? What lighting? Any advice (and from anybody) is appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Lamar

I can not speak on behalf of niles, but my waters reached 4.5 and 5ft in their first year and all ackies I have have reached adult size in 12 months or so.

They all grow fast. Food and Heat.

Cheers,
Mike.

thanks mike,

is it normal for a young nile to refuse food or just totally ignore it?

There are many variables to that question.

For example, if the young nile doesn't have access to the temps it needs or if it is being handled to much/stressed, then that might be normal, but a short life will also be normal.

If the opposite, then no.

So why don't you explain to us your method of feeding and give us some ideas of how it is setup and temperatures it has access to.

Also if you just recieved this lizard, it may require some time alone. My waters took about a month or two before they would readily take food from me. That meant not having contact with the lizards for the first month or so and just leaving food in the cage.

But like I said, weed through some of the variables for us by telling us about the lizard and the setup.

Cheers,
Mike.

thanks mike-

well first off, he's my first Nile. I've raised a Savannah for 5 years though. I realize these are two totally different animals.

I have been handling him maybe a little too much since I got him from the reptile show this past weekend. He's being kept in a 50gal aquarium opens from the top with a 50W spotlight (from LLL @ the reptile show) for his basking spot. He will only bask when he feels somewhat safe.. if he isn't basking he is always hiding under his 'Carefresh' bedding which is this:

http://www.critterlove.com/Images/Carefresh Regular.jpg

I have taken him with me into the bathtub a couple times and he doesn't totally freak out. The first night I had him, i put him in his new cage with a little tiny chunk of tuna on his basking log and he went up to it and chomped it down but he hasn't eaten anything since. I've put crickets in his face, left them in his cage before I left to work today.

Hope this info helps, and thanks again mate

Thoughts from what I have gathered from your descriptions:

>>I have been handling him maybe a little too much since I
>>got him from the reptile show this past weekend.

Yeah. Stop handling it. This will just cause stress and make it more afraid of you.

>>He's being kept in a 50gal aquarium opens from the top

If the top is screen, cover it. You will want to keep the humidity in, ventilation is not your friend.

>>with a 50W spotlight (from LLL @ the reptile show) for his
>>basking spot.

Check the temperature of the basking spot. Use an infrared "temp gun" and aim for 130 to 150 F directly under the bulb, over a region large enough for the animal to heat its entire body. If it is not this hot, replace the bulb with something higher wattage or move the basking spot closer to the bulb. I try to avoid spot lights, floods or bare bulbs give a better heat distribution (spots often concentrate the light too much). Also, try to keep the ambient temperature around 80 to 90 F or so - if the ambient temps are in this range, raise the basking spot rather than using a higher wattage bulb.

>>He will only bask when he feels somewhat safe.. if he isn't
>>basking he is always hiding under his 'Carefresh' bedding
>>which is this:

Get rid of the care fresh and use a good soil. Keep the soil damp but not wet. Make the soil deep enough the lizard can dig its own burrow.

>>I have taken him with me into the bathtub a couple times
>>and he doesn't totally freak out.

Not a good sign. A young Nile should freak out when handled. Any that doesn't is probably unhealthy.

>>The first night I had him, i put him in his new cage with a
>>little tiny chunk of tuna on his basking log and he went up
>>to it and chomped it down but he hasn't eaten anything since.
>>I've put crickets in his face, left them in his cage before I
>>left to work today.

Again, lack of feeding sounds like it is too stressed. Check the temperatures, they are critical. Leave the little guy alone to get used to his new home. Give him a better substrate. And make sure the humidity is high.

Good luck.

Luke

thanks luke,

After work, I'm picking up coconut mulch (is this ok?) and some moss. I don't have a infared temp gun so that won't work. It's a 50w full spectrum reptile spotlight. Maybe I should bump it up to 75w. If you have a better suggestion, I'll check it out.

Thanks,

lamar

You shouldn't bump up or down any wattages untill you know what you are working with as far as temperatures go.

Also do not go as far to treat different species of monitors very differently. For the most part they all have the same basic needs this has very much been the story for my water monitors and ackies. Very similar husbandry regardless of the discrepancy in size and species.

Worry about your substrate after you take care of more important things, hell he could be on broken glass and still be healthy IF the support is there, but make sure the support is there.

Cheers,
Mike.

Bulb wattages are irrelevent, what matters is the temperature produced.

You HAVE TO HAVE a temp gun. It really isn't an option. Temps are the most important aspect of monitor husbandry, and they are the key as to why your animal is acting and (not) feeding as it is now.

Ignore proper temps, and your monitor won't live a full year.

You can find temp guns here on the classifieds, as little as $25. There is no more important tool.

Check out our site for more husbandry info and detail. Use the Water monitor info as your base, the husbandry is 99% identical. Get a copy of the Savannah Monitor book by Bennett and Ravi as well, it should be your main reference point.

Best of luck.
-----
robyn@proexotics.com

ShipYourReptiles.com
Pro Exotics Reptiles

OK, thanks for the information regarding the temp gun. I'll pick one up tonight. Let's say the basking spot ends up being 100F - is this not enough? And say it isn't enough, would that then mean I need to bump up the wattage? There is no other form of lighting/heating for his cage right now, only the basking light (maybe that helps).

Raise up the basking area

okay, so that is what he means when he says wattage's don't matter all that much.

Pretty much. You have to measure the actual temp in the cage & directly under the basking light. Monitors really need at LEAST 130f. Get the ambient temps into the 80's and do something to hold in some humidity.

Try this it may help you understand why wattage isn't important. Hold you hand 15 inches from the light.....not warm is it? Now hold it 3 inches from the light..... getting warmer? UV & special bulbs isn't a concern right now, you have got to get the little guy set up with good temps & substrates or he will not likely live.

Send me a private message if you want to chat about it via email. I will help as much as I can.

Hi Lamar
I just read the e-mails you sent.

My first two niles reached lengths of just under and just over four feet before the end of the first year. The pair I got a bit over a year ago are both around three and a half feet.

If you are using a fishtank, the top needs to be solid or sealed somehow. If you have a screen top use tin foil to seal it so it holds humidity. Fishtanks are not the easiest thing to establish the proper range of temperatures in. Your best bet is to get a fixture you can put inside of the tank. I've gotten the best results in small cages of the size you've mentioned using 45 watt outdoor halogen FLOOD lights. A higher wattage bulb will overheat the tank. The temps need to range from the mid 70s to around 130 as measured with a temp-gun. You'll learn from watching the animal how to adjust the basking area temperatures.

Coco-fiber is ok, mix it with some sand 2pt coco/1pt sand. Dirt/sand mix is better. Give it at least eight inches to burrow in. Provide hides throughout the cage so it has access to various temps in hiding throughout the temperature range. Provide, logs/ branches for climbing. Young niles spend lots of time up high. Also, give it a water pan at least large enough to allow the animal to completely submerge in.

Put the tank up on a table at eye level if possible in an area of the house where it can see people often. The become quite frightened when approached by large animals (predators) such as humans. DO NOT HANDLE IT under any circumstances as this will add stress and work against you and the animal in the long run. That along with the sub-par conditions it is currently being kept in are the reasons it is not eating. Do cage maintenance and offer food. Sooner or later it will no longer perceive you as a threat and will begin to associate you with food. When it begins to associate you with food you're in. Allow it to come to you. Niles have very good memories and can recognize offending individuals. A single "handling session" can cause a nile to hide from you for months. They can hold a grudge for a LONG time. Patience is the key. Some take weeks to loose fear of humans, others months, others years, and in some cases never.

Good luck and post some pictures.

Roger

Roger, first off - that was a very helpful response. Kudos to you for not having an ego and slamming me for not knowing this information yet. I'll post a picture later on in the evening. So, judging by your response - chilling with him in the bathtub with no water is a bad idea!

Hahahah, no, the cold water is not too "cool" Leave him alone, feed him, then when he stays put while you watch him, start offering food. Get ready to start paying mucho grande food bills and spending mucho denero on a really big cage, heh, heh.

thanks roger

he's actually starting to get used to his enclosure. i got him a piece of drift wood to bask on (not shown in the pics, the pics were taken over the weekend) and he seems to like it. I covered 75% of the top screen with aluminum foil as you suggested, and it helps with the humidity. However, the basking spot isn't quite warm enough. I picked up an infared temp gun from home depot and it read 103F.. so i'm going to home depot again to pick up a 45W halogen flood light (as you suggested).

Not Roger but right on. You are on the right track now. Don't give up.