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I went to the reptile show today.I saw a nile monitor in a reptile tank full of water.I asked the lady at the booth how much the nile monitor cost,and she said "actually its a water monitor"but it wasnt.I asked her why it had no light and why it was in a tank full of water and she reptiled "its a water monitor,water and crickets is all it needs to live,no lights.When she told me that,I GOT REALY MAD!!!I realy wanted to buy that poor nile but I didnt have enough money with me.By the way,she wanted $$120$$.I asked her to lower the price and she refused.reptileGOD.

I read this post and started wondering is having a majority of a nile tank water bad for him . it is about 2/3 water and 1/3 large rock for him to bask on . he also has a turtle dock to bask on .

Yes it would be bad, very bad.

Nile monitors (and water monitors - salvators) do have aquatic adapted behaviors and characteristics. However, there is a big difference between using the water and living in the water.

A nile monitor will do better in an enclosure that is all land with a water container on top of the substrate. I suspect this enclosure you mention is an aquarium. Providing a mostly aquatic enclosure with a rock on which to bask is likely to dramatically reduce the lifespan of your nile monitor into terms of months (or less).

A better setup would be to fill the aquarium with dirt, cypress mulch, or both. Put some hide areas in the enclosure. Get a rubbermaid shoebox container, put it in the enclosure, and fill that with water. Your nile will be much happier in that enclosure. If you really want to see him swim around for a while, toss him in the bathtub (taking care not to drown him, boil him, freeze him, or letting him escape).

Keep in mind as well that your nile is likely to outgrow that aquarium very quickly if properly kept.

The same guide can be used for any size enclosure, in case you are not using an aquarium.

To develop an enclosure with a sizeable water area, you will need a very large cage. Otherwise, just stick with providing water in a container of some sort.
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^x^ Bloodbat ^x^
Monitors, monitors everywhere
and all the food they ate.
Monitors, monitors everywhere,
their parents loved to mate.

thanks you for the info i will switch the tank over asap . i had sealed the tank up with aquarium sealant . so in effect it turned into an aquarium . but thanks a lot , i shall switch him into some sort of substrate prolly dirt . i also have a savannah . he is a lot more well taken care of , i know other sav owners so they helped me out with him .

"quickly" outgrow the aquarium... haha, understatement of the year. my nile took about 4 days to outgrow his 20 gallon. it was a "tight, but tolerable" fit the day we put him in there, and after a couple small mice... geex, he was longer (counting tail of course) than the thing. hes already too big for his 40, but his 6x3x4 cage is taking me longer than expected to build.... i've never built a cage before, and i keep reading my OWN measurements wrong. like, getting a 32 inch board cut for 36 inches.... yeh me smart.
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1.3 Dogs (max, tasha, kaya, screw)
1.1 Corn Snakes (Ghost Faced Killa - Ghost, Tigera - normal), 1.0 Yellow Rat (Tornado), 1.0 Tiger Rat, 0.1 Central American Boa Constrictor (Achilla), 1.1 Argentine Boa, 0.1 Burmese Python (Big Bertha), 1.1 Ball Pythons (Dip, Dot).
0.1 Rose Hair Tarantulla (Grumpy) 0.0.1 Usambar Starburst Baboon Tarantula 0.1 White Knee / Zebra Tarantula 0.0.1 Avicular Versicolor
2 ferrets (Otis, Milo)
1.2 Emperor Scorpion
0.0.1 Nile Moniter 0.0.1 Tegu 1.0 Horned Mountain Dragon
Jack Dempsey Tank...