hey,i need an opinion

[ghostweasel2k]

hi,i rescued a very young nile monitor.its set up in a 50 gal long tank.ive had it since november.he/she doesnt really eat alot.it just hides alot.sometimes when i put food in there,it doesnt even touch its food.the temp is about 90 -95 in there,& the humidity is at about 80-85 percent.am i doin anything wrong?

[crocdoc]

I hate to say this, but it doesn't sound like you've rescued anything. You've just taken a Nile monitor from one person offering bad conditions to another offering it bad conditions.

Okay, now that I've slapped your wrist (sorry, but I hate it when people say they've 'rescued' something when they aren't really sure how to look after it themselves) here's what you need to do.

1. ditch the aquarium and build it a front opening enclosure with no holes on top. Holes on top let out heat and humidity and you can't put holes in the side of an aquarium.

2. Have a basking light in your new front opening enclosure that offers a surface temperature (not air temperature) of around 120F. Have the basking area to one side so that there is a gradient in temperature. The air temperature away from the basking spot should be around 80F, going down to 70-75F in the coolest part.

3. Put a deep layer of dirt, or leaf litter mixed with dirt, in the bottom of the enclosure. Keep this humid, but not wet.

4. offer a large water dish, large enough for the monitor to completely soak in. Make sure it can climb out of it (no steep walls)

5. Fill the enclosure with cage 'furniture': half logs, bits of bark, things for it to crawl on, into and, most importantly, under. To hide.

6. Do not handle it. Leave it alone. Leave the food in there in a dish while you are away during the day.

[ghostweasel2k]

thank you for your advice.its ok to slap me on the wrists..ive had worst .i do have a savannah monitor,that ive had fer about 3yrs.i just didnt know much about niles.any suggestions on the depth of the substrate?

[crocdoc]

The depth of the substrate depends on the size of the monitor. It should be at least as deep as the monitor's snout vent length.

[SHvar]

Aquariums are not suitable caging for most monitors, and with the dwarf species that they can be used with, the aquarium needs adapted to make it useful to them. First almost all aquariums (of any size) are too narrow, too short, too shallow. Its is alot easier to build a suitable cage from the start with plywood, FRP, adhesive, plexiglas, etc.
The cage needs depth (for dwarfs about a foot is good, the more the better). They need a range of temperatures and humidities, this is accomplished with the light being on one far end and deep useable substrate such as dirt. The temps should range from around room temperature (68f) to around 90f (ambient or air temps). If there is enough space and substrate depth the humidity will almost regulate itself.
The basking temps (very important) have to be around 130f and much higher with some monitors (some like it higher). Accomplish this with a low watt flood bulb mounted about 6-12 inches from the basking surface (plywood works great).
Niloticus are semi-aquatic, they need to be able to swim, but can make due with water to soak. These are not handling lizards, they need privacy, and are afraid of humans, they are famous for biting and scratching wildly (normal for this species).
They normally will eat like bottomless pits when healthy. Adapting an aquarium requires a solid top (dig a ditch and bury the screen top, they kill more reptiles in captivity than almost anything else). Screen tops on aquariums create conditions like an electric dehydrator or jerky machine (convection). Simple test, place a piece of meat in the cage as set up, check it at the end of the day, if jerky, it tells you that your lizard is suffering the same fate but slower, if it sits and stays moist it shows that the cage holds humidity.