Jack the Ornate "Nile"

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Originally Posted by SwampDonkey

Melody, not to be mean, but you have no business giving advice to others about keeping monitors. You bought a baby and are keeping it in the worst possible enclosure. If you actually knew anything about them you wouldn't be keeping him in an aquarium on newspaper.
Did you do any research at all? Ive seen advice given to you on this forum. Did you just blow it off? If so then I wouldn't worry about how big he could eventually get....

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I must say you are very rude. I dont know how many times ive said that i am currently working on his enclosure, Im sorry that i need to keep him in a temp because i cant pull out a finshed enclosure out of thin air like you can. Also, the substrate is NOT newspaper, so maybe you should get the facts first. As for the research, as a matter of fact i have been researching monitors for a very long time now, thats the only reason i finally decided to get one. I mean seriously do you even know me? Have you been to my house to see the enclosure im working on, or the care and time i put in to all of my animals? Have you watch me through the months and years of research and personal experience ive had? The answer is no, therefore you have every right to give me advice and ask questions if you think i might be doing something wrong however you have no right to sit hear and constantly flame me on the terrible job i am doing. This post was just so i can share pics of my monitor with anybody who cares to see him, not so i can be ripped on. So if you have any other problems or complants about me, do me a favor and pm me instead of flooding my posts. Thank you.

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Originally Posted by Melody

I must say you are very rude. I dont know how many times ive said that i am currently working on his enclosure, Im sorry that i need to keep him in a temp because i cant pull out a finshed enclosure out of thin air like you can. Also, the substrate is NOT newspaper, so maybe you should get the facts first. As for the research, as a matter of fact i have been researching monitors for a very long time now, thats the only reason i finally decided to get one. I mean seriously do you even know me? Have you been to my house to see the enclosure im working on, or the care and time i put in to all of my animals? Have you watch me through the months and years of research and personal experience ive had? The answer is no, therefore you have every right to give me advice and ask questions if you think i might be doing something wrong however you have no right to sit hear and constantly flame me on the terrible job i am doing. This post was just so i can share pics of my monitor with anybody who cares to see him, not so i can be ripped on. So if you have any other problems or complants about me, do me a favor and pm me instead of flooding my posts. Thank you.

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Still working on the enclosure? Thats poor husbandry. Sorry, but you shouldn't be giving any kind of advice.
What part of your "monitor research" said it would be ok to put the animal in a screen top aquarium? It doesn't work that way. People who do research tend to use the knowledge. And no I dont know you or anything about the enclosure you've been working on for a month. If you did SO Much research for SO long, why didnt you finish the enclosure before buying the animal? It doesn't make sense.
All you've shown is that you have no concept of proper monitor husbandry, its scary that someone would take your advice. You SHOULDN'T do that. Sorry if you think its rude, but im more concerned about the animals than your feelings.

While sometimes Monitor keepers phrase things rather bluntly, there is a point to what is being said. When acquiring an animal such as a Nile/Ornate Monitor, at the very least, a sub-adult enclosure should have been ready before taking the animal into your possession.

I don't know if you realize this or not, but they grow at a very rapid pace under good conditions. Using substrates such as newspaper or paper towels will lead to toe/toenail/tail loss. It is also bad for their respiratory system and they will become very dehydrated. Especially with the basking spot they require.

With so much poor/misinformation already going around about Monitors, I can see why someone might be concerned over someone giving advice that isn't following the suggestions they are giving others.

Not to mention, even a VERY aggressive Iguana isn't in the same realm as a "puppy dog tame" Nile/Ornate Monitor. These animals can cause some serious damage. Suggesting a Savannah or especially a Water Monitor as a beginner species isn't advisable either. I wouldn't consider a room sized enclosure the only drawback listed for keeping Water Monitors.

Anyway, I hope you get Jack everything he needs and he does well for you. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't a greater responsibility in the reptile world than a very large, 99% of the time aggressive and unpredictable Nile/Ornate Monitor. Good luck, he's very cute.

Looking good! Looking forward to new setup pics!

Well, Heres the thing: That enclosure isnt even sorta ok to keep a baby monitor in, they die in screen-top aquariums. And yes she was told over a month before her last post and said "im working on a new enclosure" which is what everyone says when asked about a sub-par enclosure. But from what Ive seen, she only wants to hear about how cute it is and not worry about providing it with the conditions that keep it alive. Typical.
The offer to give advice really blew me away though. Scary.

Hey, how about some pics of the new enclosure you're working on? Not sure what you're building but it'd be interesting to see some pictures on the "in progress" cage.

My monitors are all in custom built enclosures. The experianced keepers are right, if you did your research in monitors beforehand, why didn't you have the proper enclosure FIRST then get the animal? It's not as if they are rare and hard to find for sale.

That said, when I got my first one, I kept her in a tank temporaily. But I also made the tank as close to a proper enclosure as possible. I.E. I put in dirt and closed off the lid except for the basking bulb so that I could keep the proper temps and some humidity. Proper hide spots and a basking spot are NEEDED for a monitor, even for a temp set up. Even a temp cage should provide a proper environment. You don't want to stress your pet while it's waiting for the new cage.

Prepare yourself for a tail whipping, poop shooting monstrosity, with very sharp teeth... lol...

I have been pooped on by so many monitors it is ridiculous, I am not familiar with ornate monitors but I know that Nile Monitors are poop spraying machines, they can literally aim it at you... Ever see a 5 foot Nile Monitor spray chunky urates and liquid feces into someones face??? That sounds like a downside to monitor ownership to me... But if you take good care of em they can be really rewarding pets, they just require insane dedication and care...

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Originally Posted by Ham

Prepare yourself for a tail whipping, poop shooting monstrosity, with very sharp teeth... lol...

I have been pooped on by so many monitors it is ridiculous, I am not familiar with ornate monitors but I know that Nile Monitors are poop spraying machines, they can literally aim it at you... Ever see a 5 foot Nile Monitor spray chunky urates and liquid feces into someones face??? That sounds like a downside to monitor ownership to me... But if you take good care of em they can be really rewarding pets, they just require insane dedication and care...

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Its an Ornate, Niles are different critters indeed. And I do believe the owner of this monitor wont have to worry about what it will be like at 5ft, or 2ft for that matter. These people buy a lizard because its cute, put it in a fish tank so they can see how cute it is, join a forum to show off how cute their lizard is, then shrug off any suggestions related to keeping it alive.
And then there's the old "yeah, im building a really great enclosure just as soon as he outgrows this one" even though the animal will die before he outgrows his fishtank, All too common, and the reason why 99.99% of these "cute" lizards die in 3 months.

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Originally Posted by SwampDonkey

Its an Ornate, Niles are different critters indeed. And I do believe the owner of this monitor wont have to worry about what it will be like at 5ft, or 2ft for that matter. These people buy a lizard because its cute, put it in a fish tank so they can see how cute it is, join a forum to show off how cute their lizard is, then shrug off any suggestions related to keeping it alive.
And then there's the old "yeah, im building a really great enclosure just as soon as he outgrows this one" even though the animal will die before he outgrows his fishtank, All too common, and the reason why 99.99% of these "cute" lizards die in 3 months.

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A sad but very true aspect of this hobby. But you forgot the "gotta watch it kill" aspect... lot of keepers get these awesome animals for all the wrong reasons.

Chris

Hi Melody, just wondering how the new Ornate Nile is doing? Named him yet?