Hi all

I was reading up about captive monitor care, not out wanting to get one, just out of curiosity for these lizards. I've seen numerous Nile Monitors or as we call them, Leguaans, in the wild and I even came across a bunch of babies at a lagoon once. I caught one and took some pics then let it go. Sadly a pc crash resulted in me losing the pictures.

Whilst reading the various posts and care sheets, I noticed that people mention basking spots of 150 deg F wich is about 65 deg C. I was wondering why they need such high temps, because I just can't see a Leguaan ever finding temps like that in the South African bush. Is it for digestion, or is it to compensate for something missing in captivity. I'm not trying to say that you guys are wrong, from what I've seen it works, I was just curious why they need such really high temps.

As a side note, I can't wait for summer so I can do some herping, hopefully I'll be able to get some pics of wild Monitors, Puff Adders, and my main goal a wild Afroc!