After some info on Nile Lizards and others

[Bengoodall]

Right, I know I could look it up, but I like to share my life with you all here, its kind of my internet blog, but Im not that gay as to have one of those.

(no offence to any gay lads around)

Ok, my neighbour has in his house, a python, which is pale yellow and white, and about 6 foot long, a lizard I thought looked alittle like a chamaeleon (sp), a tarantula, and what he called a nile lizard.

Its the first time anyone else has ever held the Nile Lizard, and I was just after a few bits and pieces on them, just out of interest.

 

[donga666]

I once stood on a Blue Tongued Skink in Western Australia, it was very unhappy and bit me (they are BIG buggers).

But there ends my lizard experience

Sorry!

 

[Sand Rat]

Is it one of these buggers?

http://www.honoluluzoo.org/monitor_lizards.htm

 

[demonherald]

Tere are several lizards sold as Nile Lizards.....
Most Probably one of the monitor Lizards..Water or lace.. They\'re not the best pets get to around 6Ft including tail and have a bad attitude as they grow..
The tail acts like a whip for defensive purposes bu makes some pretty impressive offensive welts if it whips.. The Jaws are powerful.They feed on small animals and eggs as well as any rubbish scraps they can find making wild ones nasty as they carry infections in their saliva. The teeth are sharp many and the jaws powerful..I had one latched to my wrist for about an hour I had to hold it underwater untilit eventually let go left a neat little scar on my wrist and bruised like a bitch..
But the biggest danger are the damn claws..They are like daggers and combined with the powerful legs they scratch and cut like nothing else..

in short not the friendliest of lizards and not the greatest pet...I know a few breeders here who keep them and would say differently but definitely not a pet for the faint hearted....

 

[Bengoodall]

Steelcult, its the top pic, exactly the same as the one on the right.

Its about 3 feet long, and he says its agressive, but only cause he hits it.

I picked it up, held its head, stroked its back, and it all but went to sleep in my arms.

 

[treide]

Aren\'t these in the same family as Komodo dragons? From what I understand, they are very effective predators. Their mouths are full of bacteria, and apparently their favorite hunting tactic is to bite something and let go, then wait for the prey to die from the bite infection and then eat the corpse later. Yummy!

We have a collared lizard that likes to frequent our backyard:

http://www.desertusa.com/aug97/du_blcollizard.html

I have yet to get a good picture of it because it is too damn fast!

 

[Roger Bunting]

Thankfully the Komodo is the only one in the monitor lizard family that has the bacteria. It\'s developed from eating carrion. They don\'t have it when they\'re very young.

 

[Bengoodall]

So this is just un petit bete at the moment?

I did get one of its teeth, it bite down on a pen, and crushed it, so I wasnt about to stick my hand anywhere near its mouth, but it broke a tooth, and thats pretty big, maybe about the size of a cat fang, but not curved or as sharp.

 

[doomsayer]

Nile monitors are extremely aggressive, as are most monitor lizards. They are not good pets unless you have a very large cage or want a show pet rather than a tame pet you can handle. Most people buy exotic reptiles because they look cool, not usually planning on having a pet that can grow to be 6+ feet long, require vast amounts of space and large quantities of food. Thats why they have outlawed many of the larger exotics, like crocodilians and very large snakes like anacondas, snapping turtles, pirhanas and garrs in California, because idiots get these cool little pets then let them go in our waterways when they get too large to handle.

 

[Bengoodall]

This ones not too bad, apart from when andre hits it trying to get it to calm down.

But he obviously wasnt to bothered by me, cause I sat him in my lap, stroked him, and he went to sleep.

But you have to register them here apparently, so the mayor knows all about them etc, and hes got a nice big cage.