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Ornate Nile Monitor
The Ornate Nile Monitor usually grows to a maximum length of 6 feet which is slightly shorter than the Nile Monitor. This Lizard has 3 - 5 rows of light coloured markings on its back, compared to 6 – 9 on the dominant Nile Monitor. These markings are cream-coloured or yellow. They also have light-coloured tail bands. The colours fade as the animal mature but are still prominent. Ornate Monitors have a pink tongue whereas the Nile Monitor has a bluish-black tongue. Nile Monitors, like all monitors, use there throat pouch to breathe. By pumping their pouch, they force air into their diaphram, letting them stay active for long periods of time without becoming tired. They have acute eyesight and can even distinguish between people by vision alone. They can spot potential prey, enemies and mates from far away and, like all monitors, see in colour, being able to distinguish more colours than humans. Their most remarkable sense is that of smell. Their probing tongue picks up scent particles from the air, the ground, or another surface, and presses these against a special organ on the roof of their mouths that analyzes the odors collected. Because the tongue is forked, the two tines can pick up scent gradients, and allow the monitor to know which direction the scent is strongest. They use their remarkable sense of smell to find prey, track mates, keep tabs on their neighbors, and warn them of approaching predators. A monitor's sense of hearing is not nearly so acute as that of most people, however. While they are quite sensative to low to mid frequencies, their rage of hearing is nowhere near so broad of that of mammals. They react to sounds in a very different way than mammals - loud sounds that would startle a mammal may be completely ignored by a monitor even though they can hear the sound quite clearly. If they learn to associate a sound with food, however, they will pay close attention when they hear it.
Ornate Nile Monitor
The Ornate Nile Monitor usually grows to a maximum length of 6 feet which is slightly shorter than the Nile Monitor. This Lizard has 3 - 5 rows of light coloured markings on its back, compared to 6 – 9 on the dominant Nile Monitor. These markings are cream-coloured or yellow. They also have light-coloured tail bands. The colours fade as the animal mature but are still prominent. Ornate Monitors have a pink tongue whereas the Nile Monitor has a bluish-black tongue. Nile Monitors, like all monitors, use there throat pouch to breathe. By pumping their pouch, they force air into their diaphram, letting them stay active for long periods of time without becoming tired. They have acute eyesight and can even distinguish between people by vision alone. They can spot potential prey, enemies and mates from far away and, like all monitors, see in colour, being able to distinguish more colours than humans. Their most remarkable sense is that of smell. Their probing tongue picks up scent particles from the air, the ground, or another surface, and presses these against a special organ on the roof of their mouths that analyzes the odors collected. Because the tongue is forked, the two tines can pick up scent gradients, and allow the monitor to know which direction the scent is strongest. They use their remarkable sense of smell to find prey, track mates, keep tabs on their neighbors, and warn them of approaching predators. A monitor's sense of hearing is not nearly so acute as that of most people, however. While they are quite sensative to low to mid frequencies, their rage of hearing is nowhere near so broad of that of mammals. They react to sounds in a very different way than mammals - loud sounds that would startle a mammal may be completely ignored by a monitor even though they can hear the sound quite clearly. If they learn to associate a sound with food, however, they will pay close attention when they hear it.