Very informative, Michael, sorry it took me so long to get back to you but I really appreciate all the information. I think that they're just amazing, interesting animals.

Whats the difference between the water & nile moniotr lizard???

I'll let mike chime in here further, but from what I know,
The Water monitor (Varanus salvator) grow from 6' to 9' long, and live from Sri Lanka, India, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula and various islands of Indonesia.

The Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) grow to about 6' to 7' long, and live throughout Africa except for the desert regions.

There are many other differences, but there are also similarities.

Some day I hope to build a enclosure and house one of the two.

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"Nobody can do Everything, but Everybody can do Something."

Huh, yeah I have a hatchling Nile monitor... and was told that there water monitor was just another name for the Nile... On temperment wise are they they same???

As far as I know, nile monitors and water monitors are definitly a different species.
I think whoever told you that, was either misguided, or lying.
From what I found when I first looked into them, the water monitors are a bit more handleable then nile monitors. However, i'm sure there are exceptions.

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"Nobody can do Everything, but Everybody can do Something."

The petstore was wrong.
They are two different species from two different continents.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Michael, what great information! It really DOES put it all into perspective.
Thank-you for the info.

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Just because you have an animal that isnt dead doesnt mean you know how to take care of it

Water monitors are now a complex of species of the subgenus Soterosaurus which include:
Varanus cumingi
Varanus marmoratus
Varanus nuchalis
Varanus togianus
and of course, Varanus salvator, which includes: V. s. salvator, V. andamanensis,V. s bivittatus (most common in captivity), and V. s. macromaculatus.
This complex has the widest distribution of any monitor in South Asia (Sri Lanka and E. India) to southern China (formerly as far north as Hong Kong), as far east as the Philippines and extending southeast just short of Timor. As their name suggests, they are closely tied to the water.
For the latest taxonomic, geographic distribution and other information published on them, see:
Koch, Andre, Auliya, Mark, Schmitz, Andreas, Kuch, Ulrich & Wolfgang Böhme. 2007. Morphological Studies on the Systematics of the Southeast Asian Water Monitors (Varanus salvator Complex): Nomiotypic Populations and Taxonomic Overview. pp. 109-180 in Horn, H-G., W. Böhme and U. Krebs (eds.), Advances in Monitor Research III. Mertensiella 16, Rheinbach.

Nile Monitors are members of the subgenus Polydaedalus and are further divided into a V. niloticus species group. This includes:
Varanus niloticus (Nile Monitor) and
Varanus ornatus (Ornate Monitor- formerly classified as a Nile Monitor)
This species group is found throughout central, eastern and southern Africa. As someone already noted, they are absent from desert areas with the exception of rivers running through the desert. One thing they share with the Varanus salvator Complex is that they are usually close to the water.
For a comprehensive look at their geographical distribution, see:
Bayless, Mark K. 2002. Monitor Lizards: a pan-African check-list of their zoogeography (Sauria: Varanidae: Polypaedalus). Journal of Biogeography. 29: 1643-1701.

I am so getting one when I get a house. What I'm going to do is take the room that is on the other side of the wall in the living room, knock out the center of the wall and put up a large glass panel. Then waterproof the floor and build another floor like 3 or 4 feet above it and make a pool within and the rest land. Complex filter systems and automatic temperature/humidity systems. THE WORKS, no dollar amount will stop me from doing this. Its a dream that must come true LOL!

I'm seriously going do it, but I'm not getting one until it is 100% done. So I'll get one in like 4 years lmao!

Better start saving Dracus. You're going to need to hire a contractor to get that done. Also four years of saving should come close.lol
It would be one sweet enclosure.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa