Reptiles · Squamata · Varanidae

Savanna Monitor

Varanus exanthematicus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The savannah monitor is a robust, short-snouted monitor lizard of the African savannahs, specialised in hard-shelled prey: beetles, millipedes, snails and scorpions, which it crushes with blunt teeth. It is one of the most heavily exported reptiles in the world for the pet trade, with hundreds of thousands of animals a year.

Weight

1.5 kg – 5 kg

Size

80 cm – 1.5 m

Lifespan

15 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

SavannaDesertGrasslandCarnivore Diurnal Solitary Reptile Savanna Desert Grassland

43countries 68parks6same family

Fun facts

Its teeth are blunt and flattened rather than sharp, adapted to crushing the shells of beetles, snails and millipedes instead of tearing flesh, a clear case of specialisation within a group of generalist predators.
It is one of the most heavily exported reptiles on the planet: hundreds of thousands of animals leave Ghana, Togo and Benin each year for the pet trade, most of them caught in the wild.
It aestivates through the dry season: it buries itself in a burrow and lowers its metabolism until the rains return, going months without eating.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)
Habitat & environment: Savannah, thorn scrub and open woodland of the Sudanian belt of Africa
Sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation / incubation: 160 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 30 eggs

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varanus_exanthematicus