Origin
The savanna monitor (Varanus exanthematicus) is part of the family Varanidae, genus Varanus. It is native to Africa and the countries in which it lives are many: Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda, Congo.
The species also known in Europe as Bosc's monitor bears this name due to the scientist Louis Bosc, who first described the species.
Foreign names: English: African Savannah Monitor, French: Varan des savanes, German: Steppenvaran, Spanish: Varano de sabana.
It is also known as Bosc's monitor.
Savanna Monitor feed
The Savannah monitor feeds almost exclusively on arthropods and mollusks.
The diet includes small animals (no older than two months), crickets, scorpions, anfbians, etc.
After a certain period adults discover the taste of snails.
Savanna Monitor features
It is an animal with strong but delatively short limbs, with skull and dentition adapted for hunting. It rarely exceeds 1.5 m in length.
Females are somewhat smaller than males. The color of the skin depends on the habitat in which it lives. The scales are large and quite rare. His weight, especially of males is 5-6kg.
The main predators of the Savannah monitor are snakes, birds and humans. One of the natural protections he benefits from and uses very well is camouflage.
He prefers to play dead or run away when in danger, and when cornered he defends himself with powerful tail blows and bites.
Other methods of intimidation are whistling, wagging the tail and hitting the ground hard.
It is not currently a threatened species, but is sought after and hunted for skin, meat and the animal trade. Hundreds of thousands of perhaps 1-2 million specimens have been captured and exported to North America alone in recent years, plus significant undeclared animal trade.
Savannah Monitor breeding
Copulation can last several hours. After almost four weeks of mating, the female lays between 10 and 50 eggs. It will also make a nest in the ground 15-30cm deep.
Some females choose to lay their eggs in termite Burrows (probably because they can dig more easily).
After an incubation period at a temperature of 29-30grc in about 5-6 months the chicks emerge (usually in March). Newborns are 13cm long and weigh 20 grams.
At 4 weeks after birth, the Cubs will start hunting mainly insects on their own.
