Savannah Monitors

These Savannah Monitors are Old World lizards are of the Varanidae family. Their Latin name, Varanus, comes from the Arabic word, waran. Waran, in turn, stems from the superstitious belief that Nile Monitors could warn of the presence of crocodiles. Kind of like how Bilbo's Sting could warn of the presence of Orcs.

These buggers grow up to 7 feet long and have become unwanted residents of S.W. Florida, particularly Sanibel & Captiva Island.

They are aggressive and eat rodents, other reptiles, amphibians, birds, small mammals, insects and eggs from nests they raid. They can swim and burrow and like the Burmese Python, are a major threat to Florida wildlife. 

Ugly Animals - Savannah Monitors






9 comments:

  1. Joseph JGJuly 6, 2011 at 6:38 PM

    Wow, they look incredibly grim and angry. Lazy, too!

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  2. PippykinsFebruary 12, 2012 at 2:23 AM

    ugh... You forgot to mention the part where they make great house pets, mines about as aggressive as a kitten. Any animal can look harsh or angry when you take a picture.

    http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs13/i/2007/009/9/5/Savannah_Monitor__Boo_by_NanoTrev.jpg


    and look what this ones doing with a small girl! so agressive...
    http://www.zootours.ca/pages/ourshows/07.jpg

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  3. AnonymousMarch 1, 2012 at 5:04 PM

    Savannah monitors grow 3.5-4ft and there diets consist and should primarily consist of insects, and no a savannah would not be able to survive in Florida and there are no reports of them as an invasive species

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  4. AnonymousMarch 14, 2012 at 2:38 PM

    You should do an entry about their big cousin, the Komodo Dragon. :)

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  5. AnonymousMay 23, 2012 at 1:08 PM

    Bull crap...agressive...i have like three of em and they are the nicest lizards i have, not as nice as my iggys tho
    an they are meat eaters as well...

    trust me i breed em

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousDecember 13, 2012 at 10:30 PM

    Ugly ???? you must be talkn about yourself esp with that nose, not the cute little savannas. mine is very tame she hangs out with me on the couch. shes very neat and clean smart too.

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  7. AnonymousMay 18, 2013 at 5:50 AM

    Hi, I love looking over your photos and information. I have worked with reptiles in Florida for about 40 years or so. There is one main reason for eveyones negative reaction to your post on the savannah monitor. And the reason is you have got your monitor's mixed up. Like these folks said a well raised Savannah monitor is probaly one of the most mild mannered reptile pets you can own especially from the Varanus group. By the way I think most of the reptiles are cute especially in the veranus family, check this guys black throated monitor.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bno-qsnbUA


    But the one that is causing big problems down here in Florida is the Nile Monitor from North Africa. Sadly one day you will read about a Nile Monitor in Lee County chopping down on some small child. I know they are a terror on dogs, cats but especially the small but very cute burrowing owls.

    http://www.chnep.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/MonitorLizardEradication_CampbellUnivTampa.pdf

    We also have problems with Green Iguana's, Spiny Tail Iguana's, and Some Tegus in more southern florida. Plus of course some problems with a few big snakes. oherwise please keep up the very nice work you have been doing.

    Thanks - Andy

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  8. KLCMApril 7, 2016 at 9:13 AM

    Anyone can post false information over the internet. It's sad because this is what people base their information from now. This is why we cannot own certain reptiles anymore. The ultimate enemy of reptiles is uneducated people!!

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  9. AnonymousMay 3, 2016 at 11:48 PM

    Wow. Savannah monitors are as tame as puppies. And they dont grow up to seven feet long. they get to four or five at most...

    ReplyDelete