Scaly friends count too.
Savannah Monitor
Varanus exanthematicus
Also called Bosc's Monitor, Steppenwaran
From Sub-Saharan West and Central Africa, from Senegal and Mauritania east to Sudan, Kenya and Uganda. It lives in savanna, open woodland, forest edges and rocky dry country, but not in rainforest or true desert, and shelters in burrows.123
At a glance the quick version
Looks how to spot one
Large beaded scales, stocky monitor
A thick-set monitor with short, strong legs, a broad head and a tail flattened from side to side with a double ridge on top. The body is grey to brown with rows of pale yellowish spots edged in dark, the tail is ringed in brown and yellowish bands, and the underside is light. Its tongue is blue, and its blunt, peg-like back teeth are built for cracking shells.31
Personality what they are like
Not tame by nature, but with regular, patient handling during its first year many savannah monitors become quite docile. They value privacy, so hides at both ends of the enclosure help them feel secure. Like any large lizard, it is best not to startle them.45
Daily activity how busy a day looks
Active by day and a dedicated burrower that spends hot or cool spells underground. It needs a large floor area and a deep, diggable substrate to explore.35
Grooming and care the hands-on bits
Mist the substrate about twice a day to hold humidity, and give 10-12 hours of light daily including UVB. Provide hides on both the warm and the cool end.54
Home where they are happiest
Adults need roughly 240 x 120 x 90 cm (8 x 4 x 3 ft); a rule of thumb is an enclosure about twice the monitor's length. Provide a soil-based substrate 30-60 cm deep for burrowing. Basking surface about 49 °C, warm side about 35 °C, cool side 27-32 °C and not below about 24 °C at night. Humidity around 50-60%.5
Food basics what goes in the bowl
A carnivore. In the wild it eats mainly invertebrates such as snails, millipedes, centipedes, scorpions and crickets, plus the odd frog or egg, and youngsters are almost entirely insect-eaters. In captivity it is fed insects and some whole prey; juveniles eat daily and adults two to three times a week.135
Company who they like around
A solitary lizard that should be kept on its own. Males are territorial in the wild.53
The story where it all began
The French naturalist Louis Bosc described the species in 1792, which is why it is called Bosc's monitor in much of Europe. Its scientific name refers to the large, blister-like scales on the back of the neck. It became the most widely traded monitor lizard, making up almost half of the international trade in live monitors.12
Fun facts for the dinner table
- 1
Its blunt, rounded rear teeth are made for crushing snail shells.1
- 2
Its teeth are replaced roughly every 109 days.1
- 3
In the wet season one can eat up to a tenth of its own body weight in a single day.3
- 4
Females can lay 20-50 eggs, sometimes inside termite mounds, and the eggs take five to six months to hatch.3
- 5
It has a striking blue tongue that it flicks constantly to read its surroundings.3
Recognised by the official bits
- IUCN Red List
- Least Concern.1
- The Reptile Database
- Accepted species Varanus exanthematicus (Bosc, 1792).2
The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you
A typical home-care rhythm for a Savannah Monitor. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.
- Fresh waterevery day
- Temperature checkCheck the warm and cool endsevery day
- Spot cleanevery day
- FeedingHow often depends on species and agevaries
- SupplementsCalcium and vitamin dusting as your vet recommendsas your vet recommends
- UVB bulb changeMany UVB bulbs fade before they stop glowing, follow the maker's adviceevery 6 months
- Weigh inevery month
- Full cleanevery month
- Vet check-upFind a vet who sees exotic petsevery year
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Where this comes from
Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
- Savannah monitor - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.orgused for names, range, size, appearance, wild diet, taxonomy, etymology, IUCN status, trade, fun facts
- Varanus exanthematicus - The Reptile Database reptile-database.reptarium.czused for names, distribution, describer, etymology
- Varanus exanthematicus - Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.orgused for length, captive lifespan, habitat, behaviour, diet, colours, reproduction
- Savannah Monitors - Melissa Kaplan's Herp Care Collection anapsid.orgused for wild size and weight, lifespan, handling and taming, hides
- Savannah Monitor Care - Reptile Direct reptiledirect.comused for size, weight, lifespan, enclosure, substrate, temperatures, humidity, lighting, feeding schedule, social, temperament
Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.