Timor Monitor Lizard
The Timor Monitor Lizard is one of the small lizards found in Indonesia’s Timor and nearby islands. It is very active during the day and prefers to live mostly in warm and forested areas. The body is thin, and if we talk about its tongue, neck, and tail, it is long, and its head is quite pointed. They like to roam free sometimes in rocky areas sometimes in forests and sometimes in bushes because they are looking for their food.
Quick Facts and Overview of Timor Monitor Lizard:
- Scientific Name: Varanus timorensis
- Common Name: Timor Monitor
- Weight: 100-200 grams
- Length: 21-24 inches
Habitat and Range of Timor Monitor Lizard:
This lizard mostly likes to live in dense forests, and it likes hot places. It also prefers to live in rocky places like rock walls because it likes to be free and moves around in search of its food. They prefer to live mostly in trees, occasionally spending time on the ground, moving to forests or rocky areas when deforestation increases. If we talk about its range, it lives on the island of Timor in Indonesia and its surrounding islands, and due to its limited habitat, it is usually found in some parts of Indonesia.
Behavior and Temperament:
These Timor monitor lizards are mostly active during the day and do most of their work during the day they like to stay hidden i.e. trees, shrubs, and rocks as their hiding place and they are very shy As soon as they feel that any danger is coming towards them or if they are threatened by something, they hide immediately.
And if we talk about their temperament, they find it difficult to get along with humans or we can say that they find it very difficult to get along with human hands and when they are caught, different types Uses and resists tactics. They resist and use a variety of tactics, one of which is to use their long tail as a weapon.
Breeding:
Timor monitors lizard mating process, which takes place mostly in hot and humid places where the temperature and humidity suit them. This situation occurs in Indonesia during the rainy season. After mating, the female lizard prefers to lay her eggs in a place where there is soil or soft ground where she can safely lay her eggs and stay safe in the egg. A female Timor monitor usually lays three to 11 eggs, and these eggs require moisture to develop properly.
What foods are safe and healthy for a Timor monitor lizard?
The safest and healthiest foods for the Timor Monitor Lizard are small animals that it can easily digest. If you want, you can feed them small insects like mealworms and crickets and feed them boiled eggs as protein and you have to take care to provide them with clean water Water should be given in the vessel and that vessel should also be clean.
The housing of Timor Monitor Lizard:
If you bring your Timor Monitor Lizard home with you, you will need to take care of its housing so that you and your pet can bond well. Here Some Steps:
Enclosure and Decoration Setup:
The size of the Timor Monitor Lizard’s enclosure should be about four feet long, two feet wide, and two feet high. And if it gets bigger, it will be better for it. If you want, you can also use a glass terrarium with a lid. You can decorate it in such a way that you make a place to hide inside it, make a place to climb, plant plants, etc., and take care that the plants are non-toxic, this will increase the beauty of the enclosure and Stealth will find a place to hide.
Substrate:
The substrate is where the lizard lives, so make sure you provide it with a good substrate that retains moisture and is comfortable for it. A good substrate for them is coconut shavings, sometimes you can add leaves and if you want, you can take some sand and mix it into the soil and they can use it as well. So it will be proved quite easily.
Benefits of Humidity and Temperature:
These play a very important role for them. The temperature is very beneficial for their digestion and helps them digest food and the humidity is very beneficial for their skin. It helps in shedding their skin.
How much Humidity and Temperature do they need?
To use this correctly, you want to keep the temperature around thirty-three/thirty-five degrees Celsius so that they can get heat in there. The rest of the tank can be kept up to about twenty-five/twenty-eight degrees Celsius. If we talk about humidity, you should try to keep the humidity in the tank or cage around sixty to seventy-three percent which is quite helpful for them.
Benefits of Lighting and Heating:
Just as heat and light are necessary for humans, these things are also necessary for them and they have a profound effect on their lives. If we talk about the benefits of heat, it improves their digestive system and they digest food easily the daily activities that happen to them are very beneficial and if we talk about light, light is also very important for them. Often, lizards are deficient in vitamin D and calcium, so this is compensated by light.
How much Heat and Light do they need?
In the place where the monitor lizard lives, i.e. a tank, you have to keep the temperature between 32 and 35 degrees Celsius, where they can get heat. If we talk about lighting, they need UVB light, if you want, provide them light for about 11 to 12 hours a day.
Price and Cost of Timor Monitor Lizard:
Its price depends on its size and breed. Here are some prices that differ for different sizes.
- BabyPrice: Around $100 to $200.
- Young Price: Around $200 to $350.
- Adult Price: Around $350 to $550.
LifeSapn of Timor Monitor Lizard:
In the Wild:
Their life span is about 10 to 15 years in the natural environment because they are not properly cared for and fall victim to predators, sometimes they die due to lack of food and diseases.
In the Captivity:
When they live in captivity, they live for about 20 to 25 years because they are properly cared for, fed on time, and treated for their diseases, due to which they live long lives.
Conclusion:
We have told you what to feed your Timor monitor lizard as they like small mice in their diet how to prepare an enclosure setup for them and how to plant plants inside whatever decorations you want to do. Whether or not to build a walkable space inside it and what its temperature should be, how lighting and heating should be used inside it, and also tell you how to handle it.
