Bowser
Bosc's Monitor (Varanus exanthematicus)
About me
| Basic Info | Home: | You know Africa, that big continent south of Europe? We hang out there, it's so lovely and warm in the summer and nice and wet in the winter. I'm from Senegal, which is Western Africa but a few of my mates are from Ethopia, which just goes to show how much we get around. |
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| Size: | I'm 1.5 m long, quite small for a Savannah monitor (our other name) but my dad's around 2m long, which is pretty much as big as you can get. I always say to my dad small is beautiful though – cheeky Monitor! | |
| Favourite foods: | Give me a few snails and I'm a happy camper, we love those snails when the rains come, although that's not all I feast upon, I'm quite a varied eater on the whole. Summer's tough though, food's pretty scarce and I'm seen mates of mine who end up munching themelves because they're so ravenous – must be that 'Eatkins diet' I've heard so much about – ho ho ho! Bosc's Monitors have a cracking sense of humour as well, although I'm sure you guessed that, eh? | |
| Environment: | Savannah areas all the way, relaxing in scrubs and arid grasslands, I'm not really one for scenery to be honest. | |
| Sounds like: | LOW HISSSSSSSSSS. |
| Further Info |
Males of this species are very territorial and will defend their territory aggressively. If two males come together, they will send out threat signals to intimidate each other. If this does not work, they may become intertwined in a wrestling match. They will bite each other and can inflict serious injury upon each other. When cornered by a predator, these monitors will hiss and thrash around before striking. Their alternative strategy is to play dead. When a male finds a mate he will follow her around relentlessly. Courting begins with a head nodding by the male and occasionally biting and scratching the female’s neck and legs. The breeding season occurs during the rainy season (the same as their feasting season). Hatching success is a perfect score – 100%! Savannah monitors use their tongue to sense their environment when they are out during the day, around 20-40 times every 2 minutes. This helps them find their injured prey more easily. |
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| Useful links |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah_monitor |