Description:
Scientific name: Varanus eremius
Life span: Up to 12- 15 years
The rusty desert monitor is around 50 cm long overall. This monitor lizard has a reddish-brown upper body with many, erratically spaced black or deep-brown markings. Its tail has longitudinal stripes that alternate between dark brown color to cream color. At the end of the tail, these stripes are sometimes broken up into irregular patches. The black line from the nose to the eye is quite noticeable.
Native Region/Habitat
The rusty desert monitor is endemic to South Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia. They are found in deserts and dryland environments.
Behavior:
The rusty desert monitor is terrestrial in nature. They love to spend time on the ground and never climb trees. Breeding behavior in the wild and captivity is still not reported. They feed on other small lizards, grasshoppers, and scorpions.
Care As a pet/In captivity:
The rusty desert monitor is seldom kept in captivity. In most of its range, it is protected by law. However, cases of illegally importing rusty desert monitor lizards have been reported.
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