The Zoo is
CLOSED
for the winter season.
Visit us when we
reopen in April 2010.

Black Tree Monitor

Scientific Name:	Varanus beccarii
Range:	Aru Islands off the coasts of New Guinea
Habitat:	Forests, swamps, and mangroves
Natural Diet:	Snails, grasshoppers, beetles, scorpions, bird eggs, fish, other lizards, snakes, birds, and shrews
Zoo Diet:	Mice and crickets
Physical Characteristics:	Adults are black; young are lighter shades of green. They have long, sharp claws and strong jaws. Their teeth are long which helps them hold on to prey. They are about three feet long; two-thirds of their body length is tail.
Behavior:	Black tree monitors spend most of their days in the treetops or swamps, looking for food. When they are threatened, they inflate their neck and hiss at the predator. Sometimes its ribs spread out a little, helping to inflate its body. This makes it appear larger to its enemy. Black tree monitors are also quick and agile and can climb trees easily to escape predators.
Reproduction:	A female lays 7-35 soft-shelled eggs. The young will hatch in eight to ten weeks, using an egg tooth to tear open the egg.
Notes:	Monitors have excellent eyesight. They can sense movement as far as 275 yards away. Similar to snakes, their tongues give them a very good sense of smell. This special sense allows them to find food, a mate, or an enemy.