Australian Ridge-tailed Monitor
(Varanus acanthurus)

There are approximately 27 species of monitor lizards native to Australia.  There they are commonly known as "goannas."  Few are seen on exhibit outside Australia.  One of the smaller species is the ridge-tailed monitor, a brightly colored spotted and striped lizard.  They grow to around 20" in length, and unlike most monitors who have thin, whip-like tails, these lizards have a stout, spiny-scaled tails.  This species is native to the northern, desert areas of Australia, where it lives and hides amongst rocks and large boulders.

They love to bask in the sun, and will only retreat to the shady areas during the hottest part of the Australian summer day.  Nighttime temperatures can be considerably cooler.  This species, if provided with a large habitat in captivity, may live compatibly in mixed-sex groups with more than one adult male.  Females lay from 5-8 eggs, with an incubation period of 80-90 days.  Newly hatched babies will be around 4" in length.  These monitors are insect-eaters, and will relish mealworms, crickets, waxworms, and pinkie mice.  The KCC is one of the few zoos in North American to exhibit this species.