Varanus griseus (Daudin, 1803)

Adult Base Coloration

Desert monitors (Varanus griseus) typically show a range of body coloration from light brown and yellow to grey.

Adult Body Size

They average about 1 meter in total body length, and can reach up to almost 2 meters.

Body Patterning

Many individuals have horizontal bands on the back or tail, plus yellow spots across the back. Juvenile desert monitors are usually a bright, vivid orange with distinctive bands on the back, and these bands may fade or disappear as the lizards mature.

Snout Nostril Position

Their nostrils are slits positioned further back on the snout, closer to the eyes than to the tip of the snout.

Size Variation Factors

An individual's overall body size is affected by the available food supply, time of year, environmental climate, and reproductive state. Males are generally larger and more robust than females, and this difference allows easy distinction between the sexes.

Molting Process

Like all lizards, desert monitors go through regular molting, where they shed their outer skin layer to allow for body growth. For adult lizards, each molting process can take several months, and molting happens around three times per year.

Desert Skin Adaptation

Their skin is adapted to the desert environment they inhabit.

Swimming & Foraging

They are excellent swimmers and divers, and have been observed entering water occasionally to hunt for food.

Geographic Distribution

The desert monitor has a wide distribution across many countries and regions: it can be found in Jordan, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Oman, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Palestine, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran (including the Kavir desert), Pakistan, and northwest India. Its type locality is Dardsha, on the coast of the Caspian Sea.

Clutch & Nesting

Desert monitor clutches contain 10 to 20 eggs. After laying eggs, females stay near the nesting area.

Reproduction Timing

Reproduction normally occurs between May and July. Copulation takes place in May and June, and egg-laying generally occurs from the end of June through early July.

Incubation & Hatchlings

Eggs are incubated at temperatures between 29 and 31 °C, and hatch after an average of 120 days. Newly hatched baby desert monitors are around 25 cm in total length.

Juvenile Hibernation Hypothesis

Because juvenile desert monitors are never found before the end of March, researchers hypothesize that young desert monitors may hibernate inside their nest before emerging.