About
Animal Facts
Common Name:
Spiny-tailed Monitor
Scientific Name:
Varanus acanthurus
Behavior:
  • This monitor is a solitary ground dweller active during the day.
  • Rock crevices and burrows are used to retreat from extreme conditions, avoid predators, and as hunting sites.
  • This monitor wedges its spiny tail into rocks so it cannot be pried out by predators.
Diet:
Carnivore
Weight:
11 oz
Length:
2 ft
Life Span:
10 yrs
Gestation Period:
100 days
Number of Young:
5-12 eggs
Habitats:
  • Desert
  • Grassland
  • Rocky Areas
  • Shrubland
Fun Facts:
  • They are also called the ridgetail monitor.
  • About 70 percent of the monitor's water comes from its prey.
  • Their streamlined build allows them to enter and exit rock crevices and burrows with ease.
  • Its tail is up to two times longer than the head and body.
Endangered Status
Endangered Status
  • Extinct in Wild (EW)
  • Critically Endangered (CR)
  • Endangered (EN)
  • Vulnerable (VU)
  • Near Threatened (NT)
  • Least Concern (LC)
  • Not Evaluated (NE)

They are excellent eaters, dining on insects and pinkie mice 3-4 times a week. In their habitat, they enjoy basking on flat rocks and digging burrows.