Keeping and Care Guide for the Earless Monitor Lizard: Breeding Methods and Husbandry Management Key Points

SummaryBuild a rearing environment: set up a living environment of a relatively large size with good ventilation. Ensure the required temperature: the temperature must be kept above 35°C. Provide sufficient light: install ultraviolet lamps in the living environment. Feed the food: feed small earless monitor lizards crickets, insects, earthworms, small mice and other foods; feed medium to large earless monitor lizards liver, white mice, meat, chicken and duck and other foods, and at the same time they can be fed with fresh vegetables and fruits.

1. Build the rearing environment

1. Earless monitor lizards are all relatively large in size, so to keep one at home, you must first build a living environment of a relatively large size with good ventilation.

2. The cage for keeping an earless monitor lizard must be relatively sturdy; generally the length of the cage should be 2.5 times the body length of the earless monitor lizard. The environment inside the cage needs to be ventilated and breathable and not too stuffy. If conditions permit, an independent and spacious room can be prepared for keeping the earless monitor lizard.

2. Ensure the required temperature

1. Most earless monitor lizards in nature live in tropical regions, and for at least 10 hours every day the ambient temperature is above 38°C, so the environment for home-kept earless monitor lizards should be warmed appropriately, and the temperature of the entire rearing environment should be kept above 35°C as far as possible.

2. Usually several incandescent lamps can be installed in the living environment of the earless monitor lizard, which can provide light and at the same time raise the temperature.

3. Provide sufficient light

1. Because the earless monitor lizard is a cold-blooded animal, it needs light to raise its body temperature, thereby making its movements more nimble. Generally, the ultraviolet rays in sunlight are relatively important to the earless monitor lizard. By exposure to ultraviolet rays, the earless monitor lizard can synthesize vitamin D3 in its skin, and vitamin D3 promotes the absorption of calcium.

2. If home keeping cannot give the earless monitor lizard sufficient light, then several ultraviolet lamps need to be installed in the living environment of the earless monitor lizard, which helps meet the earless monitor lizard's need for ultraviolet rays.

4. Feed the food

1. The foods the earless monitor lizard likes to eat mainly include small animals and vegetables. If a small earless monitor lizard is kept at home, it can be fed crickets, insects, earthworms, small mice and other foods.

2. For medium to large earless monitor lizards, they need to be fed liver, white mice, meat, chicken and duck, and at the same time can be fed with fresh vegetables and fruits, which helps ensure that the earless monitor lizard's food has comprehensive and high-quality nutrition.

5. Morphological characteristics

1. The earless monitor lizard is relatively large in size; the head-body length is about 150mm, and the tail length is about 2 times the head-body length. The back and belly are relatively flat, with no crest scales. The back of the trunk and limbs is grayish brown. The body of the earless monitor lizard is grayish brown on the back, with orange-red round spots distributed on it, and there are black and orange-red patterns on the sides of the belly.

2. Males are densely covered with bright orange-yellow, or orange-red eye spots rimmed with black rings; in females these are not so obvious, and the sides of the body show irregular horizontal stripes of alternating dark and light.

3. The ventral surface of males is milky yellow, and the ventral surface of females is grayish white. The limbs are relatively strong and the claws are well developed. The tail is cylindrical, broad and flat at the base, and whip-like at the end. Generally there are 13-18 femoral pores on each side.