Dumeril’s monitors

(Varanus dumerilii)
hail from Southeast
Asia. This juvenile
exhibits the usual
brilliant coloration.

42 r e p t i l e s m a g a z i n e • m a r c h , 2 0 0 4
 by mark k. bayless and ben aller
IN 1839, German naturalist Hermann Schlegel named the Dumeril’s
monitor after his colleague, French physician, anatomist and the
greatest taxonomic herpetologist of his day, Andre-Marie-Constant
Dumeril. Dr. Salomon Muller, an ornithologist, collected the first
specimen (holotype) in Banjarmasin, south Borneo.
Distribution and
Taxonomic History
This species occurs in the extreme south
of Tenasserim, India; the Mergui Archipel-
ago of Myanmar; peninsular Malaysia;
Sumatra; Batu Islands; Banka; Beliton;
Java; Singapore; Trang Province, Thailand;
Vietnam; Laos and Borneo.
In 1885, Dr. George A. Boulenger as-
signed all monitor lizards to the genus
Varanus. In 1892, he described what he be-
lieved to be a subspecies of V. dumerilii, as-
signing the name V. d. heteropholus. Dr.
Charles Hose collected this subspecies in
1891 at Mount Dulit, near the Berram River
in Sarawak. The primary difference between
the two forms was that the subspecies had a
different number of dorsal scales.
Later — 101 years later, to be exact, in
1993 — Robert Sprackland examined the
holotype collected by Hose. He compared
other museum specimens, as well as live
animals, and came to the conclusion that
Dr. Boulenger had erred in his 1892 assess-
ment. Sprackland relegated V. d. heteropho-
lus to junior synonymy status of V. dumerilii.
So today there is only one recognized
species: Varanus dumerilii (Schlegel, 1839).
Other names for this monitor throughout
its range include “black jungle monitor”
from Thailand, “Biawak Kudong” from
Malaysia, and “Phut” from Myanmar. In
North America, it is known as the “brown
roughneck monitor.”
Habitat Description
The jungles of Malaysia, Sarawak, Bor-
neo, Sumatra and Java are hot, humid, wet
and wetter depending on the month of the
year. More than four-fifths of the area of
this region lies within 10 degrees of the
equator. The great vastness of area occu-
pied by salt water and the fact that (except
for Borneo) no part of the land is further
than 125 miles from the coast, gives this
OPPOSITE: ZIG LESZCZYNSKI
region some unique characteristics.
At Pontianak, Borneo, the average tem-
perature is 80 degrees Fahrenheit; the vari-
ation from month to month is minimal,
hardly marking a change across the sea-
sons. At Pontianak, the temperature ex-
tremes rarely change more than a 13-de-
gree range. Rainfall is the most variable as-
pect of this region’s climate, with monsoon
rains reaching 166 inches (13.8 feet) or
more! However, most monsoon rains reach
15 inches a year in the jungles, forests and
beaches where V. dumerilii lives. Humidity
is high and gives rise to the hot, sticky heat
many reptiles enjoy in this jungle realm.
Varanus dumerilii seems well-suited for
semi-aquatic, land and arboreal habitation.
This diurnal lizard can be found in man-
grove swamps, tidal creeks and pools,
evergreen flora, secondary jungles, under
tree bark many feet above the jungle floor
and on oil palm estates. This varanid has
been found as high as 3,960 feet above sea
level in Thailand.
When threatened or scared, they may re-
treat into the sea, open water or up a tree. It
is not surprising to find this varanid partially
or entirely submerged in water. Varanus
dumerilii, like V. mertensi and V. rudicollis,
have watertight nasal valves that can shut
water out entirely from their nares (nostrils).
Although adult V. dumerilii average 3 to
4 feet in length, this species has been
known to grow larger. In 1995, Mark mea-
sured a deceased male specimen that had a
snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 24.2 inches
and a tail length of 34.2 inches, giving it a
total length of 58.4 inches. At that time,
Mark thought that this was the largest
known specimen. In 2000, however, he dis-
covered an even larger specimen of 87.6-
inch total length, with a 16.4-inch tail
length! This huge specimen (FMNH
#223194) resides in the Field Museum of
Natural History, Chicago specimen collec-
tions in the Department of Herpetology.
Dumeril Diet
Using their long forked tongues, varanids
have a sort of stereo-smell instrument, able
to discern the slightest source of food, dead
or alive, in their humid habitat. Wild speci-
mens prey on crustaceans, land hermit
crabs, mollusks, insects, fish, scorpions, ro-
dents and ants; they also consume garbage.
In captivity, Dumeril’s monitors will ac-
cept any of the previously mentioned ani-
mals, especially crabs and crayfish (whole
freshwater species are fine). Their teeth
are long, recurved and well-designed for
piercing the carapace of salt- or freshwater
crabs. Hatchlings and young varanids will
accept small insects and pieces of fresh
fish, shrimp or crab. When serving shell-
fish, always make sure it is fresh and thor-
oughly washed before feeding it to any rep-
tile, mammal, bird or human.
Feed adult and juvenile monitors two to

DAVID NORTHCOTT
three times per week. Vitamin supplements
should be added to cricket dinners, but the
crustacean diets don’t require supplements
When threatened or scared, wild Dumeril’s monitors may retreat into the sea, open water
if you’re offering whole animals. Mix the
or up a tree.
diet up, offer variety. No person or varanid
likes the same thing every week (although
Mark once observed his Norse mother eat
veal-and-potato dinners for 200 consecu-
tive days).
Feeding small meals more frequently,
rather than larger meals less frequently,
works best for V. dumerilii.
Dumeril’s monitors usually swallow cray-
fish or crab whole. When they are offered a
rodent, they often eviscerate it prior to in-
gestion. Rodent prey appears almost awk-
ward for them to swallow, whereas crabs
do not (we believe this indicative of a pre-
ferred diet of arthropods).

Enclosures
A Dumeril’s monitor should be kept in an

BILL LOVE
enclosure that is half to two times the length
of the animal. A decent size would be 5 feet Dumeril’s grow into 3-foot lizards. The largest known specimen is 87.6 inches in total length.
long by 3 feet wide by 2.5 feet tall. Good sub-
strates include soil, sphagnum moss and leaf
litter. Make sure the substrate layer is deep,
as these monitors like to burrow.
Use a clean water bowl that is large
enough for the monitor to completely sub-
merge itself. This container should be easy
to clean, as V. dumerilii will soak and defe-
cate in the water two to three times a day.
Offer a hidebox; large plastic, opaque stor-
age boxes work nicely. Cut an opening in the
side or top for the monitor to use as an en-
trance. Line the bottom of the hidebox with
cage substrate. The hidebox can also double
as a nestbox. Avoid disturbing the monitor in
its hidebox; it needs to feel secure and safe.
JOHN PATTON

Create a hot spot in the cage with tem-

peratures in the 90- to 110-degree range
using a basking lamp. At the enclosure’s Dumeril’s monitors feed on a wide variety of animals, including crustaceans, land hermit
cooler end, maintain a temperature of 75 crabs, mollusks, insects, fish, scorpions, rodents and ants.

44 r e p t i l e s m a g a z i n e • m a r c h , 2 0 0 4
degrees. High humidity is important; it
should be kept at 100 percent.
If you plan to keep more than one moni-
tor in the cage, it will need to be larger and
include more than one basking site and
feeding station.

Monitor Parasites
Parasites are a common problem with
reptiles, especially aquatic forms, and V.
dumerilii is no exception. Cestodes (flat
worms, such as tapeworms) and nema-
todes (unsegmented roundworms, such as
Ascaris spp.) parasitize V. dumerilii. The ne-
farious monitor ticks (Aponomma varanen-
sis and A. trimaculatum) also plague this
lizard. It is unknown at what size and age

Aponomma ticks attach themselves to their
reptilian hosts. This question requires fur-
ther entomological study.
Captive Breeding
Varanus dumerilii can be sexed visually
by inspection of the ventral tail base near
the cloaca. Both sexes show an indentation
along the ventral midline, with bulges on
either side of tail; in males, these bulges
are more prominent and wider. X-rays and
Unfortunately, the bright colors of hatchling Varanus dumerilii quickly fade as they mature.
probing do not work with V. dumerilii. Inva-
sive procedures are not recommended and
should only be done by veterinary person-
nel if necessary. Placing pairs of males to-
gether sometimes induces combat.
Breeding ages of V. dumerilii vary. Some
females have laid viable eggs at 2 years of
age. One female measured 26.4 inches, the
BILL LOVE
other 22.4 inches in total length. The oldest
V. dumerilii to lay eggs was 10.6 years old.
Some people suggest to keep the lights
on 24 hours a day to breed V. dumerilii. How-
ever, nowhere within their range does the
photoperiod exceed 13.5 hours. Keeping
varanids on a 24-hour photoperiod may alter
their biorhythms, circadian rhythm and

m a r c h , 2 0 0 4 • r e p t i l e s m a g a z i n e 45

Young Dumeril’s monitors are curious and like to explore.
metabolic chemistry in their organic mole-
cules at the skin (dermal) layers region.
Captive V. dumerilii have been observed in
courtship and copulation (on their left sides)
during the summer and fall months. Females
and some males may lose their appetite at
the beginning of the breeding season. Food
may be ingested more slowly during this
time. If you have observed copulation behav-
ior and less-than-enthusiastic feeding, do not
force the issue of food intake.
If your female refuses food, then you
may have a reproductively receptive female
on your hands. Copulation takes place al-
Hatchling Varanus dumerilli should be kept separately in 5-, 10- or 15-gallon enclosures with tight fitting tops.
46 r e p t i l e s m a g a z i n e
BILL LOVE
It is believed that young Varanus dumerilli create burrows to hide.
most immediately once a male is intro-
duced into the female’s enclosure. House
males and females together only during
this mating season window; otherwise,
keep them separated, as is a good practice
with all Varanidae members.
Three to seven weeks following copula-
tion, egg deposition will occur. Because it
is not known where V. dumerilii deposit
their eggs in the wild, attempts at provid-
ing a good nest site within captivity can
lead to frustration. Many breeding inci-
dents have resulted in eggs deposited in
water, others against glass windows or all
• m a r c h , 2 0 0 4
ALLEN BOTH
about the terraria.
Plastic nestboxes with a hole cut into
the top, such as those used with geckos
and bearded dragons, work with V. dumerilii
fairly well. A 3-foot monitor will need a
plastic nestbox at least 12 by 16 by 12
inches in size. Fill the nestbox with peat
moss, topsoil and sphagnum moss, and
keep it damp. Mike Fost at Zoo Atlanta has
also included sticks and branches within
the nestbox to simulate plant roots.
Incubation temperatures should be 82 to
84 degrees Fahrenheit. A vermiculite medi-
um mixed at a ratio of 1-1 with water (by
DICK BARTLETT
weight) is best; a 1-2 vermiculite and water
ratio (or wetter) produces DIE (dead in
egg) full-term embryos. Humidity should be
maintained at 100 percent.

Hatchling Care
Hatchlings are beautifully colored red,
orange and black with white markings. The
red and orange soon fades, as do the other
colors, to the dusky brown and tan colors
of the adults.
A damp habitat must be maintained for
neonates and juvenile V. dumerilii. House
them separately in 5-, 10- or 15-gallon
aquaria. Tops should be secure, as young
are very curious and explore every inch of
their domain. Young V. dumerilii should be
encouraged to dig burrows, so provide
proper topsoil/peat moss substrate.
One V. dumerilii keeper told us about a
time he believed his juveniles had escaped
their terraria. To his surprise, he found very
small tunnels within the enclosure’s potted
plants. The babies were in tiny burrows sev-
eral inches below the dirt. Such burrowing
behavior may be our only clue to how baby
V. dumerilii survive in the mangrove swamps
and jungles of Malaysia and Borneo.

Conservation
Throughout its range, V. dumerilii is
hunted for its meat and skin. Its habitat is
threatened, as well. In peninsular Malay-
sia, the natives believe that Dumeril’s are
venomous. This myth also exists through-
out Indonesia, Malaysia and India.
Virtually nothing is known of V. dumerilii
in the wild. With coastal and primary
forests throughout Southeast Asia being
slashed and burned, and coastal develop-
ments rising every day, we may lose the
wonders of this semiaquatic saurian with-
out ever being formally introduced.
What is being done to help V. dumerilii?
Ruston Hartdegen at the Dallas Zoo has
begun V. beccari, V. dumerilii, V. olivaceus, V.
rudicollis and V. salvadorii conservation pro-
jects. The Dallas Zoo is currently working
on the V. olivaceus aspect of the Asian For-
est Monitor Plan.
Thailand is the only known site of pro-
tection for V. dumerilii.

Mark K. Bayless is a herpetoculturist who

has been working with varanids for nearly 20
years. Ben Aller is also a herpetoculturist,
working with Southeast Asian varanids and
researching new improvements for captive
husbandry and habitats for tropical saurians.