Banded tree monitor facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Banded tree monitor
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Varanus
Species:	scalaris

The Varanus scalaris is a small type of monitor lizard. People often call it the banded tree monitor or the spotted tree monitor.

This lizard lives in Australia, in places like Western Australia, Queensland, and the Northern Territory. You can also find it in Papua, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.

These monitors love to live in trees found in savanna woodlands. They look for food both in the trees and on the ground. Their diet mainly includes insects and small animals with backbones.

How Monitor Lizards Use Venom

Like all other monitor lizards, banded tree monitors have special glands in their lower jaws. These glands produce venom. When they bite, this venom can make their bite quite powerful.

What Does the Venom Do?

The venom acts like an anticoagulant. This means it makes blood thinner and stops it from clotting normally. This can cause the bitten area to bleed more than it would from just the bite itself. The venom also causes a drop in blood pressure.

Why Do They Have Venom?

Monitor lizard venom is very complex. It helps them survive in many different places. For tree-dwelling monitors like the banded tree monitor, this venom is super important. It helps them quickly control their prey. Imagine if a lizard bit an insect or a small bird in a tree. If the prey could easily escape by falling or flying away, the lizard might lose its meal!

So, the venom helps to quickly calm down or stop the prey. This makes it harder for the prey to get away. The venom's main job is to help the monitor lizard catch its food, not to hurt bigger animals that might try to eat the monitor.