The Asian water monitor is a large varanid lizard native to South and Southeast Asia. It is one of the most common monitor lizards in Asia, ranging from coastal northeast India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, mainland Southeast Asia, and southern China to Indonesian islands where it lives close to water.  Asian water monitor lizards do secrete venom, however, it is not lethally dangerous or fatal to humans. They are usually quite docile in nature and are not known to attack humans at all. If they do, it would only be to defend themselves from threat or harm. This may elicit them to bite, which may cause an injury. However, they grow much larger throughout life, with males being larger than females. Adults rarely exceed 1.5–2 m (4 ft 11 in – 6 ft 7 in) in length, but the largest specimen on record, from Sri Lanka, measured 3.21 m (10.5 ft). A common mature weight of V. salvator can be 19.5 kg (43 lb). Especially in mangrove habitats, they share their range with some very large carnivores. Salt-water crocodiles could easily take down and eat even the largest water monitor lizard. Tigers, leopards, king cobras, and pythons can and do prey on these seemingly indestructible reptiles. Asian Water Monitors are quite intelligent and can become very friendly and even seek out human affection. Baby monitors, being small, are naturally a bit nervous. You are large and scary to them. However, water monitors are very curious.

Scientific name: Varanus salvator

Conservation status: Least Concern 

Temp: between 82 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit 

Domain: Eukaryota

Family: Varanidae

Kingdom: Animalia

Order: Squamata