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Atlas / Library / Varanidae / Timor Monitor
CITES II
Varanidae

Timor Monitor

Varanus timorensis

Traceable. The figures above appear in the page we cite, which we opened on 10 Aug 2026. That means you can check them, not that we have confirmed they are right. dubiaroaches.com

Photograph: bukoba_steve · CC BY

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

14:00
Day

Drag the sun. The sheet states a night temperature, so the rail follows it.

CITES II is a global listing and holds in every country. National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Check your setup against this sheet I keep one 123 plants usable with this species
Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/varanus-timorensis

‹ All husbandry guides
Temperature24–28 °C
Humidity70–85 %
Enclosure152×61×122

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
24–28°Cool side
21°Night
Warm side: not in our data

The cool side, 24–28°C, dropping to 21°C at night. This sheet states the cool side only. It gives no warm side or basking figure, so the hot end is not in our data. Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet statescool 24-28 °C / night 21 °C

Humidity

70–85%Target RH

The sheet states70-85% on average

UVB

Not needed for this species

Stated in the sheet, not inferred.

The sheet statesAlthough they have been proven to survive and breed without access to UVB, using UVB light in captivity is still best practice; Zoo Med Reptisun T5 HO 5.0, 34" or Arcadia Forest 6%, 34"; If the UVB lamp is mounted inside the enclosure, place the basking platform so the lizard's back will be 11-12" below the lamp. If there is mesh between the lamp and the lizard, reduce this distance to 7-9"; Lights should be on for 12 hours/day

Diet
insectivores, which means that they need to eat a diet of mostly insects; crickets, dubia roaches, red runner roaches, black soldier fly larvae, mealworms, superworms, darkling beetles, hornworms, silkworms, snails, grasshoppers, centipedes; Offer food every morning. Juveniles should get as much as they can eat in one day, but subadults and adults should only be allowed as much as they can eat in a 5-10 minute period.

Identity

Origin

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

70–85 % RH5 ft4 ft
50100150200 cm
5 × 2 × 4 ft · 152 × 61 × 122 cmWidth × depth × height
93dm² of floor
Substrate: not in our dataWater: not in our dataWarm side: not in our dataHides: not in our dataUVB: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet statesabsolute minimum enclosure size for a single timor monitor is 5'L x 2'W x 4'H

Temperature
cool 24–28 °C / night 21 °C
Humidity
70–85%

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Common questions

How big does it get?

Small for a monitor, around 60 centimetres with the tail, so a tall enclosure is realistic in an apartment.

Does it bite?

Yes, they are quick and nippy and most stay a bit wild, but the bite is minor next to the big monitors.

What does it eat?

Insects mainly, with the occasional small rodent or egg. Feeding is cheap and easy.

Can I keep two together?

A pair can work in a large planted enclosure with several basking spots. Watch for one bullying the other.

What it needs

Enclosure at least 152 × 61 × 122 cmbecause enclosure — absolute minimum enclosure size for a single timor monitor is 5'L x 2'W x 4'H
A thermometerbecause temp — cool 24-28 °C / night 21 °C
A way to check the night figurebecause temp — cool 24-28 °C / night 21 °C
A hygrometerbecause humidity — 70-85% on average
No UVB: the sheet states none is neededbecause uvb — Although they have been proven to survive and breed without access to UVB, using UVB light in captivity is still best practice; Zoo Med Reptisun T5 HO 5.0, 34" or Arcadia Forest 6%, 34"; If the UVB lamp is mounted inside the enclosure, place the basking platform so the lizard's back will be 11-12" below the lamp. If there is mesh between the lamp and the lizard, reduce this distance to 7-9"; Lights should be on for 12 hours/day
Not stated: The heat sourcethis sheet names only the cool side: « cool 24-28 °C / night 21 °C »

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation. What the sheet does not state is listed too, rather than left out: a kit that looks complete is worse than one that names its gap.

Sources

dubiaroaches.com — lu le 2026-08-04speciesplus.net — lu le 2026-08-08reptile-database.reptarium.cz — lu le 2026-08-08

Others in this group

Ackie MonitorVaranus acanthurusSavannah MonitorVaranus exanthematicusBlack-throated MonitorVaranus albigularis ionidesiArgusVaranus panoptesEmerald tree monitorVaranus prasinusBlack treeVaranus beccariiMangroveVaranus indicusDumeril's MonitorVaranus dumerilii

What this sheet states

77%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

This sheet states 5 of 7 of the fields this product runs on. What is missing turns something off: day/night engine and awake count on the globe, the diet section. We show the gap rather than fill it with a plausible number.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.