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Bengal monitors have fat deposits in the tail and body that serve them in conditions when prey are not easily available. The lungs have spongy tissue unlike the sacs of other saurians . This allows for a greater rate of gas exchange and allows a faster metabolic rate and higher activity levels.
Most monitor lizards are almost entirely carnivorous, [14] consuming prey as varied as insects, crustaceans, arachnids, myriapods, molluscs, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Most species feed on invertebrates as juveniles and shift to feeding on vertebrates as adults.
The short-tailed monitor is strictly carnivorous. Short-tailed pygmy monitors are highly active foragers in the wild, unlike most lizards. [5] They eat insects such as grasshoppers, beetles, roaches, caterpillars, as well as reptile eggs, isopods, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, small lizards and occasionally frogs and even small snakes.
Monitor lizards are reputed to be among the most intelligent lizards. Most species forage widely and have large home ranges, [ 11 ] and many have high stamina. [ 12 ] Although most species are carnivorous, three arboreal species in the Philippines ( Varanus olivaceus , Varanus mabitang , and Varanus bitatawa ) are primarily frugivores.
The Asian water monitor has a natural affinity towards water, inhabiting the surroundings of lakes, rivers, ponds, swamps and various riparian habitats, including sewers, city parks, and urban waterways. It is an excellent swimmer and hunts fish, frogs, invertebrates, water birds, and other types of aquatic and amphibious prey.
A number of prey items are, however, also consumed, including snails, crabs, spiders, beetles, birds and eggs. Monitors are generally carnivorous animals, which makes the Gray's monitor somewhat of an exception amongst the varanid family. Such an unusual diet may be as a result of competition over food with the water monitors, which share their ...
The preferred prey of the species is mice, eggs, or fish, but it will also prey on other small mammals (gerbils and young hares), reptiles (other lizards, snakes, and tortoises), birds, amphibians , insects (beetles, orthopterans, heteropteran bugs, and ants), other invertebrates (snails, centipedes, and scorpions), or carrion, if the ...
They may sometimes pirate prey obtained by other medium-sized raptors. [21] Prey may sometimes be cached and eaten subsequently. [22] Drawn from nature by Elizabeth Gould (1832) The red-necked falcon drinks water where available during the afternoons. This has been observed both in India and in Africa, where it sometimes visits waterholes. [23]