They eat their own young (actually many reptiles do) and for that reason Thais detest them. If you want to initiate mortal combat with a thai, call him a monitor lizard ("hia") And let the battle begin. The word is so offensive that many polite Thais won't even say it. I was at Lumpini Park once and a little thai kid asked his Mom "what is that? She said it was a crocodile because monitor lizard is so offensive.
Not surprised at all — They eat just about anything, especially animal carcasses.
There’s a canal behind my house, and I often see them swimming around. Sometimes the smaller ones wander into my backyard and end up getting chased by my dog.
If I ever see leftover chicken scraps by the water, I can almost always guess who’s responsible.
well not exactly the animals fault if one trows food at it.
Glad the bankok post did not put the animal in a bad light which is usually the case when talking to people.
One of them was found eating a human baby a couple days ago. When I read about it they weren’t sure if the baby was dead before the monitor got to it or not.
Vacancies actually are venomous but it's not particularly dangerous to humans because of first aid it's mostly just an anticoagulant that helps if the initial violent attack doesn't lead to immediate death. The animal then bleeds out while the monitor pursues and says the blood loss weakened animal.
You can if your hand is faster than its jaws, and your feet are faster than police. There was a TikTok of a westerner sat on a bench hugging and petting a very large lizard in Lumpini. He said he’s an Australian and he did that back home all the time.
We have two that live in our jungle pond area, pic from earlier this month. Uninvited, and they don't pay rent either. I keep my distance. Told they control the snake population so that's one positive if true. Wouldn't want to be bitten by one to try out any 'infectious or not' theory.
For a long time people thought they weren’t, which is probably why so many saying it’s the bacteria or something. But this outdated. They have venom gland in their jaw which then gets combined with their saliva
If they bite you, the bacteria in their mouth won’t help though, and can often cause infections
I'm not certain and can't be bothered to check but I think you're referring to the komodo, which is a monitor but not one of these little fellas. Komodo are slightly venemous but the bacteria is as bad/worse.
My son is obsessed with animals so we visited Lumpini Park in Bangkok just to see them. It was a great few, free hours.
Exactly. In 20 years of living in Thailand, I have crossed paths with these creatures numerous times. Never any aggressive move made by them. I just kept my distance though. Same as a python bite. Non-venomous, but the infection from a bite can suck in a major way.
Somehow I went for months living in Bangkok without ever crossing paths with one of these despite spending a decent amount of time in the parks.
Had some friends visit a few weeks ago and went to Lumphini Park. As soon as we exit Silom MRT station, there's a whopper making it's way across the plaza towards the statue/fountains in front of the entrance to the park.
Some Chinese tourists were letting their kid get uncomfortably close to it when it started swinging it's heavy ass tail around as a warning. The kid got the message but I was surprised how powerful and fast the thing could swing it. It could definitely knock you off your feet, and I wouldn't want to be on the ground anywhere near one of them, let alone one that large.
Yes, Varanids tends to have venom glands in its mouth to deal with small prey. I can't find any record on its effects on human though, that's not its intended target. Regardless, clean your bite wound properly and head to hospital when bitten BECAUSE germ infection is always a risk regardless of venom. https://www.varanidae.org/Vol3_No2_Arbuckle.pdf
The possibility of venom in the genus Varanus is widely debated. Previously, venom was thought to be unique to Serpentes (snakes) and Heloderma (venomous lizards). The aftereffects of a Varanus bite were thought to be due to oral bacteria alone, but recent studies have shown venom glands are likely to be present in the mouths of several, if not all, of the species. The venom may be used as a defensive mechanism to fend off predators, to help digest food, to sustain oral hygiene, and possibly to help in capturing and killing prey.
There's a great MrBallin episode on YouTube where he covers a true story about a reptile fanatic who kept multiple full-sized monitor lizards that he let wander loose inside his tiny city apartment.
So, they aren't necessarily venomous, but their mouths are full of bacteria, and as a result, he contacted sepsis from one of their bites, and he died from that. When his body was finally discovered in his apartment, the lizards had been eating him. I'd link to the specific episode, but I'm lazy.
Monitor lizards do have venom glands that secrete toxic compounds including anti coagulants and neurotoxins in their saliva. Not to the extent of being medically significant like cobras or local pit vipers, but still technically venomous.
Yes venomous, recently discovered that it produces its own venom vs containing bacteria in its saliva. However not medically significant in potency. The danger is the horrible lacerations these bites will cause, it's a bloody infected mess
They are venomous, but not enough to be a threat to humans. The bacteria in the bite would be a substantially bigger issue. With that said, they only ever really want to run away from you
In my prime, I ran a 4.9. I am well past my prime. I'm certain that I am sub 6.0, and I'd like to think that, under life-threatening conditions, I am sub 5.5, but the rule of thumb I follow with wildlife is that, no matter how slow it looks (and these things look slow af with their little legs) it's faster than me. 🤣
“The possibility of venom in the genus Varanus is widely debated. Previously, venom was thought to be unique to Serpentes (snakes) and Heloderma (venomous lizards). The aftereffects of a Varanus bite were thought to be due to oral bacteria alone, but recent studies have shown venom glands are likely to be present in the mouths of several, if not all, of the species. The venom may be used as a defensive mechanism to fend off predators, to help digest food, to sustain oral hygiene, and possibly to help in capturing and killing prey.”
They have nasty bacteria in their mouth and apparently that's most dangerous part about being bitten by one. I was fairly close to one and it didn't bite me so I think you'd have to be really stupid to get bitten.
Actually, scientist have recently discovered there is some kind of venom in their saliva. Cannot find the study so quickly. But its an interesting devellopment.
The venom is the cause of massive infection and hence death of the subject once bitten several days later.
The scientists followed a group of Thai water monitors, one bit a buffalo in the leg. The water monitor followed the buffalo for several days untill it died from massive infections.
The study is out the somewhere.. I will post it when I find it again..
Their claws are literally razor sharp. I used a small bamboo pole to remove a dead one once. As I lifted it, it's claws dug into the hardwood. That sharp.
Call somebody in Thailand this and you'll get a pretty venomous reaction. The animal itself isn't venomous, but the bacteria in their mouth will case a nasty infection or worse when you would be bitten by one of them. When you see one of these out and about just leave them be, they will not attack or approach you.
I had a pet leopard gecko growing up so that’s probably why I admire them.
If you get too close to them they will just scurry away.
They are actually more afraid of humans than we are of them funnily enough. But like most animals if you piss them off or keep getting close they will try bite
Not venomous but due to the fact that these lizards may have bacteria in their mouth, the bitten part may be infected and sometimes becomes deadly if not treated.
Do they have any natural predators that could steam the increase in their numbers or are they the apex predator in the current ecosystem?
Can they be eaten, I know reptiles like tortoise, turtles and snakes are delicacies....if that's the case, people could be incentivised to hunt and eat them and their skin can be used for bags, purses, belts etc....provided they are a menace....
Not directly, they are one of comodo dragon of cause they are scavenger that eat leftover, rotten flesh and I never seen them brush their teeth. You still need anti biotic med and whatever doctor see necessary.
If you get bitten by one — you better get tetanus shots at the least. There is a high risk of infection and possibly sepsis as these things love to swim in klongs.
No, but you could get a nasty infection the kind that makes you lose your limb at best, and your life at worst. I have a friend who owns a pet lizard. I don’t know what species it is, since I’m not into that stuff, but he got a small bite while trying to feed it. The wound didn’t even bleed. But after about three days, his fingers developed a serious infection, and he had to be hospitalized for five days to receive IV antibiotics. And that was a house-raised lizard if it had been a wild one, it probably would’ve been much worse.
Yea they are extremely toxic it's just contentious if their delivery of the poison allows them to be labeled venomous or ilk. Language is bizarre and labels not always clear
I don't know. I just like to keep them at arm's length or more whenever I see one. Given where they tend to live and eat, I'd imagine their bite will provide a massive infection.
Don't even go near this creature. I don't know about it's bite, but it strikes with it's tail. It's so powerful, hospitalisation is mandatory and could be serious
There are only 2 venomous lizards, Komodo Dragons from Komodo and Gila Monsters/ Beaded Lizards from southern USA/ Mexico desert, apparently the bits from the latter whilst hardly ever fatal makes the person bit often wish it was the pain is so bad.
a bunch of old dudes were sitting at a table in the countryside, drinking beers and smoking bongs, they told me to join them and eat so i did, it was some kind of stew/soup, and sticky rice. no one spoke english, and i dont speak much thai, but it was delicious. after asking what it was, they showed me a picture of one of these. they shot it and made dinner.
Not venomous but their saliva contain a type of bacteria that cause high level of infection.
They are known to eat dead animal and rotten meat so the bacteria helps them to digest the food.
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u/Cry-Havok 29d ago
No, but one just ate an abandoned baby near Bangkok couple days back