Everything we've learned keeping green, blue, yellow, black, gold-spotted, and Biak tree monitors (Varanus spp.), captive bred or long-term captive, never fresh wild caught. This is the full breakdown. For current availability, visit our Tree Monitors collection.
Why Keep a Tree Monitor?
Tree monitors are widely considered one of the most intelligent and colorful monitor groups in the world. They're highly specialized and fully arboreal, with taxonomical adaptations you won't find in ground-dwelling monitors, including prehensile tails for gripping branches and enough dexterity in their toes and claws to pull prey out of crevices and bark. That mix of intelligence, color, and specialized anatomy is what makes them one of the most rewarding monitor groups to keep.
Species We Work With
Sizes are fairly consistent across the group, with two notable exceptions: the blue tree monitor runs noticeably larger than the rest, and the Biak tree monitor runs noticeably smaller.
Green Tree Monitor (Varanus prasinus)
Native to New Guinea and nearby islands, the green tree monitor is the most established tree monitor species in the hobby and comes in several localities. We work with the Sorong locality, which shows a higher blue-turquoise expression over a lime green base, and some individuals carry a yellow throat pouch that can push them into a true tri-color monitor. Adults reach roughly 30 to 39 inches long, with a slender body built for balancing on thin branches. Like all tree monitors, it uses a prehensile tail and long claws to grip branches, and enlarged scales on the soles of its feet help it climb.
Blue Tree Monitor (Varanus macraei)
Native to Batanta Island, Indonesia, the blue tree monitor is a stunning blue and black species, one of the most iconic tree monitors though less widely known than the green tree monitor. It's prized for its striking coloration: black scales scattered with blue ocellations that form bands across the back, a light blue snout tip, and heavy turquoise spotting on the legs. It's also the largest of the tree monitors we work with, with specimens reaching a body length of 18 to 24 inches and a fully prehensile tail matching the body in length.
Yellow Tree Monitor (Varanus reisingeri)
Native to Misool Island, Indonesia, the yellow tree monitor is closely related to the green tree monitor and shares a similar size and body structure. Coloration varies: most individuals show a neon yellow-green, though some develop a bright yellow coloration with orange striping over a black base.
Black Tree Monitor (Varanus beccarii)
Native to the Aru Islands, Indonesia, the black tree monitor starts out spotted as a juvenile and typically loses its spots as it matures into a completely solid black adult, though individual variation happens. We've kept a female that has held onto her spots into adulthood. Adults reach 35 to 47 inches in total length, including a tail that can make up two-thirds of the body. It also has some of the longest, most slender forelimbs of any monitor species, with elongated digits, large claws, and adhesive soles built for climbing.
Gold-Spotted Tree Monitor (Varanus boehmei)
Native to Halmahera and Ternate Islands, Indonesia, the gold-spotted tree monitor is one of the rarest tree monitor species in captivity. It's a black monitor with gold spotting, and some individuals also show orange coloration or striping on the throat pouch and body. Closely related to the black tree monitor, it grows to about 3.3 feet in total length, including tail.
Biak Tree Monitor (Varanus kordensis)
Native to Biak Island, Indonesia, the Biak tree monitor is one of the smallest of the tree monitors we work with, typically maturing around a 12 inch body length. It's also one of the most variable tree monitor species in coloration, ranging from a highly pixelated lime green pattern to turquoise or gray, with several distinct bloodlines and localities that may eventually be classified as their own species.
Captive Bred vs. Wild Caught
Every tree monitor we sell is either bred and hatched in our own facility or a long-term captive adult, never a fresh wild caught import. Here's why that distinction matters, and why we push hard for a captive bred market.
What Wild Collection Actually Looks Like
Wild caught tree monitors are typically pulled by hand out of trees, sometimes with a hook or noose around the neck, then stuffed into cloth bags for shipping. From there, it's not unusual for a wild caught monitor to go several days with no water before it ever reaches an exporter, let alone the United States.
Tree monitors come from some of the wettest environments on Earth, and water is one of the most important parts of their care. Going days without it during collection and transit isn't just stressful, it can cause lasting organ damage, even in animals that survive the trip. Tree monitors are also more susceptible to stress than many other reptile species, so an animal can arrive alive and still be too far gone to recover.
Why Captive Bred and Long-Term Captive Are Worth It
Captive bred and long-term captive tree monitors cost more than a fresh wild caught import, but the quality difference is real. They're easier to socialize, adjust to captivity far more readily, and are far more likely to thrive long term. Fresh wild caught tree monitors, even in an excellent setup, carry stress that never fully goes away, and many never become docile or interactive the way a captive bred or long-term captive animal does. They also avoid the parasites and diseases that are common in freshly wild caught reptiles and are often difficult to treat.
There's an ethical side to this too. Tree monitors are intelligent animals, and intelligence comes with the capacity to suffer. Supporting captive breeding and established long-term captives instead of fresh wild collection means supporting people who are actually breeding these animals in their own facilities, rather than holding a wild caught gravid female until she lays and calling the offspring captive bred. It also means less pressure on wild tree monitor populations, many of which already have small, limited ranges.
Our Standard
Most of the tree monitors we sell are bred and hatched in our own facility. We also occasionally offer long-term captive adults, animals that have already been established in captivity for a year or more, most often brought in to add to a breeding pair. Either way, none of our tree monitors are fresh wild caught imports.
We also go beyond standard care for our breeding pairs. Instead of housing a pair in a single 4'W x 4'H x 2'D enclosure, we link two cages together into an 8 foot enclosure, only separating the pair for feeding so each animal keeps its own basking spot the rest of the time. We use Arcadia aluminized lighting fixtures that dim on and off gradually like a real sunrise and sunset, rather than switching on and off instantly, and we run our water through a dedicated reverse osmosis system. None of this is required to keep a tree monitor, but we've found it makes for calmer, more naturally behaving animals, and we're continuing to track how it affects long term health and breeding consistency.
Enclosure & Setup
We start fresh babies in a minimum 3x2x3 or an 18x18x36, with plenty of horizontal branches for climbing. Tree monitors are arboreal and use height and horizontal space more than floor space, so plan to build up as they grow. Adults need a minimum 4'W x 4'H x 2'D enclosure.
Diet & Supplements
Tree monitors are primarily insect eaters. We dust every feeding with a calcium or multivitamin powder, we use Arcadia supplements, and feed every other day.
Temperature
Ambient temperature around 75°F, with a basking spot of 90°F for babies and 95°F for adults.
Humidity
Tree monitors need higher humidity, around 80%, paired with ample airflow so the enclosure doesn't turn stagnant.
Lighting
We use 6% UVB, positioned at least 6 to 8 inches from the basking spot.
Temperament & Handling
Generally, tree monitors are skittish. That said, each monitor has its own personality. Some become noticeably more comfortable with people through consistent, careful interaction over time, and that's part of what makes them such a rewarding species to work with.
Shipping & Guarantee
We ship nationwide via FedEx overnight. All reptiles are guaranteed within 24 hours of pickup, let us know if there are any issues and we make it right every time.
Ready to bring one home? Check out our current tree monitors for sale, or join our VIP Program for 10% off invertebrates and first access as new tree monitors become available.