Excessive hunting and poaching for commercial purpose of Varanus salvator in Indonesia can cause a decline in this animal population. However, the scientific information of this animal especially about the biologic of organ system is rarely reported. Therefore, this case opens up opportunities for researching, which aims to study the anatomy of digestive tract of water monitor macroscopically. This research has been conducted in Biology Laboratory, University of Muhammadiyah Kupang for 5 months from March to August 2016. The digestive organ of this animal that has been preserved in alcohol 70% was obtained before from two males of water monitors. Preservation process: the animal were anesthetized, exsanguinated, and fixated in 4 paraformaldehyde by tissue perfusion method. Observations were performed to the visceral site and morphometrical of digestive tract. The resulted data was analysed descriptively and presented in tables and figures. The digestive tract of water monitor consist of esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and cloaca. The dimension of each organ is different based on its structures and functions. The esophagus of water monitor connects the mouth cavity and the stomach and also as the entrance of food to the stomach. Water monitor stomach were found in cranial part of abdomen, in left side of liver. The small intestine was longer than stomach and it is a winding muscular tube in abdomen in posterior side of liver. The large intestine consist of colon and cloaca, while cecum was not found. This channel was extend lateromedially in abdomen to cloaca between left and right kidneys. The cloaca was the end of digestive tract which excreted feces and urine. From this research, we can conclude that the digestive tract of water monitor consists of esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. It’s difficult to differentiate small intestine and large intestine because there are no cecum.
The effect of drying and ensiling grass on its digestion in sheep
