Stumpy Tailed Lizard

This is my new garden pet the stumpy tailed lizard, hes a beauty

General Description

Stout body with relatively short limbs. Scales large and rough like a pine cone, tail short and rounded, can be plain black, brown, reddish brown or speckled on back and whitish belly. Blue tongue. Up to 35 cm long (snout-vent).

Biology

Stumpy-tails look similar to Blue-tongue Lizards and are closely related to them. They are active during the day and omnivorous, but mainly eat flowers and vegetation. When threatened they will open their mouth, extend their toungue and hiss. Males and females pair bond, which has been recorded for ~20 years in wild animals. They are often seen in male-female pairs during the spring breeding season. Females usually give birth to two live young that together can weigh up to 40% of the mother's body weight.

Distribution

Dry to arid southern and eastern Australia.