Common Blue-tongued Lizard

Common Blue-tongued Lizard

Have you ever wondered why a Blue-tongue Lizard has such a bright blue tongue? Read on to find out why. 


Tiliqua scincoides scincoides 

1. Common Blue-tongued Lizards are named after their bright blue fleshy tongue, which contrasts with their pink mouths. They use their tongue as a defence tool to scare off predators. When Common Blue-tongued Lizards feel threatened they stick out their tongue to frighten predators. They are also known to hiss when threatened. 

2. Common Blue-tongues are not venomous, but may try to bite if handled. If you come across one around your home, it’s best to leave it alone. It won’t harm you or any of your pets.  

3. Common Blue-tongued Lizards can grow up to 60cm in length.  They have silvery grey to brown smooth scales, with distinct dark strips running across their body and tail. Their underbelly is usually light grey. 

4. Common Blue-tongued Lizards have a broad triangular head that is wider than the neck.  Their eyes are reddish-brown to grey and there is a broad black strip that runs from the eye to their neck. 

5. Common Blue-tongues rummage for food during the warmer parts of the day. They feed on a variety of insects, beetles, snails, wildflowers, native fruits and berries.

6. Common Blue-tongued Lizards don’t just smell by using their nose. They also have an organ, called a ‘Jacobson’s Organ’, on the roof of their mouth, which they use to sense chemicals that are emitted by their prey (e.g. insects). Blue-tongues use this organ to detect prey.

7. Common Blue-tongues have strong teeth and jaw muscles so they can crush their food  they can even crush through the shell of a snail.

8. Common Blue-tongued Lizards can be found in virtually all habitats across Australia. 

9. In Victoria, they inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems from coastal heathland, lowlands and mountain forests to interior plains.

10. They are also common in urban areas, and unfortunately are often injured by people using shovels to dig in their garden.

11. Like all lizards, Common Blue-tongues cannot maintain a constant body temperature without help from the sun. This means that they use the sun’s heat to maintain their body temperature.

12. Common Blue-tongues are active during the daytime and shelter at night under large objects such as logs or leaf litter and debris. They can often be seen warming themselves in sunny areas.

13. Common Blue-tongues live alone for most of the year, but between September and November, males leave their territory in search of a mate.  Males can travel up to 15 city blocks in the search and may have several families.

14. Females give birth to as many as 25 live young (but usually 10) in a litter, which are born between December and January.

15. The young are born self-sufficient and disperse a few days after birth. At four years old, Common Blue-tongue Lizards are sexually mature.

16. Common Blue-tongued Lizards are beneficial to your garden, as they reduce the number of plant eating insects such as snails and slugs.

17. To help protect Common Blue-tongued Lizard habitat, you can maintain a lizard friendly garden by leaving logs and rocks on the ground to provide shelter.

18. You can also reduce or eliminate the use of snail bait. Common Blue-tongued Lizards eat the snails and slugs that are killed by the bait, which in turn poisons the Common Blue tongued Lizard.

19. On warm days Common Blue-tongues lie on hot surfaces such as roads so be careful when driving because they are easily camouflaged, and cannot move quickly off the road surface.

20. All cats are natural hunters and Common Blue tongued Lizards are common prey. If you own a cat keep it indoors at night. Never dump cats or kittens in the bush. Take them to an animal shelter or have them humanely put down.  Never try to feed an Common Blue-tongued Lizard as they have specific diets. They wouldn’t be in your backyard if there wasn’t food there.