Pedigree and home territories of the frilled lizard, behavior, reproduction, characteristics of the exterior, advice on maintenance and care, purchase and price. If you are by nature a fan of everything unusual and even outlandish and are looking for the same pet, turn your attention to such a creation of nature as the frilled lizard. The first time you see it, you will definitely experience an indescribable delight, in addition to its truly unsurpassed appearance, it is quite simple to maintain, the main thing is to provide this reptile with optimal living conditions, and feed it regularly. But, before bringing such a miracle into the house, it is better to get to know him better.
Origin of the frilled lizard and native habitats
With every, even the slowest, movement of our large planet, something new is happening in the world, scientific discoveries are being made, all the latest technologies are being developed, new books are being written, such innovations also concern the animal kingdom. So in the relatively distant 1827, people who are engaged in science discovered a completely new, hitherto unknown living creature. This mysterious representative of the world fauna truly impressed everyone with its extraordinary appearance. For many years there have been studies, disputes and discussions about who this exotic is. Later, scientists nevertheless reached one general conclusion and called such a miracle of nature a frilled lizard. This peculiar beauty was classified into the class of reptiles, the order of scaly, the suborder of lizards and the agama family.
In the event that you saw this wonderful creature somewhere in a picture or on TV in a program about the world of animals and you had the idea to go on a visit to an amazing lizard, you know, you will have to travel quite far. With its homeland, this living creature with a cloak around its neck honors distant Australia, moreover, its northwestern part and the southern lands of New Guinea. For its permanent residence, this original reptile chooses wooded areas with a low level of humidity and forest-steppe. In such locations, usually few people from the world of animals settle down, so the question arises: "Either the frilled scaly one prefers such unusual environmental conditions, or simply does not much like its neighbors and their society?"
Features of the behavior of the frilled lizard
This creature spends most of its free time, climbing high on trees or large bushes, where it can even eat. Although in order to find the necessary food products, the frilled scaly walks along the surface of the earth. As the favorite dishes of this reptile in the wild, various insects, spiders, mammals, which are smaller in size than lizards, usually act, when completely hungry times come, this delightful creature can afford to dine with some other kind of fellows. There is also a place in the life of this forest dweller for his most favorite dish - bird eggs, which he steals from nests without shame and special remorse. In order to catch its prey, this exot does not really try, he simply takes the most convenient place and position for himself and begins to wait patiently for someone on the horizon with whom he could satisfy the outbreak of hunger. But the feeling that the lizard is hungry, it may not arise for quite a long time. The whole secret is that when there is a shortage of food in the territory occupied by the reptile, the lizard can easily endure hunger for about 3-4 months. During this period, this hardy living creature climbs a tree, choosing branches where the foliage is the thickest and largest, thus, the sun's rays do not have the opportunity to warm up its scaly body and with a decrease in body temperature, the metabolism of the lizard decreases by more than 60%.
By its nature, this scaly one prefers to lead a solitary life. At that moment, when the lizard sensed that danger was approaching her, she immediately begins to transform into a terrible predatory "beast", at least she thinks that she succeeds. For what, this member of the agamovs begins to open its mouth as wide as possible and unfolds its so-called cloak. Such a collar is kept in this state due to the fact that this species of lizard has rather long jaw bones. But that is not all. In addition to these actions, this miracle of nature stands on the hind limbs and at the same time also creates a fierce hissing sound, beating at the same time a certain rhythm with the tail process. And in order for everyone to be afraid of her, it is better to scare away enemies from some place somewhat elevated above ground level. But, as practice shows, the most effective way to defend against enemies is to flee, which she also makes on her hind legs, adjusting the direction and balance with her tail.
In general, the collar of a frilled lizard is a universal part of the body and not at all useless. In addition to its aesthetic function and the fact that it completes the image of a predatory lizard, this "cloak" can also regulate the temperature of the body, so when it is not too warm outside, it helps her to catch warm sunlight, and when the heat is unbearable, the cloak helps overheating protection. In the mating season, males simply go nowhere without it, because it is the collar that serves as the most important attribute of attracting the attention of the opposite sex.
Such a frightening appearance to this representative of the agama family has to be done quite often, because life in open nature is, first of all, natural selection. And there are many people who want to hunt for this cute lizard, it very much attracts the attention of various snakes, many people from the feline family and even predatory birds.
Continuation of the genus of the frilled lizard
Although this delightful creature prefers to live in conditions of low humidity, with the arrival of the rainy season, its activity increases several times from usual. At the same time, their breeding period begins, which is very interesting. Before starting the mating process, the representative of the stronger sex needs to win the attention of the female lizard he likes, as soon as he succeeds, he begins, as it were, to invite her to him, while making rhythmic head movements that resemble inviting nods. After mutual consent, the male climbs onto the back of the female and bites her at the same time in the neck. He does this not out of malice, but only in order not to fall from her. If everything went well, the expectant mother lays eggs, in the amount of 7 to 15 pieces. The incubation period lasts approximately 2–2, 5 months, after the expiration of this period, babies are born.
Characteristics of the external appearance of the frilled lizard
If at least once in your life you see this living creation of nature up close, then forgetting it is probably just not realistic. The relatively small body of the frilled reptile, which grows over 90 cm in length, is wrapped in a large number of small scales. The caudal process is also a kind of attraction of this amazing creature, because it is not just very long, it occupies almost a third of the total body length. On the dorsal surface of the body in juveniles, one can easily notice a beautiful ornament formed by regular stripes, which are located transversely. With each next year of the reptile's life cycle, this characteristic pattern fades and turns pale, and in older lizards it disappears altogether. As for the color of the skin of the scaly, they are usually painted either in brownish-yellow shades, or in dark gray, there are also some specimens, the color of which is brown-black. But no matter how long and beautiful the tail of a frilled lizard may be, its hallmark is still a kind of skin fold that is located around the head and, if the muscles of the body of a member of the agamic family are in a relaxed state, then this part, which resembles a collar, fits tightly to torso. It is thanks to this feature that this unsurpassed living creature got its name. This collar-shaped fold in its structure has a large number of blood vessels, therefore, if the lizard is injured by negligence, it can end in death, the cause of which is massive blood loss.
The limbs of the reptile are endowed with great strength, long and sharp claws flaunt at their end.
How to care for a frilled lizard?
If you are going to bring such an unusual pet into your house, you should immediately make sure that your friend has his own personal roof over his head. After all, firstly, he will need specific living conditions, which are definitely not absent in your apartment, and secondly, it is probably not very convenient when an outlandish creature about a meter long is running around your house.
As your own home for your home lizard, you need a terrarium, but not a simple one, but rather spacious and equipped with all the necessary devices. When choosing a terrarium, it is necessary to take into account the maximum body length to which your pet can grow, but remember that all exotic animals grow a little more at home than in the wild, because they are fed regularly at home, and there are no dangers, respectively, and no stress, diets and excess physical activity. In addition, do not forget that in its native locations, the lizard is used to living in trees, only occasionally making hired walks, so the height of the terrarium should be appropriate, at least one meter.
It is better to cover the walls of your pupil's personal house with some kind of material, so you will save your friend from unwanted stresses, because in your house there may be children and other pets, and you yourself, and at first this eccentric may perceive you as a danger … And strong experiences have a very negative effect not only on the length of the period of adaptation of the scaly to new living conditions, but also on the state of his health in general.
In order for your exotic to feel at home, his terrarium must be furnished with different branches, shelves, trees and snags. All this should be placed at different levels, who knows at what height the frilled lizard wishes to stay today.
The presence of a substrate on the flooring is mandatory, as the latter, a mixture of coconut and sand or even garden soil is well suited, the main thing is that the soil does not create dust and maintains the air humidity well. Also, probably, already in every pet store, specialized rugs designed for reptiles are sold - this is also a good way out of the situation.
Since this is a very original pet, accustomed to living in areas where the sun is able to warm its body almost all year round, then at home you need to recreate a similar microclimate. The average length of daylight hours for this reptile should be at least 11-12 hours. An ultraviolet lamp is perfect as an "artificial sun", we can safely say that it is simply necessary in the terrarium, since with the help of its rays, your friend will receive the right amount of calcium and cholecalciferol, which are an integral part of the lizard's good health. This light must be installed so that the distance of the lamp from the terrarium dweller does not exceed 30-40 cm, otherwise the animal will not be able to fully benefit from the rays.
For the comfortable existence of an exotic scaly, a source of constant heat is needed, which should be placed in one of the corners of its home. Of course, ordinary incandescent lamps can be used as such a heater, but very often cases of severe burns of lizards are recorded. Therefore, a good alternative to such a not entirely safe device are thermal cords or thermal mats, which are freely available in every pet store. These heat sources should be placed in one of the corners of the terrarium, where the temperature should be at least 35 degrees, the farther from the hot corner, the cooler it will be. But the lower limit of temperature, in no case can fall below 24 degrees during the day and 20 degrees at night.
Despite the fact that these eccentrics are accustomed to living in dry conditions, the onset of rain is somewhat of a holiday for them. And all because moisture is necessary for their delicate skin. Therefore, the humidity in a room with a frilled miracle of nature should be at least 70%. To maintain the desired humidity coefficient, it is necessary to carry out daily abundant spraying of the terrarium, or you can purchase a special rain installation in the store. It would be nice to put a small container filled with liquid, which will also be a good source of moisture, but your pupil needs to drink some water from somewhere, and he does not know how to drink like a cat or a dog. Most often, they just collect droplets of liquid from the plants, so you still have to spray so that your pet does not die of thirst. And this happens very often. In pets such as frilled lizards, dehydration is probably the most common pathological condition that can lead not only to irreversible processes in the body, but also to the painful death of this wonderful creature. In the event that you see that your pupil has sunken eyes or very dry skin, which, after collecting in a fold, is not able to smooth out, grab it this very minute and take it to the veterinarian.
In order for this comrade to receive the maximum of nutrients and pleasure from eating, his diet should not only be well balanced, but also quite varied. A variety of insects, such as zophobas, worms, grasshoppers, crickets, and even locusts, work well as a main dish for the frilled lizard. Some individuals do not refuse small mice. These reptiles eat fruits and greens quite well, but this already depends on the taste and preferences of each individual scaly. All feed must be sprinkled with supplements that contain vitamins and calcium. The frequency of feeding depends on the age of your pet, young lizards need to be fed three times a day, and older agamas can be pampered with goodies once a day.
Buying and price of a frilled lizard
For the reason that it is now very fashionable to keep a wide variety of exotic animals, it will not be difficult to acquire such an exotic as a lizard with a collar around its head. The average cost of this eccentric ranges from 10,000 to 30,000 rubles.
More informative information about the frilled lizard in the following video:
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