Learning about Lizards

Demo Preparations
Decide which live animals will be used for the demo and transport them to
Naturalist Center. Choices include one the blue tongued skink (Tarheel) or the
Bearded Dragon (pike) if !ou are comfortable handling him. "emind visitors to
wash hands if the! touch one of the li#ards.
$ather all materials needed including but not limited to sheds% mounted animals%
literature and an!thing else !ou ma! need.
"ead over information about each animal.
Program &utline
'ntroduce !ourself and start talking about snakes% including what the! are.
&nce information about li#ards and reptiles has been given and (uestions
answered then get the animals out and give some facts on each animal% answering
(uestions as !ou go along.
"eptiles and )i#ards
)i#ards are a cold blooded% reptilian animal with *+,, species
The! are ver! closel! related to snakes% and like snakes the! use their tongues to
smell
The! are found on all continents e-cept .ntarctica
/nlike snakes the! have limbs and e-ternal ear holes and most li#ards have well
developed colored vision
.lso unlike snakes% most li#ards have movable e!elids
ome li#ards can detach their tails in order to escape predators
0ost live on the ground but some find their homes in trees% burrows% or in the
water
0ost li#ards la! eggs but some females skinks have live birth
Blue Tongued kink
.s per the name suggests% the! have a ver! bright blue tongue
The! are found in .ustralia and are found in coastal% woodlands% forests% and less
arid parts of .ustralia1s interior
2rom snout to tail tip the! can reach up to 33 inches in length but averages around
45 inches
The average weight is 4,64+ ounces and the! can live up to 3, !ears
'n the wild the! are omnivores and feed on insects% snails% flowers% fruits and
berries. Tarheel (our blue tongued skink) eats crickets and occasionall! pinkie
mice
Carr! shell6less membrane enclosed egg sacs which rupture inside the mother and
hatch out as live !oung
/suall! females will have 4, !oung but can produce up to 37
The! are a ground dwelling li#ard with a broad% flat bod!% short limbs and tail%
and smooth overlapping scales
)ike most li#ards the! will detach their tails if caught b! a predator. The tail will
eventuall! grow back
Bearded Dragon
0embers of this genus live in the arid% rock!% semi6desert regions and dr! open
woodlands of .ustralia. The! are adept climbers% spending time on branches and
in bushes% even found on fence posts when living near human habitation.
Their characteristics include spin! scales arranged in rows and clusters. These are
found on the throat% which can be e-panded when threatened% and at the back of
the head.
The species also displa!s a hand6waving gesture8 this is to show submission
between Dragons. The! also have a head bobbing act to show dominance.
The! do have the chameleon6like abilit! to change color during rivalr! challenges
between males% and in response to temperature change and other stimuli. The! can
reach to the si#e of about 4* to 39 inches.
Bearded dragons originate in the deserts and woodland of Central .ustralia. The!
spend much of their time basking in the sun on rocks and low branches.
:hen the weather reaches near *+67,;C or 44, degrees 2ahrenheit% Beardies bur!
themselves underground to cool down. Being ectothermic% the! fre(uentl! need to
find a balance in temperatures to keep their temperature constant.
Bearded Dragons are omnivorous% capable of subsisting on a wide variet! of food
sources.