Australian Frilled Lizard

Description:

The background colorization of the Australian Frilled Lizard is grayish-brown with dark markings that give the appearance of tree bark. This provides camouflage for blending in with the trees that they inhabit.

Patches of orange decorate the throat and the inner lining of the mouth is colored in a vivid yellow.

Adult Australian Frilled Lizards are very large and slender Agamas that reach an overall length of 30 inches from the tip of their snout to the tip of their tail. The tail encompasses approximately two-thirds of their entire body length. The tail has a fracture point and they can break away in a desperate attempt to escape a potential predator.

 The frill is boldly colored with shades of bright yellow, orange, red and blue. It is the diameter of a small dinner plate and surrounds the head, it ranges between 12 to 14 inches. It is composed of rods made of cartilage and connected to the tongue and jaw muscles and is folded down around their shoulders when not erect. It is widely theorized that they must have their mouth wide open to fully erect the frill.

The lifespan of the Australian Frilled Lizard in the wild is still unknown, but in captivity their lifespan averages between 12 to 15 years.

The Australian Frilled Lizard is diurnal. This means that they are active during the day and sleep at night.

Australian Frilled Lizards are arboreal. This means that they spend their time above ground and in the trees.

They have excellent eyesight and can, in the wild, be spotted in trees standing on their hind legs upon tree branches standing watch for prey and for predator.

The male of the specie is generally are larger, more robust and far more brilliantly colored than that of the female of the specie.

The Australian Frilled Lizard has the unique ability to change the flow of its blood at night when they are inactive to preserve their body heat while they rest or sleep.

Australian Frilled Lizards are quit docile, very curious, active and intelligent lizards.

The Australian Frilled Lizard is among a unique subspecies of Agamidae, known as Dragon Lizards. This kinship of Dragon Lizards includes all of the Bearded Dragon species, the Frilled Dragon and Rankin Dragon species, their mannerisms are all quit similar.

 The defensive tactics that the Australian Frilled Lizard displays are some of the best of any reptile specie. They are the true masters of deception, when approached and threatened they will open their mouth up as wide as they can, shoot open their frill fluttering it and hiss repetitively. This dramatically increases the illusionary size of the lizard. It also tends to intimidate their enemies and allows them to flee and escape to the safety of the nearest tree.

 The frill is also used as a body temperature regulator, through heat dispersal.

They will stand high on all four legs, raise their head, open their frill and mouth in an attempt to increase air circulation and bring down their body temperature.

They will also use their spiny scales to assist in decreasing water loss from their body.

Australian Frilled Lizards are capable of running on their hind legs with their forelegs and their tails up off of the ground. This is similar to the way in which a Basilisk runs across the water.

 If in the event that the Australian Frilled Lizard is left no route of escape, they have no other recourse, but to attack viciously. They possess two long and pointed, canine-like teeth in the lower jaw that can inflict a very serious and painful wound.

. Australian Government has stringent regulations and restrictions on the export of native specie reptiles, crocodilian, amphibians and invertebrates.

In the wild, their populations are thriving with the exception of the Queensland Territory in Australia, were their population is diminishing due to urban development causing the destruction of their natural habitat and falling prey to the feral cats.

Natural habitat and range:

Australian Frilled Lizards prefer tropical to warm temperate dry forests and woodlands with open shrubby areas.

 The range of the Australian Frilled Lizard extends between Northwestern, Northern and portions of Eastern Australia including the Queensland Territory were their population is on a steady decline.

Captive requirements:

 Note:
Adult males are extremely territorial and should never be housed together within’ the same enclosure.

 The Australian Frilled Lizard is highly arboreal and will require an enclosure that is vertically accommodating. Large size reptariums can be purchased that run up to 260 gallons, but they tend to be very expensive. It might be in your best interest to construct your own enclosure made of wire. The size of wire enclosure that, I recommend to house a pair of adult Australian Frilled lizards is 6 feet high X 3 feet wide X 4 feet long.

Australian Frilled Lizards are an extremely active specie and require a lot of room to thrive in captivity.

Hatchlings should be housed in no less than a 36" aquarium or reptarium. This size of an enclosure will allow for small, but thick climbing branches to be included in the containment.

Juveniles should be housed in no less than a 48" gallon aquarium or reptarium. This also will grant the addition of climbing branches to the containment and provide the necessary room to support their level of activity.

The substrate that I recommend for use is either newspaper or Astroturf. Newspaper is inexpensive and bountiful, it can be removed and replaced with ease. Astroturf is a bit more expensive, but it also cleans with relative ease. I do recommend cutting a second piece of Astroturf to fit to replace the original piece when it comes time to wash and scrub the original piece.

Large, thick and sturdy climbing branches should be added into the enclosure. Australian Frilled Lizards are highly arboreal.

A ground level hiding place is not a necessity, but still might be a good ideal for the sake of giving the lizard a sense of security when on the ground level of the enclosure.

I recommend utilizing two water bowls. The first water bowl should be small to condition the lizard to finding drinking water from the smaller bowl. The second water bowl should be large enough for the lizard to be able to fit its entire body into the bowl. This will assist the lizard in a problem free shedding.

Considering the fact that Australian Frilled Lizards are diurnal (active during the day), I do recommend the use of UVB lighting in addition to dome lights as the primary sources of light and heat. The light bulb wattages for the dome lights will vary dependant on the time of season.

Other sources of heat that can be incorporated into the enclosure are: 1) A red night time heat light. 2) Heat strips applied to 1/3 of the enclosure on the bottom of the warm end of the containment. 3) A heat pad applied to 1/3 of the enclosure on the bottom of the warm end of the containment.

The day time enclosure temperature should range between 84 to 88 degrees Fahrenheit.

The basking area temperature can range up to 97 degrees Fahrenheit, but should not exceed this temperature.

The night time enclosure temperature should range between 74 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit.

Nutritional requirements:

Note: Australian Frilled Lizards are hardy feeders, but they require frequent feedings of small portions.

In the wild, they consume crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, cicadas, ants, small lizards and mice.

Hatchlings should be fed approximately (6)  ¼ inch crickets gut loaded and dusted with calcium and multivitamin supplements and (3) superworms daily. They should be fed (1) pinkie mouse twice per week up to 6 months of age.

Juveniles should be fed (12) ½ inch crickets gut loaded and dusted with calcium and multivitamin supplements and (6) superworms every other day. They should be fed (1) fuzzie mouse every third day up to two years of age.

Adults should be fed up to (24) ¾ inch crickets gut loaded and dusted with calcium and multivitamin supplements and up to (12) superworms every 3 days. They should be fed (1) frozen, pre-killed, small adult mouse every fourth day beyond two years of age.

Unlike the other Dragon Lizards, Australian Frilled Lizards will not accept vegetation of any kind into their diet.

A couple of fruits that have been successfully introduced into their diet are: 1) Bananas and 2) Paw-paw.

Reproduction:

Australian Frilled Lizards are capable of mating between the ages of 2 to 3.

Females are oviparous (egg laying), they dig deep burrows in soft, sunny soil. They lay between 8 to 14 eggs per clutch in the nesting burrow.

Males become extremely aggressive toward other males during the mating season.

Males perform an elaborate ritual of mating behaviors such as arm waving, head bobbing and raising the frill and fluttering it repetitively. If the female is receptive of the courtship she will begin head bobbing back at the male.

The breeding season begins in September, the eggs are laid in November were they will incubate for approximately 10 weeks, the eggs begin hatching in February.

The hatchlings average size is 5 inches.

The female abandons the hatchlings as they hatch, leaving them to fend for themselves. Although the hatchlings have no parental guidance from the moment that they hatch, they do not suffer any kind of extreme mortality rate beyond the norm of any other specie of reptile.