Where do they live?

Blue-tongues are highly adaptable and can be found across nearly every environment in Australia. On the Northern Beaches, you can find them everywhere from bushland reserves to your backyard. You are more likely to see one during the daytime when its sunny, as they use the sun's heat to maintain their body temperature.

What do they eat?

Blue-tongue lizards are omnivores, feeding on a wide range of plant and animal matter. Because they are relatively slow-moving, they typically prey on animals that are easy to catch, such as snails, slugs, insects and other small invertebrates. Their strong jaws and broad teeth are specially adapted for crushing hard prey, allowing them to break open snail shells and beetle exoskeletons with ease.

What do they look like?

Blue-tongue lizards vary in colour, but those commonly found in eastern Australia are typically silvery-grey to brown with broad dark bands running across their body and tail. They have a stout body, short legs and a distinctive bright blue tongue, which they often display as a warning when threatened.

How can you support Blue-Tongue Lizards?

• Create a backyard sanctuary: Turn your garden into a safe refuge for local wildlife by planting native shrubs and ground covers that offer food and shelter. Keep rocks and logs in the garden to give lizards spaces to hide or sunbathe. Help protect them further by keeping pets indoors at night. For practical tips, see Backyard Habitat. 
• Leave bushrock and debris where it is! These natural features provide shelter, protection and foraging habitat for blue-tongue lizards, helping them survive in urban and bushland environments.
• Take care when mowing. Blue-tongue lizards often shelter in long grass and garden vegetation, so check the area before mowing or using whipper snippers to help avoid accidental injury.
• Avoid sticky traps, snail baits and insecticides. Blue-tongue lizards can become trapped on sticky traps while hunting insects, causing serious injury or death. They can also be accidentally poisoned by eating snails or insects that have been exposed to pesticides.

Fun facts

• Blue-tongue lizards are quite slow and can't easily outrun predators, so they rely on a clever bluff instead! When threatened, they stick out their bright blue tongue, hiss and puff themselves up to look bigger and scarier.
• Blue-tongue lizards can drop their tails to escape predators! The tail stump heals quickly, and over time a shorter replacement tail grows back.
• Females can give birth to up to 25 young. Babies are born live (rather than in an egg) and self-sufficient.