🐾 Maybe the reason I love animals so much, is because the only time they have broken my heart is when theirs has stopped beating.

Tuesday 16 October 2012

African Striped Skink

You've got to get out and pray to the sky to appreciate the sunshine! 
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:: African striped skink - Trachylepsis striata  ::


I have a couple of Lizards living in my bathroom court-yard garden and I often find them sunning themselves on the walls or the rocks and tree stumps. These cold-blooded reptiles eat insects such as ants, beetles, larvae and flies, so the ones we get around the house or game lodges are actually very welcome! They also often enter my bathroom, decorating my walls just the way I like it! 

Two wooden lizards decorating my bathroom walls, and invitation for the garden variety to come and visit!

Being cold-blooded means that they don’t have a control mechanism keeping their body temperature constant irrespective of their surroundings. They need the sun to warm their blood and provide them with energy to move and will remain mostly inactive on cold days and may hibernate in winter. There are no poisonous Lizards in southern Africa and South Africa is home to more than 200 lizard species, making it the richest country for lizard diversity in continental Africa. 

 
A sunny position on the wall is greatly prized.

The African striped skink gives birth to live young, but other reptiles lay eggs. The lifespan of lizards is between 1 – 3 years. 

 
This little lady (I think!) looks decidedly pregnant!


My bathroom as seen from the court-yard

 Getting together almost certainly means confrontation! Shortly after I took this photo, the top lizard jumped onto the bottom lizard, sending him (her) scurrying back into the ferns.

 All four my resident lizards catching up on on some early-morning sunbathing. They are actually also keeping an eye on the hosepipe on the ground, where I'm watering the plants, and as soon as I remove they hosepipe they will all be down for a drink. I do have several water bowls in the garden for them and the birds, but they seem to revel in the running water, preferring to drink directly from the ground.


The sun rising over the bathroom court-yard wall.

The court-yard provides lots of cover and a safe haven for them and is also warm enough so that I caught glimpses of them throughout winter.

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6 comments:

  1. Very interesting!! Love the sun's light on the glass! (en natuurlik die ou akkedissies!!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Liz! I just love having them around, can watch them for hours!

      Delete
  2. Name: striped skink - Mabuya striata punctatissima
    Hope this helps.
    Nicky

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Nicky, you're such a darling! I Googled it and you're absolutely right! Thank you for the info, I'm thrilled!

      Delete
  3. Tnx 4 de lizard name Mr Nicky. I also had a problem finding their name.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad to be of service Anonymous! And thank you for the visit!

      Delete

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