My Friend the Blue Tongued Lizard

Dashiell Vonwiller

When my mom first saw this lizard she thought it was a snake but then she remembered my sister’s amazing drawing of a Blue Tongue Lizard and it looked just like the drawing. We have returned to visit him a few times and he inspired me to write this article.

Species/Family: The largest member of the skink family are Blue Tongued Lizards or you can call them Blue Tongued Skinks.

Fame: The Blue Tongued Lizard has a famous striking blue tongue that it was named after.

Habitat: Blue Tongue Lizards live mostly on the east side of Australia. They like living in open landscapes, and hiding under leaves for shade. Blue Tongued Lizards are happy when they live near a water source.

Survival: Blue Tongued Lizards need clear sunlight to survive because they do not produce their own body temperature and that is because they are cold blooded (cold blooded means your body temperature is the same as the temperature outside or around you). During cold weather they remain still and warm, but when the sun is out they will come out to sunbathe or hunt.

Diet: Blue Tongue Lizards eat animals and plants. Since they are slow moving they usually eat snails and slugs and they have hard jaw muscles to crack open shells.

Age: Blue Tongued Lizards can live up to 30 years in the wild and 20 in captivity, which I hope means I can keep visiting my friend for a while.