Flora for Fauna Information Sheets:
Creating a lizard-friendly garden

Information courtesy of: Gould League

Some suburbs are still lucky enough to have Blue-tongued Lizards. These slow moving reptiles have about six to eight live babies at a time. Unfortunately, being slow, they fall victim to cars and inquisitive dogs.

Most lizards we see in back yards are tiny grass skinks. They feed on tiny insects and larvae.

Their needs are simple:

• As reptiles are solar-heated, they like somewhere to warm up in the sun - preferably on a raised rock, but a log or brick path will also do. Make sure the raised rock is next to some ground cover where lizards can retreat.
• Skinks and other lizards need somewhere to hide and sleep. Nooks and crannies under logs and rocks are great for sleeping and allows reptiles to scuttle beneath ground cover plants and native grasses for protection.
• The tiny critters they eat live in the natural leaf mulch found under native trees and shrubs.
• Keep cats under control. Keep cats indoors and provide an outside cat run.
• Many lizards happily live and sleep in thick tussocks of native grass.

Shingleback and Blue-tongue Lizards need places to sun themselves and tussocks and other tufting plants to hide in and hunt for insects.