Ruqayyah Snyder
Lizards are a common sight in Australian gardens, with the country being home to five distinct lizard families. The most common species found in backyards are the garden skink, blue-tongue lizard, and water dragon. These lizards play an important role in maintaining biodiversity and can be great additions to your garden as they feed on common pests like slugs, snails, and insects. However, it's important to create a welcoming habitat for them, as they can be shy and quick to hide. Providing shelter, water access, and avoiding harmful chemicals are key to attracting and keeping these lizards in your garden.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Common Name | Garden Skink, Grass Skink, Guichenot's Grass Skink, Pale-flecked Garden Sunskink, Penny Lizard |
| Scientific Name | Lampropholis guichenoti |
| Diet | Invertebrates, including crickets, moths, slaters, earthworms, flies, grubs, caterpillars, grasshoppers, cockroaches, earwigs, slugs, dandelions, small spiders, ladybeetles, and other small insects |
| Captive Diet | Fruit and cooked vegetables (no citrus fruit) |
| Habitat | Suburban gardens in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Southern Australia, Tasmania, and New South Wales |
| Length | 8-10 cm on average, with a maximum total length of 14 cm (including tail) |
| Lifespan | 2-3 years |
| Colour | Brown-black, sometimes appearing red when bathing in the sun |
| Behaviour | Docile, shy, quick to hide, excellent hunters |
| Water | Some lizards like access to water, such as ponds |
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What You'll Learn
Common garden skinks eat insects, fruit, and vegetables
Lizards are common in Australian backyards, and it's great to have them in your garden. They can help control pests, such as slugs, snails, and insects. If you want to attract lizards to your garden, it's important to provide them with shelter and a food source. This can include tussock grasses, ground covers, and hiding spots in rocks, logs, and leaf litter.
One of the most common lizards found in Australian gardens is the common garden skink, also known as the grass skink, Guichenot's grass skink, pale-flecked garden sunskink, or penny lizard. These small lizards, usually brown or grey with various markings or stripes, are endemic to Australia and can be found in many suburban gardens across the country.
Common garden skinks are insectivores, feeding on a variety of invertebrates, including crickets, moths, slaters, earthworms, flies, grubs, caterpillars, grasshoppers, cockroaches, earwigs, slugs, dandelions, small spiders, ladybeetles, and many other small insects. Their small, sharp teeth easily slice through their tiny prey. In captivity, they can also be fed fruit and vegetables, although the vegetables need to be cooked first. Skinks particularly enjoy sweet fruits such as bananas, strawberries, and blueberries but should avoid citrus fruits.
By providing a lizard-friendly environment and avoiding the use of harmful chemicals, you can encourage common garden skinks and other lizard species to make your garden their home, benefiting from their natural pest control abilities and contributing to biodiversity in your backyard.
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Larger lizards like blue-tongues eat snails and slugs
Larger lizards, such as blue-tongues, are a welcome addition to any Australian garden as they feed on snails and slugs, helping to keep their numbers down. Blue-tongues are particularly partial to snails, considering them a delicacy. Their strong jaws and large teeth allow them to crush snail shells with ease. They also eat beetles and caterpillars, as well as other insects and plant material.
However, blue-tongues are at risk of accidentally consuming poisoned snails and slugs if pesticides are used in the garden. This can prove fatal to them, so it is recommended to avoid using chemicals and instead opt for organic alternatives or create beer traps for the snails and slugs.
Blue-tongues are not agile creatures, so they tend to eat slower-moving animals. They are also not picky eaters and will happily feed on whatever is available in the garden. They are often found in suburban gardens across Australia, especially in warmer months when they emerge to bask in the sun and forage for food.
To attract blue-tongues to your garden, you can provide shelter and hiding places, such as logs, rocks, and pipes, as well as protected sunny spots. They can also be found in rockeries, horizontal pipes, and cavities under houses. By creating a welcoming environment and avoiding the use of harmful chemicals, you can encourage these larger lizards to make your garden their home and benefit from their pest control services.
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Lizards need a water source to drink and bathe
Lizards are common in Australian backyards, and they can be excellent additions to your garden. They provide free, natural pest control by feeding on insects and larvae, as well as slugs and snails.
To attract lizards to your garden and ensure they have everything they need, it is important to provide a water source. Some lizards, like the Eastern Water Dragon, enjoy access to water, so consider adding a pond to your backyard. In hot weather, leaving a shallow water dish in a shaded area of your garden is a great way to provide water access to lizards. Ensure that there is a rock in the middle of the dish, so lizards can get in and out of the water easily.
Lizards also like to soak up the sun, so they will appreciate protected, sunny spots on rocks, logs, or brick paths. These spots are ideal for lizards to lounge and digest their food. Additionally, they provide lizards with shelter and hiding places from potential predators.
By providing a water source and creating a comfortable environment for lizards, you can encourage them to make your garden their home and benefit from their presence.
It is also important to note that lizards can become injured or unwell, so always check your backyard before mowing to protect them from lawnmowers and edge-trimmers. If you encounter an injured lizard, you can take it to a veterinarian or contact your local wildlife carer for assistance.
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Lizards eat less when it's cold
The common garden skink, or Lampropholis guichenoti, is a small species of lizard native to Australia. It is usually found in suburban gardens in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Canberra, and Brisbane, as well as in most of southern Australia, Tasmania, and parts of New South Wales. This lizard is a part of the Scincidae family and is also known as the grass skink, Guichenot's grass skink, pale-flecked garden sun skink, or penny lizard.
The common garden skink is an insectivore, feeding on invertebrates such as crickets, moths, slaters, earthworms, flies, grubs, caterpillars, grasshoppers, cockroaches, earwigs, slugs, dandelions, small spiders, and ladybugs. They also eat other small insects and, in captivity, they can be fed fruit and cooked vegetables.
Lizards, being ectothermic, or cold-blooded, rely on their environment to regulate their body temperature. When it is cold, lizards slow down and do not need to eat much to survive. They find a warm place to hide, such as under leaves, in holes in tree trunks, or by burrowing in the soil. They remain still in these safe places, conserving energy, and wait for warmer weather. Once the temperature rises, they will bask in the sun to warm up their bodies and then resume their search for food.
In very cold temperatures, lizards can experience cold shock and lose the ability to move their limbs, causing them to fall from tree branches. This can lead to injuries or even death. Therefore, lizards eat less when it is cold, as their bodies do not require as much energy to function, and they prioritize finding warmth and conserving energy.
To support garden lizards in cold weather, it is essential to provide shelter and hiding spots. This can include leaf litter, wood mulches, twigs, rocks, logs, and native plants. These natural elements not only provide lizards with refuge from the cold but also create habitats for the insects they feed on. Additionally, ensuring access to water with a shallow dish in a shady area can be beneficial.
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Avoid pesticides, which kill a lizard's food source
Pesticides are a major contributor to the global decline of reptiles, including lizards. Reptiles are often not considered in environmental risk assessments, and pesticides can have different toxic effects on lizards than on other species. Lizards can be exposed to pesticides through ingestion of contaminated food, inhalation, dermal exposure, maternal transfer to eggs/young, and absorption by eggs of contaminants from the surrounding environment. This can lead to adverse effects on their health, including oxidative stress, neurotoxicity, and genetic damage.
To avoid harming Australian garden lizards, it is important to refrain from using pesticides that could kill their food source. Lizards, such as the common garden skink, feed on a variety of invertebrates, including crickets, moths, slaters, earthworms, flies, grubs, caterpillars, grasshoppers, cockroaches, earwigs, slugs, dandelions, small spiders, ladybeetles, and other small insects. By eliminating these insects with pesticides, you would be removing the lizards' primary food source, and they would likely move on to another area in search of food.
Instead of relying on pesticides, there are alternative methods to control unwanted insects in your garden. For example, you can encourage insectivorous birds to inhabit your garden by providing native trees, bushes, and shrubs, as well as a source of clean, fresh water. Insectivorous birds can help control insect populations while also adding to the biodiversity of your garden.
Additionally, you can try natural pest control methods such as using detergent in a spray bottle to kill ants, or creating a trap with a mixture of honey, water, and detergent to catch cockroaches. Cucumber peel is also known to repel cockroaches, ants, and other insects. For mosquito control, lavender oil, eucalyptus oil, and tea tree oil are excellent repellents that can be applied to exposed skin with a cotton ball.
By avoiding the use of pesticides, you can help protect the lizard population in your area and contribute to the overall health of your local ecosystem.
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Frequently asked questions
Australian garden lizards, such as the common garden skink, eat a variety of insects and invertebrates, including crickets, moths, flies, grasshoppers, cockroaches, slugs, and snails.
Skinks are a type of lizard common in Australian gardens and they eat a variety of insects and invertebrates, similar to the common garden lizard. They also enjoy fruits like bananas, strawberries, and blueberries but cannot eat citrus fruits.
Larger lizards, such as the Blue-tongues and shinglebacks, will eat slugs and snails in addition to insects and larvae.
To attract lizards to your garden, provide shelter and hiding places from predators. This can include thick grass, leaf litter, fallen branches, logs, and protected sunny spots on rocks or brick paths. Lizards also need access to water, so consider leaving a shallow water dish with a rock in it for them to lounge and escape from.
