Lucifer - An Example of Frill Neck Lizard Behaviour

LUCIFER

Lucifer was a young Frill Neck Lizard we had in store in 2005.  He was our favourite because he 'displayed' so much, but his behaviour was defensive - he didn't like us!

Frillies spend most of their time up in trees.  Yes - they really do!  You won't see them very often when walking through woodlands, because they sidle quietly around to the other side of the tree they are in, so you can't see them.  You will notice that their colouration helps with camouflage against bark and branches.

But when a Frilly is cornered it can become quite fearsome!  Firstly it will hiss loudly and frill up making it look bigger than it really is (there are bones in the frill on each side of the head - these bones are connected to the jaw - when the mouth opens wide the frill automatically stands out).  If you ignored the hissing and got too close to Lucifer he whipped with his tail.  When it connects it feels very much like the flick of a wet teatowel and leaves a welt on the skin (personally experienced!).  A Frilly will also act like it is going to attack and will charge at you and bump you solidly. But despite this display, I have never seen one attempt to bite!  Mind you, those jaws and teeth can easily chew through a mouse and crunch on bones, so I certainly wouldn't put my finger in a Frilly's mouth!

When Spring came last year, Lucifer was housed with some girls, which completely distracted him.  For some reason he became as docile as our captive raised Frillies.  However, Spring also brought out some very aggresive mating behaviour between our males and females.  But that's another story.....