Every now and then we spot a Blue-tongued Lizard in our garden. These lizards are large and slow-moving. This one was about the length of my forearm and about the width of my wrist.

Blue-tongues are skinks, a type of lizard that has overlapping scales, with a small bony plate in each scale on its head. They have small legs, and the back legs in particular often don’t do much.

In this video you can see the lizard’s blue tongue flicking in and out:

Blue-tongues live a long time, sometimes up to 20 years. They eat small creatures, including small snakes and funnel-web spiders. A good friend to have in your garden!

It’s always a pleasure to see such a lovely wild creature living amongst us.