Blotched Blue-tongue Lizard - Tiliqua nigrolutea
The blotched blue-tongue lizard is greyish brown with light coloured patches giving blotchy appearance. It is a large skink growing to about 25cm with the male slightly shorter than the female. Found in bushland areas around Melbourne and forests in the east and northeast. They are diurnal and usually found basking around rocks or sheltering under cover such as fallen logs or ground debris. Their diet is both plant (flowers, fruits and berries) and animal material such as snails, slugs and insects which they don't chew but hold and crush. Sense of smell is through nostril and tongue. Females give birth to as many as 1 -15 live young in a litter but more usually 12 after a 3 -5 month gestation period. Young are left to fend for themselves from birth.
Blue-tongues are slow moving but if provoked can bite, or as a defense open their mouths, poke out their wide blue tongues and hiss. They are inactive in cold weather. With luck they can live 20 years.
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