Classification
Order: squamata
Family: agamidae
Subfamily: hydrosaurinae
Genus: chlamydosaurus gray
Species: Chlamydosaurus kingii Gray.
Habitat
The frilled-neck lizard is native to the northern coast of Australia and the island of New Guinea. It can be found in the grassy and sandy flat lands as well as in tropical savannah woods. They hide and rest on the trees.
The biologists mark out three forms of this species:
1. Native to Australia. These lizards are the rarest and the most expensive ones. They are the largest specimens and have yellow-brown color with the shade of red. They also have white cheeks.
2. Native to New Guinea. The most common lizards that are much smaller than their Australian counterparts and their “frill” is not so large either. The body is dark brown with gray pattern.
3. The hybrid of the first and the second forms. They are a bit larger than the ones from New Guinea and have the same coloring as the Australian lizards, but without white necks.
Outward appearance
The males of the Australian subspecies can reach 100 cm in length. The males that belong to New Guinea subspecies are about 80 cm long. Females are on average 10 cm shorter than males. It is the second biggest lizard of the agamidae family.
The lizard has protective colouring that coincides with the colour of the substrate: from yellow-brown to black-brown. The tail is very long, it equals to about two thirds of the total body length. Their special feature which gave the species its name is a big ruff of skin folded back against its head and neck. This frill is supported by long spines connected to the jaw bones (two on each side). The special muscle located on the lizard’s throat can lift and drop the frill. When it is folded, it stays close to the body. If the lizard needs to scare someone, it spreads the frill like a collar. The frill contains a lot of blood vessels. One of its functions is thermal regulation. In the morning it helps the reptile to catch the sunlight and if it is very hot, it helps the lizard to cool down. Also it attracts females and helps to fight with rivals. The frilled-neck lizard is a quick runner, it has powerful legs and sharp claws.
Character
The frilled-neck lizard is a little skittish. In order to seem bigger and threatening, it uses various methods. When the lizard feels threatened, it opens its mouth and inflates the collar, stands on its hindlegs, hisses and hits its tail against the ground. So this lizard can seem bigger and more dangerous than it is, and it often manages to scare away the predators. In order to enhance the effect, the lizard tries to get on a higher spot. When the reptile needs to move quickly, it runs on its hind legs and uses its tail as a balancer.
This species doesn’t get tame easily. But when it gets used to seeing people outside the tank, it starts reacting calmly on them and doesn’t take the threatening posture. You shouldn’t handle the frilled-neck lizard, it gets scared. But they are very interesting to watch.
Maintenance care
One lizard needs a tank at least 150 cm long and 100 cm high. You should keep either one male or a couple. Also you can keep a harem: one male and several females.
The frilled-neck lizards run very well on the ground, but they prefer to spend most of their time of the trees. So you should put sturdy branches in the tank. It’s a good idea to glue some background images on the back and side walls of the tank, this way the lizard will feel more comfortable. You should direct a heating lamp on the log. The temperature in the basking spot has to be at least 38 degrees, otherwise the lizard will become flaccid. The distance between the lamp and the lizard has to be at least 30 cm, or the lizard can get burnt. A UV lamp is a must.
For decorations and hiding places you can use monstera, tutftroot, pothos and arrowroot.
The water bowl is not necessary since the frilled-neck lizard doesn’t like bathing.
For substrate you can use milled bark; it can also decorate the pots with plants.
The ambient temperature should be between 24°C at night and 30°C at daytime, reaching 42°C in the basking spot.
The air humidity should be between 40 and 60%, and up to 80% in the evening.
The light should be moderate.
Feeding
The frilled-neck lizard is an insectivore species. It eats cockroaches, spiders, crickets, mealworms and superworms as well as small mammals, eggs, other lizards. In captivity you can vary their menu with pink mice, egg whites, the mixture of meat and vegetables. You should add to the food vitamins and minerals. The food is put in the bowl or otherwise lizards can be fed with the help of tweezers. You should take away uneaten food regularly so it doesn’t rot.
Adult lizards are fed 2-3 times a week. Hatchlings should be fed daily up to 6 months, and then 3-4 times a week up to 2 years of age.
The frilled-neck lizard doesn’t drink from the water bowl. It licks the water drops from the leaves and the walls of the tank. You will have to mist daily.
Features
It is a large, active and beautiful lizard with interesting behavior.
This species is easy to feed.
Males are very aggressive towards each other.
If the lizards are kept in couples or in groups, they should be fed separately. While the lizard eats, its frill goes up and down, it can tease other lizards and fights can start.
Adult lizards eat a lot and are prone to obesity.
If the frilled-neck lizard gets scared, it can panic and make rapid movements.
The lizard can injure itself when it panics and hurt its snout. If it doesn’t get even more stressed, the wounds heal without special treatment.
The frilled-neck lizard requires live feed.
It requires a large tank.
This species doesn’t get tame easily.
Diseases
If shedding goes wrong, molted skin can stay on the lizard’s body (often on the tail and on the fingers). It is very dangerous since it can lead to necrosis and the tip of the tail can even fall off. The best prevention is to maintain the right level of humidity in the tank. You will have to wet the molted skin properly and take it away with the help of tweezers.
Breeding
It is an egg-laying species. Before breeding the frilled-neck lizard you need to ensure that the male and the female are adults and in good health. The female has to be at least two years old, breeding at an earlier age may be dangerous, because the process of egg-laying requires a lot of energy and calcium from the lizard. And since the lizards grow up to 2 years, early breeding can shorten their lives. Males are capable of breeding at the age of 1 year old. In order to stimulate mating you should organize a brumation period and after that imitate a warmer season. When the warm and humid season comes, the appetite and the activity of the frilled-neck lizards grow. Approximately one month later the courting rituals start. The male bows and if the female is ready, he gets on her back and bites her neck. After copulation the female digs 8-14 eggs in a damp hole in the sand. It is best to incubate eggs in damp vermiculite under the temperature of 28-29 degrees. If the temperature is lower or higher than that, only females hatch. The incubation period lasts for 70 days. Hatchlings should be fed more often than adult lizards. You have to add calcium and vitamins to each meal.
Average life span is up to 10 years. Females that have bred normally have shorter lives because of the stress related to the process.
