Origin
The rainbow lizard (Agama agama) lives in trees, on rocks, rocky terrain, in the savannas and steppes of Central and South Africa, in the Sahara, in Madagascar, in Senegal, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sudan, Congo, Angola and Tanzania.
The rainbow lizard belongs to the order Squamata, family Agamidae. It is not an endangered species.
It is also known as common Agama or red-headed Agama.
Feeding the rainbow Lizard
Their food is composed mainly of spiders, insects, invertebrates, small reptiles and mammals, and in some cases supplemented by plants.
The diet of these lizards is very varied, they are not picky eat everything they catch and can swallow.
Features rainbow Lizard
The rainbow lizard is distinguished by the fact that it changes color during the day in sunlight and during the mating period. It has the body covered with scales, which in the neck area and the sides of the head are in the form of spiny formations.
At night it has a uniform grayish-gray or brownish hue, and in the day the head becomes a red-orange, and the body blue-bright. In the mating season, the males ' coloration is more accentuated, and the females have yellow sides with orange spots and turquoise dots.
The eyes are covered and protected with a transparent shell – which occurs in gecko lizards and some species of snakes.
Adult specimens have a body length of 30-40 cm, males are always larger than females. The tail is about 26 cm long.
These lizards live in colonies consisting of no more than 25 specimens, they are docile, used to live near people, only during mating the males become territorial and aggressive in their desire to impress the females.
Each group is led by a dominant male. When young males reach sexual maturity they are driven away from the dominant male and thus forced to find another territory.
During fights between males their body turns brown with numerous white spots, they make strange sounds like hisses and hit each other with their tail.
They are active mainly during the day, when males climb high rocks to watch their surroundings, and at night they hide in pits, under vegetation on the ground and in shrubs.
Agama Agama africana
Agama Agama boensis
Agama Agama dodomae
Agama Agama lionotus
Agama Agama smithi
and others..
Rainbow Lizard breeding
The mating period corresponds to the season of rains.
After a period of 10 days, the female lays a number of 3-8 eggs in a nest arranged between stones and plants on the ground.
After a period of 14-21 days the eggs hatch and the chicks appear.
Life expectancy in the rainbow lizard is about 10-20 years.
