Bloodsucker Lizard
Scientific name: Calotes versicolor
Order: Sauria
Family: Agamidae (Approximately 30 Calotes species)
Also Known As: Garden lizard
Description: To 15-1/2 inches. Large head. Eyes can rotate independently (like chameleons). Distendable dewlaps. Gular pouch weakly developed. Massive, strong shoulders. Laterally flattened body. Dorsal crest from neck almost to tail. Dorsal scales are large, rectangular, and keeled. Massive, strong shoulders. Slender, long tail.
Mainly brown or greyish-olive with irregular dark brown spots or bars. Can change colors to red, blue, iridescent green, and black hues. Males have orange or crimson head and neck during the breeding season.
Distribution: Southwest Asia, from Sri Lanka to Southern China and Sumatra. In jungle shrubs and trees, in high temperature and humidity.
Breeding: Males become strongly territorial during the breeding season. Develop orange or crimson on head and neck. Inflates throat dewlap, turns sideways, and bobs head up and down. He becomes pale yellowish or flesh-colored with a conspicuous black patch on each side of the throat. Male and female move closer together, the male bobbing continuously, until they are close enough to mate. He approaches the female and grips her neck with his jaws. He grasps her hind leg with his and twists his hind leg under her. Copulation lasts approximately 2 minutes.
Nesting: 10 to 20 eggs are buried in damp soil. Incubation in 6 to 7 weeks. Sexually mature in one year or less.
Diet: Insects, spiders, small rodents, and lizards.
References
The Care of Reptiles and Amphibians in Captivity. Christopher Mattison. New York: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 1982.
Lizards in Captivity. Richard H. Wynne. Neptune, New Jersey: T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Ltd., 1981.
All About Lizards. Robert G. Sprackland Jr. Neptune City, New Jersey: T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Ltd., 1977.
Living Reptiles of the World. Karl P. Schmidt and Robert F. Inger. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1957.
The Completely Illustrated Atlas of Reptiles and Amphibians for the Terrarium. Fritz Jurgen Obst, Dr. Klaus Richter, and Dr. Udo Jacob. Translated by U.E. Friese. Neptune City, New Jersey: T.F.H. Publications, Inc., 1988.
