Believe it or not, their average lifespan is between 25 and 28 years. The blue-headed agama is not venomous, but beware, they can deliver a painful bite.
Your warning will be the bright orange mouth lining while they gape their mouth open.
In the wild, they feed mainly on termites, ants and winged insects like grasshoppers. These are one of the few lizards that can handle the acidity of ants.
Seeing that today is the final Friday 13th of 2024, I thought I would use this post to explain the phobia about the date:
Friggatriskaidekaphobia, or fear of Friday the 13th.
The word is a mixture of the following Greek and Old Norse words:
- Paraskevi:Â Greek word for “Friday”
- DekatreÃs:Â Greek word for “thirteen”
- Phóbos: Ancient Greek word for “fear”
- Frigg: Old Norse word for “Frigg” (not speaking Norse, I have NO idea what the word means. Google Translate was not helpful at all)
It’s not clear where the superstition originates. Some believe it stems from the Biblical Last Supper, in which the unlucky 13th guest, Judas, betrays Jesus.
With a maximum length of up to 350 millimetres, the tree agama is large in its genus; however, its tail is small when compared with its size.
This rather drab specimen is the female of the species
It is the male that needs to be colourful to attract a mate.
The females can use their lack of colour to hide from unsuitable suitors.
I was so mesmerized by the male’s colour that I almost failed to notice the rather drab and well-camouflaged female he clutched to his chest.
Mating took place very quickly although the process was repeated several times.
I wonder what his reptilian brain is thinking.
And before I could answer that question, the female scuttled off and the male went off to try his luck on another tree.
Often experiences in nature and not always about the species with teeth and claws or hooves and horns.
Sometimes we have to just sit quietly and experience what nature provides.
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Travel is the proud winner of this prestigious award from the digital British lifestyle magazine Luxlife. The award is in the category Best Travel & Experiences Blog 2024 – South Africa.
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