Sudan Plated Lizard
Gerrhosaurus major
CLASS: Reptilia
ORDER: Squamata
SUBORDER: Sauria
FAMILY: Cordylidae
SIZE:
May attain 2 feet in length
RANGE:
Eastern and southeastern Africa
HABITAT:
Usually in the dry savannah
DIET:
Wild - Insects and other lizards; grasshoppers, beetles, millipedes
Zoo - Fruits, vegetables, meat, mice, crickets, mealworms
DESCRIPTION:
Large, thick bodies with very rough scales on the head. Scales on the back have pronounced keels or ridges, belly scales are arranged in ten rows, the soles of the feet are covered with slightly keeled and the lower eyelid is covered with small scales. (Cylindrical body))
ADAPTATIONS:
Powerful legs for speed and digging.
Bask in sun but stay close to their burrows for quick retreat.
Under attack, they dive to safety, inflate the lungs to double the size making their removal from a small place nearly impossible.
Scales are heavy and regular in arrangement providing a high degree of protection.
May live in burrows which it may dig itself, or use termite nests.
YOUNG:
Oviparous, usually laying only two eggs. Young are 5-6 inches at hatching.
STATUS:
Not threatened.
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