DOING LIFE

Blue Headed Southern Tree Agama - Sunday, 12 November 2007 (Kloof, Durban, RSA)

Regulars to Doing Life will probably recall an entry(s) regarding Scrap (our Tree Agama) who we thought was murdered by the roof contractors who refurbished our home's roof - during February 2007. But fortunately Scrap made his appearance a few months later, perching on the cabbage tree near our front door, basking in the early morning sun.

Arriving home round about midday on Sunday, after a gym session followed by a brunch (gym before breakfast eases the guilt feelings) we were greeted by not only Scrap, but Scrap accompanied by not one, but two female Scraps. We were delighted that a little social group of Agamas were establishing themselves in our indigenous garden (... not ours for long though). It's quite a mission to capture Scrap(s) on camera though. He likes playing hide and seek around a tree trunk with you.

We probably won't see a Scrap in our garden at our new home in Fernridge Estate. But, hopefully, once we have created our little indigenous outdoor area, a reptile or two will visit and make our home their home ... preferably no indoor snakes!

Here's some interesting facts about our Scrap Family:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An agama is any one of the various small, long-tailed, insect-eating lizards of the genus Agama. The agamid genus is composed of at least 31 species across Africa.One of the best known species is the red-headed rock agama (Agama agama), widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. Its original habitat is the savanna, but today it also lives within villages and towns. These agamas form groups of ten to twenty. The "leader" is an old male, while females and young males constitute the other members of the group. The colour is dark brown at night, but after dawn the colours of the dominant male will change: the body becomes light blue, head and tail bright orange. These colours may change again depending on the dominant male's mood. For instance, if male agamas fight, their heads will turn brown, and white spots appear on their body. Fights take place when a foreign agama male appears. It will try to dispute the leadership of the dominant male. When fighting, agamas hiss and attempt to hit each other's head with their tail. These strokes may be very violent and often result in haematomas or fractured jaws.The females in the group are entirely brown. Often there is a highest-ranking female that remains in proximity to the leading male and struggles to repel other females.

Vital Statistics

Latin Name : AcanthocecerusLength_F : 135 mm

Length_M : 167 mmO

Order : Squamata

Description: A very large agama with a broad head. Breeding males have a dull blue to bluish back, with bright blue (anteriorly) to straw-yellow (posteriorly) spines and a bright cobalt-blue head.

Class : ReptiliaSubspecies :

Possibly up to 6 races, but all poorly defined.

Distribution : Ethiopia, through Eastern Africa to the North-Eastern parts of the subcontinent, reaching the southern limits in coastal Kwa-Zulu Natal, Eastern Botswana (Lobatsi) and Ovamboland.

Breeding : The female lays 5 - 14 oval, soft-shelled eggs in a hole dug in moist soil. These hatch after 90 days

... If the thought of being boxed in makes you feel claustrophobic - be warned, the next post could be psychologically harmful.

- Mover & Shaker Signing Off