13. PHOTOGRAPHY. WILDLIFE SINGAPORE. The Oriental Garden Lizard Esplanade Mon 3 Feb 2020

Mon 3 Feb 20. Around 10 am

Surprised to see the bright orange neck of lizard on the tree in the Forecourt Garden of The Explanade Singapore.

Tree 1. Orange throat and neck

ORIGINAL IMAGES

The female lays from five to sixteen soft oval eggs, about 5/8 of an inch long, in hollows of trees, or in holes in the soil which they have burrowed, afterward covering them up. 

The young appear in about eight or nine weeks. In a hot sunny day a solitary Bloodsucker may be seen on a twig or on a wall, basking in the sun, with mouth wide open. After a shower of rain, they are seen to come down on the ground and pick up the larva and small insects which fall from the trees during the showers.

During the breeding season, the male's head and shoulders turns bright orange to crimson and his throat black. Males also turn red-headed after a successful battle with rivals. Both males and females have a crest from the head to nearly the tail, hence their other common name "Crested Tree Lizard".

Changeable Lizards are related to iguanas (which are found only in the New World). Unlike other lizards, they do not drop their tails autotomy), and their tails can be very long, stiff and pointy. Like other reptiles, they shed their skins. Like chameleons, Changeable Lizards can move each of their eyes in different directions.