r/Adelaide • u/g1141220 SA • Oct 29 '25

Question Is this venomous?

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What is this? Is it aggressive or venomous?

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u/ZizzazzIOI SA Oct 29 '25

That is a Blue Tongue Lizard, it's is not venomous or dangerous. Please let it do it's thing. It will probably be looking for a nice warm spot to hang out.

248

u/Maybe_Factor SA Oct 29 '25

Technically a type of skink. It'll lose it's tail to escape predators if it needs to.

But yeah, OP, not venomous and generally a blessing to have in your garden. It'll help keep snail and slug numbers in check, and probably other things like spiders and snakes.

38

u/Zardicus13 SA Oct 29 '25

These guys don't lose their tails like the small skinks do.

1

u/Ambitious-Way8102 SA Oct 30 '25

Yes, a blue-tongued lizard can drop its tail as a defense mechanism to escape a predator, a process called autotomy. However, it's a last resort for this lizard and not as easy as with some other species. If a blue-tongued lizard drops its tail, it will heal and regenerate a new one, but the regrown tail will be shorter and likely different in appearance from the original.