Chris Williams 15/10/23 Chris Williams 15/10/23

Blue-Tongue Lizards in Your Backyard.

Introduction

Bluetongue Lizards are harmless to humans and pets. It is illegal to harm or kill them and the NSW Government may prosecute anyone found to harm native wildlife.

The Eastern Blue-tongue Skink (Tiliqua scincoides) is a common sight in urban areas, particularly in Australian suburbia. This guide provides an overview of their physical characteristics, dietary habits, and ecological significance, focusing on their adaptation to urban environments.

Physical Characteristics

The Eastern Blue-tongue Skink typically grows to around 60 cm in length. It has a silver-grey body adorned with broad, dark bands across its back and tail, and a distinctive black stripe running from the eye to the ear. Its most notable feature is its bright blue tongue, extending defensively when threatened to deter predators.

Adaptation to Urban Environments

This is the average size of a “Bluey” found in Sydney.

These skinks are frequently found in suburban gardens and parks, even in densely populated inner-city suburbs like Balmain. Despite their lack of speed and large size, they adapt well to altered landscapes. Their presence in urban areas underscores their resilience and ability to thrive in environments significantly different from their natural habitats.

Diet

Eastern Blue-tongue Skinks are omnivorous. Their diet includes slugs, snails, insects, grubs, as well as various plants and flowers. By feeding on these items, particularly garden pests, they play a beneficial role in maintaining the health of urban ecosystems.

Reproductive Behavior

These skinks are viviparous, giving birth to live young rather than laying eggs. Typically, they give birth to 10–20 young during the summer months of December or January, a reproductive strategy that is relatively uncommon among reptiles.

Ecological Role and Conservation

Despite their robust appearance, Eastern Blue-tongue Skinks face several threats in urban areas, including predation by domestic pets and risks from vehicles and garden equipment. They are often mistaken for snakes and killed due to this misidentification, despite being non-aggressive and posing no threat to humans. These skinks play an essential role in urban wildlife communities by controlling pest populations and demonstrating significant adaptability to living near humans.

Coexisting with Blue-Tongue Lizards in Your Backyard

Avoid Relocation

Blue-tongue lizards have established territories. Moving them can disorient them, making it challenging for them to find essential resources like food, shelter, and water. It's best to leave them where they are found.

Observing Their Behavior

Initially, blue-tongues may shy away from human presence. However, as they become accustomed to their surroundings and realize there's no threat, they may become more visible and relaxed.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

It's often illegal to capture blue-tongues for sale or as pets. If you wish to keep a lizard, seek legal avenues like purchasing from reputable pet shops.

Avoiding Snail Pellets

This baby Blue Tongue was found in a Granville while searching for a Red Bellied Black Snake.

Blue-tongue lizards enjoy snails, so avoid using snail pellets in your garden to prevent them from consuming poisoned snails.

Care with Lawn Equipment

Be cautious when using lawnmowers and whipper snippers, as these can accidentally harm lizards.

Creating a Lizard-Friendly Garden

This lizard in Balmain East shows how well they have done in an Urban Environment. Balmain East was first settled in the 1840’s and humans and these lizards have been coexisting there ever since!

Sunlit Resting Spots

As ectothermic animals, blue-tongues rely on external heat sources to regulate their body temperature. Creating sunny areas in your garden with flat rocks or stones allows them to bask and warm up.

Diverse Vegetation

Landscaping with a variety of plants, including ground cover, shrubs, and taller greenery, can attract insects and other prey, providing a steady food source for the lizards.

Mindful Pruning

Lizards use plants for shelter and foraging. Avoid excessive pruning, especially during their active seasons, to preserve natural hiding spots.

Natural Mulch

Use natural, organic mulch like leaves, straw, or wood chips. This helps conserve moisture and attracts insects, creating a suitable environment for lizards.

Here is the lizard on the cover of our latest book, Urban Reptiles!

Constructing Lizard Hideaways

Incorporate man-made materials like pipes and tin to create additional hiding spots. These can offer protection from predators and harsh weather.

Responsible Coexistence with Blue-Tongue Lizards

Respect Their Territory

Avoid disturbing blue-tongues in their natural territories. These reptiles have established homes, and relocating them can disrupt their access to essential resources.

Ethical Interaction

It's important to observe and respect blue-tongue lizards from a distance. If you encounter them, remain calm and allow them to move freely.

Blue-Tongue Lizards in Urban Landscapes

Challenges of Urbanization

As urbanization expands, blue-tongue lizards face habitat loss and new threats, including attacks from domestic pets and the dangers of snail baits. The reduction of green spaces due to development forces these reptiles to move to less dense areas.

Conservation Efforts

Efforts are being made to protect and preserve blue-tongue lizards in urban areas. Healthy populations can still be found in pockets of bushland and less densely populated suburbs.

Promoting Wildlife-Friendly Urban Spaces

To support wildlife, including blue-tongue lizards, urban gardeners are encouraged to maintain natural garden areas with features like logs, rocks, and shrubs. These provide essential cover and habitat for various small animals.

A Bluey showing off its distinctive blue tongue.

Appreciating Blue-Tongue Lizards

Blue-tongue lizards are a fascinating part of Australia's urban wildlife. Their presence in gardens signifies a healthy and balanced ecosystem. By creating lizard-friendly environments and respecting their natural behaviors, we contribute to the conservation of these remarkable reptiles.

In an era of increasing urbanization, it is crucial to appreciate and protect the wildlife that shares our urban spaces. Blue-tongue lizards, with their unique adaptations and beneficial ecological roles, deserve our respect and care.

A Bluey eating it's favourite meal, a snail.

Chris Williams 11/10/23 Chris Williams 11/10/23

Sydney's Snake Season: Safety Guidelines by Urban Reptile Removal

Press Release: Sydney's Rising Temperatures Boost Snake Activity - Stay Safe and Informed

As Sydney's temperatures soar, residents in both urban and regional areas are seeing an uptick in snake activity. These reptiles, primarily in search of food and mates, are common in metropolitan Sydney. Though many are venomous, they predominantly avoid humans, showing aggression mainly when threatened.

Chris Williams, of Urban Reptile Removal, highlights, "Ensuring a clutter-free yard, particularly avoiding long grass and debris, significantly reduces the likelihood of snakes near your home." Upon sighting a snake, the best approach is non-interference.

Sydney Snake Safety Guidelines:

Maintain a respectable distance; safety first.
Avoid any attempt to capture or harm the snake, as this often leads to bites.
If a snake enters your home, observe from a safe distance, protect kids and pets, and promptly call a professional snake handler.
Encountering snakes outdoors? Allow them to proceed to their natural habitats.
In the unfortunate event of a snakebite, dial 000, apply a pressure bandage to the bite area, and stabilize the affected limb. Remain calm and wait for medical professionals.

Australia boasts over 200 distinct snake species, with approximately two-thirds being venomous. Yet, only a fraction genuinely pose a threat. Recognising their vital role in the ecosystem, such as curbing rodent populations, is imperative.

Climate shifts have led to snakes emerging earlier from their winter hiatus. With years of snake-handling in Sydney's northern regions, Williams stresses caution. "When faced with a snake, keep your distance. Quick movements or startling, especially around species like brown snakes, can provoke them."

Chris said, "Snakebites normally stem from human attempts to engage. Steering clear reduces risks."

In Sydney understanding and respecting the role of snakes in our environment is the cornerstone of safety and coexistence.

We wrote the book on Urban Reptiles. Available on line and in all good bookstores.

Chris Williams 10/10/23 Chris Williams 10/10/23

What to Do if You Find a Snake at Home:

So you’ve found a snake…

After Spotting a Snake:

Inside your Home: Keep calm and move everyone, including pets, out of that room. Shut the door and slide a towel beneath to prevent the snake from exiting.
Outside: Keep watching the snake from a safe distance. If it slithers away to open areas or woods, it's unlikely to return.
If it hides in your garage or under something you need to stay there and watch it. If the snake can see you it will be unlikely to come out…we want it to stay there till it can be safely removed.
Remember…

Never attempt to touch, capture, or harm the snake. Most bites occur during these actions.
Immediate Actions for a Snakebite:

Keep Calm: Always treat the bite as if it's from a venomous snake.
Stay Still: Movement can speed up venom spreading.
Call for Help: Dial 000 right away.
First Aid: Apply a broad, firm bandage over and around the bite. Extend the bandage as far up the limb as possible. Prepare to perform or receive CPR if needed.

What Should You Do if You Encounter a Snake in Your Home or Yard?

Australia is home to over 200 species of snakes, and as snake expert Dane Trembath explains, many of them are venomous.

"There are over 110 species of elapids throughout Australia, so that's front-fanged venomous snakes," says Mr. Trembath, who is the herpetology collection manager at the Australian Museum Research Institute. He adds that snakes are most active during the warmer months, and while there’s a higher likelihood of encountering them in bushland areas, some snakes "do quite well" in urban environments.

So what should you do if you spot a snake in your home or yard? And how can you discourage them from coming onto your property in the first place?

Hearing Noises? It May Not Be a Snake

If you hear suspicious noises coming from your ceiling, under the floorboards, behind a cupboard, or in a crawl space and think it could be a snake, there's good news and bad news.

The good news is, according to snake catcher Chris Williams from Urban Reptile Removal, it's far more likely to be a possum, lizard, or even a mouse.

The bad news? Not hearing a snake doesn’t mean it’s not there. "Snakes are extremely silent," says Mr. Williams. "There are some species, like tree snakes, that have a concave belly, and you might hear them sliding across the walls or floor. But other than that, they don’t make noise."

Keep Calm and Call an Expert

If you see a snake in your home or garden, it's crucial not to panic.

Mr. Williams recommends staying a safe distance away while keeping an eye on the snake’s movements and immediately calling a professional snake catcher to remove it.

"If the catcher doesn’t know where the snake is and can’t find it, they won’t be able to do much. If possible, get a photo and send it to the catcher—they can help identify the snake or advise you further," he says. "If the snake is in a room where you can’t monitor it, close the door and tuck a towel under it to prevent the snake from escaping."

Know Who to Call

If you live in an area where snakes are common, it’s a good idea to have the contact details of local snake catchers handy. Mr. Williams also suggests checking if your local vets carry snake antivenom, especially if you have pets.

Why You Should Never Handle a Snake Yourself

You should never attempt to move or handle a snake on your own—even if you think it’s harmless.

"There are people who think they’re picking up a carpet python, but it turns out to be an eastern brown or a highly venomous Stephen’s banded snake," says Mr. Williams. "It happens a lot, and people are taking a very, very big risk."

How to Make Your Home Less Appealing to Snakes

One of the best ways to reduce the likelihood of snakes on your property is by clearing away any unnecessary debris in your yard.

"Get rid of any rubbish, large bits of tin, broken cars—anything that provides cover, not just for snakes but for the lizards, frogs, and small mammals they eat," says Mr. Trembath.

Chris Williams agrees, adding that snakes are mainly looking for two things: food and shelter. "If you can reduce things lying around your yard—like overgrown palm fronds, big piles of mulch, timber, sleepers, or tin—you'll have a lot less chance of attracting snakes."

He also advises locating garden beds away from the perimeter of your house, keeping your lawns cut short, and using enclosed compost bins to avoid attracting rodents.

Finally, Mr. Williams reminds people to be mindful: "Snakes are a part of life here in Australia, and you just need to be aware of where you put your hands or what you kick in the bushes. Snakes generally want nothing to do with us. If you stay out of their space, bites are very unlikely."