Eastern Blue-tongue
The Eastern Blue-tongue Tiliqua scincoides scincoides) is Sydney's quintessential backyard reptile — large, charismatic, completely harmless and one of the most beneficial wildlife species a suburban garden can host. They are present across all five distribution zones of the Greater Sydney region, thriving in environments from coastal heath to highland forest to dense suburban housing. If you have one in your garden, you are doing something right ecologically. Protect them from dogs, switch your snail bait if you use it, watch out for them on the driveway, and otherwise let them get on with the long, slow, useful business of being a blue-tongue.
Blotched Blue-tongue
The Blotched Blue-tongued Lizard (Tiliqua nigrolutea) is Sydney's highland blue-tongue — a large, dramatic, slow-moving native lizard found in the cooler and higher parts of the Greater Sydney region, particularly the Blue Mountains. They are distinguished from the more common Eastern Blue-tongue by their blotchy rather than banded pattern, and by their preference for elevated, cool-climate habitat. Completely harmless to humans, genuinely beneficial in the garden, and long-lived enough to become a familiar resident over many years, they are one of the species that makes Sydney's highland gardens worth living in. If you have one, treat it as a privilege rather than a problem.