If you have seen the movie Dragon Legend, you will find that the shape of the magic dragon is almost the shape of a giant ring-tailed lizard plus a pair of wings, which may be because the giant ring-tailed lizard is covered with spines in line with the foreigner's imagination of the dragon.
Giant ring-tailed lizard, living in dry and rocky South Africa, the domestic local tycoons introduced as pet breeding, body length of about 25 ~ 35 cm, the giant ring-tailed lizard full of thorns in the form is very in line with the Western people's imagination of the dragon, maybe it can insert a wing to spit fire, because it is like the dragon in "Game of Thrones".
In fact, the giant ring-tailed lizard and the armadillo lizard are both relatives of the same genus Cordylus rope lizard, there are at least 28 species in this genus, all of which are conservation classes of CITES II, and the giant ring-tailed lizard is also the largest one. But they don't bite their tails and curl them into balls to escape predators, just like armadillo lizards.
But they also have a signature action, that is, to raise their forelimbs to face the sun, so their English common name is called "sun lizard" is very expressive.
Basically, it is not easy to breed giant ring-tailed lizards, it is not difficult to distinguish between males and females, the male femoral hole is obvious, the scales on the inside of the forelimbs are particularly protruding, and the females do not.
The giant ring-tailed lizard is a niysan-type burrowing lizard. They are usually found in dry, rocky areas, inhabiting crevices or chiseled caves, and their habits and environments are very similar to those of the partially rock-dwelling king lizard. They are omnivorous lizards, but usually feed on insects and also prey on small mammals or other reptiles, such as crickets, bread worms, leafy vegetables, fruits and flowers.
The environment of raising giant ring-tailed lizards can be reptile sand as a substrate, plus stacked rock blocks are enough, they also need a lot of sunshine, so high-quality UVB light is indispensable, summer needs 12-14 hours of light per day, but the temperature does not need to be higher than 30 degrees, in addition to the basin is also necessary to prepare.
The giant ring-tailed lizard is found in the alpine grasslands of the province of Mpont Maranga and The Free State in South Africa, unlike other members of the rope lizard family, which prefer to live in rock blocks and crevices, the giant ring-tailed lizard likes to dig caves through its own strength, and the Dongxu of the giant ring is generally 40 cm deep, and the deepest cave can reach 1.8m.
During the day, giant ring-tailed lizards emerge from their burrows to enjoy the warm sunshine of the day. After their bodies are slightly warmer, they will feed near the mouth of the cave, mainly feeding on various insects such as Orthoptera and Coleoptera, and occasionally preying on vertebrates.
At night, they return to the cave. Caves provide them with protection, and when birds of prey fly near the cave or other predators pass by, they will immediately hide in the cave.
When the threat is gone, they stick their heads out and continue their day. Giant ring-tailed lizards are oviparous lizards, but they reproduce less efficiently, breeding once every 2-3 years, with only 1-2 cubs per litter. Giant ring-tailed lizards are longer-lived lizards that have been captured in people over the age of 20.
The value of the giant ring-tailed lizard is also high and frightening, and it is impossible to get it without six figures, and this strangely shaped lizard is simply ridiculously expensive. The reproduction of giant ring-tailed lizards is not easy, they are relatively rare oviparous lizards, only one litter a year, and a litter is only one or two larvae, is a small number of lizard species, visible things are precious to Xi.