Giant Girdled Lizard or Sungazer - Cordylus giganteus
SVL 150-180 mm; max. SVL 205 mm
A very large girdled lizard. Their numbers are declining (SA RDB, Vulnerable) due to habitat destruction (maize and sunflower farming) and because of collecting for the pet trade. Captive bred Sungazers, usually juveniles, are occasionally imported from South Africa to the U. S. and command a very high price. They are long-lived, hardy captives, but rarely reproduce in captivity.
Biology and breeding:
These terrestrial girdled lizards live in colonies in burrows that they dig in silty, fine soil. The burrows are usually about 17 m apart and approximately 420 mm deep and 1 800 mm long. They end abruptly without an enlarged chamber and may become flooded during the rainy season. Most face north or northwest to catch the sun. Each burrow is usually occupied by a single individual, although adults will often share their burrow with juveniles; 3 species of small frog also hibernate in winter in these burrows with the lizards. When a predator enters the burrow, the sungazer retreats backwards towards the mouth, lashing its spiny tail from side to side. If grasped, it will jam its occipital spines into the tunnel roof.
Sungazers are long-lived (longer than 20 years in captivity). They are often seen during the day, basking at the entrance to their burrows or on a termite mound, staring at the sun - hence the common name. They are sit-and-wait ambushers and feed mainly on invertebrates (beetles, grasshoppers, millipedes, termites and spiders), although they will take small vertebrates if the opportunity arises. They are dormant during winter and rarely seen above ground from May to mid-August.
One or two babies, measuring 115-150 mm TL are born January-April, possibly only every 2-3 years.
Habitat: Flat or gently sloping Themeda grassland or transitional zones.
Range: Small scattered populations in NE Free State, extreme W. KwaZulu-Natal and SE Mpumalanga.