Common Basilisk Lizard spend most of their time on the ground but sleep in perches up to 20 meters high at night. Its diet consists of insects like beetles or dragon flies, flowers and small snakes, birds, eggs and fish. They inhabit lowland dry, moist forests, often adjacent to rivers and other waterways.
| Common name | Common Basilisk Lizard |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Basiliscus |
| colour | Brown and cream |
| size | 76 cm |
| Habitat | Forest and rivers |
| Life span | 7 years |
LIFE CYCLE:The females may lay 3 or 4 clutches of eggs annually. Each of the clutches can have from 10 to 20 eggs. The eggs are placed in a nest where it will stay warm but also prevents access to predators. The female won’t stay with them once she has laid the eggs. It can take up to 3 months for the eggs to hatch. The young weigh about 2g and are up to 3 inches long. The young ones reach sexual maturity within a year. Males have high crests on their heads and tails. Males and females both are brown to olive (cream) in colour and have a white, cream or yellow stripe on the upper lip and a second stripe along either side of the body. Adults can grow to a total length of 76cm, including the tail. Females are generally 135 to 194g and weigh half as much as the males. Their average lifespan is 7 years.
