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You are here: Home / What our animals are doing this month / What our animals are up to this month… December 2020 Edition

What our animals are up to this month… December 2020 Edition

November 29, 2020 by Mirran Trimble

By December, our native reptiles and amphibians should be dormant and sheltering somewhere warm for the winter. Unlike other animals which hibernate through winter, amphibians and reptiles do not undergo true hibernation; instead they enter a state of reduced activity.

Common lizards are one of the opportunistic species that make the most of mild winter weather by coming out of dormancy for brief foraging bouts. They will use these warmer spells to hunt for invertebrates such as worms, spiders and slugs before returning to their overwintering site. This behaviour is becoming more common as we are experiencing warmer winters.

You can encourage common lizards to your own garden by creating piles of rocks or logs for them to shelter in. Growing a variety of plants or building an insect hotel nearby will also attract a range of insects for common lizards to feed on, and they will appreciate having this food source on hand to take advantage of during the warm spells!

Watch out for opportunistic common lizards foraging during brief periods of mild weather this winter and record sightings on the Dragon Finder app!

Filed Under: What our animals are doing this month Tagged With: common lizard, december, hibernation, what our animals, what our animals are doing this month

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