Why this common garden lizard is known as a bloodsucker across Asia

Nature · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The oriental garden lizard, often called a bloodsucker, is a master of disguise. During breeding season, males transform their appearance with vibrant red heads and throats to intimidate rivals and attract mates. Despite their intimidating name, these agile insectivores are harmless, highly adaptable, and thrive even in busy urban environments.

The oriental garden lizard, Calotes versicolor, is a widespread agamid found across much of Asia, from Iran to China and Indonesia. Often referred to as the changeable lizard, it possesses a remarkable ability to shift its skin color from brownish-olive to striking shades of red and black. This color-changing behavior is most pronounced in males during the breeding season, which lasts from May to early October. During this time, they may display a bright red throat or head, a trait that earned them the local moniker of bloodsucker in places like Sri Lanka and Bengal.

Beyond their color-shifting, these lizards are skilled survivalists. They are insectivores that feed on ants, beetles, and grasshoppers, though they occasionally consume small vertebrates like rodents or other lizards. When threatened, they employ a clever evasion tactic: they dart to the nearest tree and swiftly climb to the opposite side of the trunk, keeping the tree between themselves and the predator. Unlike many other lizards, they do not drop their tails to escape, relying instead on their speed and agility to navigate hedges, trees, and urban walls.

Reproduction involves the female laying between five and twenty leathery, spindle-shaped eggs in holes burrowed into moist soil or tree hollows. The young typically hatch within six to nine weeks, reaching breeding maturity at about one year old. While they are a common sight in their native range, their introduction to new regions like Singapore has created ecological tension, where they compete with native species like the green-crested lizard. Despite being viewed as pests in some areas, their ability to adapt to human-altered landscapes ensures they remain a fixture of the Indo-Malayan ecosystem.

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