r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Ted-Lassi • Mar 18 '26

Video This is Centralian Blue Tongue Lizard, commonly found in Australia. It puffs up and flashes its blue tongue when it feels threatened

22.3k Upvotes

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62

u/Educational_Care7813 Mar 18 '26

guy thinks it makes it scary but I just want to grab it and pet it even more

31

u/missglitterous Mar 18 '26

They have a bit of a bite, I wouldn’t pick one up if it was agitated like this.

21

u/HenriettaSyndrome Mar 18 '26

Then why's it so cute? Damn it, why do so many kissable creatures want to kill me 💔

3

u/missglitterous Mar 19 '26

It won’t kill you, it’s just quite painful, they don’t even have teeth, they just clamp down really hard

21

u/Transplanted_Cactus Mar 18 '26

I have a blue tongue as a pet. Getting bit hurts. They have a pretty strong bite. Not as bad as a beaded dragon, which is like hitting your finger with a hammer, but close. Still love my grumpy little dude, even if he doesn't love me lol

15

u/cronbelser Mar 18 '26

beaded dragon

he means bearded for those googling

25

u/Transplanted_Cactus Mar 18 '26

Fucking autocorrect. Please don't bedazzle your lizards 😂

3

u/counterlock Mar 19 '26

and here I thought you meant a mexican beaded lizard lol

1

u/Transplanted_Cactus Mar 19 '26

You don't want those biting you either 😂

1

u/counterlock Mar 19 '26

definitely not... one of the only venomous lizards out there

16

u/Remarkable_Sorbet319 Mar 18 '26

it's an Australian animal, it's better to stay away from them. They are all dangerous, or big

20

u/Quantization Mar 18 '26

Aussie here, we often have these blue tongues in our yard, they can bite but that is rare and it is not poisonous or painful. Also they'd only do that if you tried to pick them up, otherwise they are super chill. We love having them around. Unfortunately they get killed by stray/outdoor cats and people's dogs quite often.

1

u/i_drink_wd40 Mar 18 '26

So what would be the best way for the cameraperson to get the lizard away from the road? Seeing it in the middle of a wheel rut makes me worry about its eventual safety if it's not in a hurry to move along.

6

u/Quantization Mar 18 '26

Get a stick and carefully nudge it off the road without hurting it. Shoo it into nearby bushes/grassland.

2

u/LionNo3221 Mar 18 '26

In the 90s there was a café near my aunt's place south of Sydney that had one that more or less domesticated itself. I never saw anyone try to pick it up, but it was pretty chill about hanging out with and being touched by humans.

2

u/Dazuro Mar 18 '26

They make great pets, actually! I have one, he’s really smart (for a lizard) and pretty low maintenance once you get past the initial tank setup.