Thorny devils have ridged scales that allow the animals to collect water by simply touching it with any part of the body, usually the limbs; the capillary principle allows the water to be transported to the mouth through the skin. The thorny devil ( Moloch horridus), also known commonly as the mountain devil, thorny lizard, thorny dragon, and moloch, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae.

The species holds cultural importance for many Aboriginal groups – for example, the Anmatyerre/Alyawarr people of the Northern Territory have a dreaming story surrounding the species. The lizard rubs its body against the moist substrate and shovels damp sand onto its back, the outer epidermis layer equipped to draw in cutaneous moisture.It’s covered in thorny spines and sports a ‘pretend’ head on the back of its neck, which is thought to warn off predators. It does have several predators, including man but the lizard has also developed many different ways to protect itself from becoming prey. The Thorny Devil is a small Australian lizard that has many different names, including the thorny devil, the mountain devil, thorny lizard, moloch and thorny dragon. The thorny devil's scales are ridged, enabling the animal to collect water by simply touching it with any part of the body, usually the limbs; capillary action transports the water to the mouth through channels in its skin. Not only does it make them risky to touch or bite for predators, it also makes them difficult to be swallowed as well.

Please be aware that there are other conditions that can look very similar such as fungal nail infections, which we can treat too and sometimes it takes a Podiatrists keen eye to tell the difference. Thorny devils are “sit-and-wait” predators who find a feeding site near ant trails and wait for their prey to pass right in front of them. To defend against predators, such as buzzards and Australian bustards (large land birds), thorny devils curl themselves to protect their head and expose a bony mass on their neck often referred to as a false head. They say that when ants are absent from the diet, symptoms of gut decomposition followed by death are reported, and that a single lizard can eat over 100 ants a day.The thorny devil uses camouflage as self defence, as its outer body colours blends in with the surrounding habitat.

During the night dew condenses on their bodies, and in the morning they brush up against dew-covered grass. Their range covers most of arid Australia – large parts of Western Australia, the southern half of the Northern Territory, South Australia and western Queensland. An additional charge will apply for Clothing and some amendments, do not hesitate to contact us with your requirements.Ive heard you can keep ant eating reptiles that require things like foamic acid on a diet of crickets dusted with foamic acid, but getting a WC on to change over to crickets would be a nightmare, not that you would even be able to get a WC one. There is a circulatory system of tiny channels (5 to 150 µm wide) created between the scales were this capillary phenomenon takes place. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Their teeth are modified to deal with the hard, chitinous bodies of their prey, with the mandibular teeth fitting neatly between two maxillary teeth to create a shearing tool in their mouths. They generally freeze still when they believe there is a potential threat, but they are able to run rapidly away from any predators if necessary.