On any bright sunny day, you can see them resting in a shade or searching for food. The males with their red heads and the females with their green heads. If you are still wondering, I am talking about the Agama lizard. These lizards are popular in Nigeria and can be seen in almost all areas.
Agama lizards are reptiles. They live in the savanna and rocky areas, particularly in arid regions. While most of them are green and brown, dominant males show off by turning their bodies blue and their heads bright red or yellow. They are also known live in small groups with the dominant male ruling over several females and sub-males. These lizards mainly feed on insects but sometimes you can see them eating grass and grains when insects are hard to come by.
Most people ignore them, others see them as a nuisance, while the superstitious ones believe they can be used to make potent charms. Leaving that aside, i will list 3 more things you can do with these wonderful creatures.
1. Keeping as a pet
I know people don't like pets in Nigeria, the ones that do have only cats and dogs. Believe it or not when you clean and feed this lizard, it looks very good. The male ones (Red heads) can get very big and their color gets really vibrant. Moreover, you don't even need to spend on food. They can happily feed on scraps from your kitchen. They are usually scared of people so keeping them from infancy is important. They can also get friendly if given time.
2. As Bait
I know this sounds cruel but hundreds of them die everyday for no reason at all. They can be used for hunting small animals. Some people use them in traps to capture stray cats that can be pests.
3. As Food
Yes! they are edible. Don't let their small size deceive you, If you breed them well they can get really big with a lot of flesh. They can used in preparing stews and also pepper soup. Domestic animals are not left out too, when we used to rear chickens they always liked to feast on the smaller lizards. Because of the nature of the meat, most people believe consuming them can cure a long list of ailments. I don't know if that is true, you can ask your doctor.
This brings my post to an end. When next you see that agama lizard hanging on that wall, drop some leftovers and be nice. You might need it someday.