Trachylepis varia is a small skink lizard. It lives in Africa south of the Sahara and can change body color depending on temperature and condition.
Trachylepis varia differs from related species by its ability to quickly change body color. It helps nature by eating many insects and serves as food for snakes and birds.
meadows, prairies, forb glades on land
Immature form that undergoes metamorphosis before adulthood.
Worker
Tail size
birth time
vertebrates
Hot and almost no precipitation
Hot winter with almost no precipitation
pursuit
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Legs count
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
summer from pleasant to very hot
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
adult
Maturity
invertebrates
insects
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
rains are very rare, almost a desert
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
Trophic type
all living animals without backbone
Filters
summer very hot, dry, lots of grass
Warm or hot summer
Warm winter with almost no precipitation
diurnal
Upcoming birthdays
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
16 to 24 grams, 7 – 12 centimeters
rains almost always, very humid
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
animals with backbone
Business sausages
Lifespan average
Regeneration
quick lunge and capture of prey with jaws
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
swampy freshwater biotopes — peat bogs, marshes, river mangroves
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Pets
Primary oral structure used to seize, manipulate, or ingest food.
Hot steppe
{name} jubilee
Eyes size
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
mouth
turns
Rascals
terrestrial grassland and steppe
terrestrial herbaceous
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Where are they found?
Low precipitation in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
winter dry and warm
freshwater marsh and wetlands
Taxons
carnivore
if born as {name}
Actively chases and captures mobile prey in open space.
age
birth date
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
teeth
burrow
Potential Habitat
lots of grass, few trees, rains are rare
Very hot summer
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
winter dry and very warm
Gestation
Body size
vision
summer very hot, above +25…+30 °C
{name} birthday
No results found
On the map
lunge
Pleasant summer
all life stages
Female ♀
Body color
small worms
world of Afrotropics
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
spiders
Very dry
Neither
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
from birth to death
early young
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
world of Afrotropics
Duration
live insects
This is me
Steppe
Always very wet
Gamers
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
live spiders — arachnids of all sizes
terrestrial
Scales color
Asexual
swap
active predation
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
celebrated their {n} birthday
open grassy spaces — steppes, savannas, prairies
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
very hot and almost no precipitation
small worms without further specification
Hermaphrodite ⚥
Mandarin
Primarily detects and locates food using eyesight.
embryo
Length
kg
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
Observations
◉{N} more on tap