young
Females can lay up to 3 clutches of 8-20 eggs, each weighing 3-5 grams, in a season. Like Goldilocks tasting porridge, female frilled-neck lizards test dozens of nesting sites, digging holes and probing with their snouts for temperature conditions that are just right. The temperature at which the eggs are incubated determines the sex of the baby frilled lizard, but it does much more than that. Temperature affects things like the size of the hatchling, shape, behavior, their running speed, a whole range of things. Once the eggs are buried, maternal instincts run out and the shallow nest is abandoned to incubate for 8-12 weeks. When they hatch, the youngsters are Territory-tough and fend for themselves from birth. Young Frilled Lizards are fully independent as soon as they hatch. Young lizards dig their way out of the soil and at once begin searching for insects to eat. This is a dangerous time for the young, many are eaten by birds, snakes, and other lizards.