- I'm Mark Vins.
Right now we are in Western Australia
and I just found a fiery lizard crossing the road.
And it's absolutely infested with ticks.
I'm gonna try my best to remove them
and hopefully not get bit.
And hopefully not get bit.
Lizard, lizard right here.
You guys rolling?
Whoa, check that out.
Look at that.
This is a shingleback.
Wow.
What an amazingly cool lizard this is.
Let me see if I can pick it up.
Careful, oh.
Don't wanna get bit.
Don't wanna get bit by this guy.
Hang on.
Look at that defensive display.
We've got a lunge.
Whoa.
He is a feisty one.
(lizard hissing)
Did you hear that?
Hear that hiss?
Got him.
All right.
Here, let's come on in close guys.
That is a really good look at their defensive display.
I was hoping we would come across
one of these lizards here in Western Australia.
And there it is.
Our first reptile of the trip, the shingleback.
The first thing you notice about this animal
is that tongue sticking out.
Flaring its tongue out, saying, hey,
I'm feisty and I will give you a tremendous bite
if you get any closer.
You can see the size of those mandibles
and it does have razor sharp teeth.
Let's talk about its name.
The shingleback gets its name
because of its armored plating.
Look at those scales.
They are raised up and very thick
like an armored little tank.
Here, Andrew, put your, feel the back of that.
- [Andrew] Whoa.
He's super tough.
- He's super tough.
An extra tough lizard that utilizes its scales
to ward off predators.
Those armored scales would act like a plate,
a barrier to hopefully protect it
long enough to scurry away.
Now, some people would call this a shingleback.
Others would know it as a bobtail.
It gets the name bobtail because of this little nubby tail
on the back, which has a couple of purposes.
The first purpose is it's a defense mechanism
because it's a false head.
So if there's a predator, like a hawk or a snake,
that comes in and tries to eat this lizard,
it might accidentally go for the wrong side
because it looks a lot like it's head.
And that would be good for this lizard
'cause it would give it a chance to get away.
Now another purpose for that bobtail is it's a fat store.
Being out here in the desert
water is scarce and energy can be scarce.
So certain times of the season
while this lizard can be hibernating,
it relies on the fat stores in its tail to survive.
Now these lizards are a species of blue-tongued skink.
And while their tongue isn't as bright
as their cousin the eastern blue-tongue,
I think they're armored appearance makes them the coolest
of these spunky Australian lizards.
I wanna be very clear,
I do not wanna take a bite from this lizard.
It has very strong jaws because it is an omnivore.
It feasts on a diet of snails and beetles,
so it requires strong mandibles to crush those shells up.
And I don't want you to crush my finger, right?
'Cause we're gonna be friends,
'cause I'm gonna help you out too
before the end of this video.
These lizards can be found
while road cruising out here in the Outback.
They are often victims of car strikes
because they like to stay on the road to get warmth.
They are ectothermic.
So we are gonna help you cross the road, buddy.
Don't worry.
But we're also gonna help you out with something else.
Now, one of the things that we can do
is to remove some of its parasites.
You can see that right there, let's get a tight shot.
These reptiles are known to be covered in ticks.
So anytime we encounter an animal
with visible parasites like leeches, barnacles, or ticks,
we always do our best to try to remove them if possible.
In this case, removing these pesky blood suckers
will cause no pain to the lizard,
and will certainly help its chances for survival
in this harsh desert environment.
This is a little bit risky right here.
Getting my fingers super close to those jaws.
Got him.
Ugh.
Oh no.
There's more.
Oh.
Hang on buddy.
We'll help you out here.
Ugh, guys.
There are so many ticks on this lizard.
That one was in its left ear.
And the ticks do like to go for the softer part,
so ears and in between the scales.
I'm gonna try to pry this one out.
Yeah.
Got you.
There we go.
And there is another tick.
See, that's what friends do.
We remove ticks from each other's ears.
You would do the same for me, wouldn't you?
Yeah.
Now this is not a tick that would burrow into a human,
but they can actually get about 20 times this size
by engorging themselves with the blood of these reptiles.
I've actually found a tick on another shingleback
before that was the size of a grape.
Ugh.
Disgusting, right?
Ugh, we don't want ticks.
I think I got the main ticks off of you.
Oh no, you got another one deep in your ear.
Got him.
They're all stuffed in his ear.
How did you get so many ticks inside your ear?
Oh gosh, guys, there are so many ticks in this lizard's ear.
Guys are gonna wanna get a shot of this, it's gross.
Ugh.
Look at that.
Dude, where have you been?
Oh.
All right, no more ticks.
I think I got 'em all out of that ear.
I'm sure that feels a lot better, huh buddy?
Now you can hear again.
All right, the sun's coming back out.
He's getting a little feisty.
Let's see if we can get another look
at that iconic defense display,
that tongue splaying out to warn any predator off.
All right, I'm gonna try to put him down carefully,
not take a bite.
Ready, you guys got your shot?
One, two, three.
See that?
See that defense display?
Whoa.
He is fast.
Yeah, yeah.
Hey, we're still friends, don't worry.
- [Andrew] He looks angry.
- Oh man, they are feisty when they wanna be.
Oh, not messing around are you buddy?
Ah, too close.
Gosh, he bit down hard.
Oh guys, look at that bite.
We were trying to get the thumbnail,
and I was using my hat to shade,
and he's totally bit my hat.
Oh my gosh, it is strong.
I don't think it's gonna let go.
You would not wanna take a bite from this lizard.
Holy smokes, it is just bulldogging.
Let me see if I can just put it down if it'll let go.
Gimme my hat.
Who do you think you are, Jake Paul?
Got my hat.
Can I have my hat back, Sir?
- I got your hat.
- Please?
Are you kidding me?
Thank you.
Thank you for my hat back.
Okay.
Wow.
You would not wanna take a bite from this lizard.
It is a bulldog.
That is a bite that you would not soon forget.
So cool.
Out here in Western Australia
and our first encounter with the shingleback.
I'm Mark Vins.
Be brave, stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
All right, let's put this one across the road
and continue on our way.
See you later.
(dramatic music)
(animals calling)