I’ve often seen lizards, agamas and geckos bathing themselves in the rays of the sun.

Since all these are reptiles and cold-blooded, I have always thought they needed more warmth when they could get it. But at Turahalli, I was treated to the spectacle of a Rock Agama cooling off!

I’d never before seen a reptile deliberately get into the water to bathe, so I watched, quite entranced.

There was a small round depression in the rock, probably made by the priests of the temple nearby, to grind pastes for the food offered to the deity.

The Agama had clearly already been bathing for a while, as the wetness of the periphery showed:

Surprisingly, after we had gone away for a bit, we returned, and the little creature was still bathing!

Always alert, the reptile jumped into the water and splashed about, much like anyone who’s desperate to take a dip!

Here you can see the Agama using its limbs to “wipe” its body:

A little action in the world of Nature that I might have easily missed…now I know that Everyone Needs An Occasional Bath!