White Lizards, also known as Camo Lizards or Chameleons, are a species of Lizard that predominantly appears throughout many early to mid-game areas. They are ambush predators that blend in with their environment using their unique ability to change color. They are capable of climbing walls and have incredibly long tongues used to catch prey.
White Lizards have a 28.6% or 2/7 bite lethality rate.
When not camouflaged, White Lizards have white bodies with black heads. Unlike most other Lizards, they do not exhibit any hue variation. They are usually plain, or have small frills and back scales. Their eyes appear to be closed.
Tips
Combat
White Lizards take 2-4 Lanco hits to kill, though their mobility allows them to stay out of reach of weapons. They are difficult to fight in vertical spaces due to the advantage their long tongue gives them. Staying level with them makes them easier to hit; if necessary, they can be lured into a smaller space before attacking them.
As with other Lizards, their heads are armored. They can be flipped over with a Rock to expose their vulnerable body or ambushed from a favorable angle. If they are climbing a background wall when hit with a weapon, they are momentarily stunned and let go of the wall. This can be used to drop them over a death pit, instantly killing them.
It is possible to use their tongues against them, as they are rendered mostly immobile while reeling prey in. As their mouth is open while latched onto prey, the player may use this opportunity to hit the inside of their mouth with a Spear to deal extra damage.
Stealth
White Lizards usually position themselves to have a good view of the room they are currently in, making it hard to sneak past them. Additionally, their camouflage can make it hard to know where they are. They are sometimes pointed out by the Overseer, but their location can also be discerned by looking for their eyes, teeth, and body outline against the background, or by making enough noise to get them to salivate. As ambush predators, they tend to remain stationary when not actively pursuing prey and are unmotivated to investigate noise, making this a viable strategy. It should be noted that in some areas their camouflage does not work very well.
Evasion
White Lizards are easily able to keep up with Slugcat due to their speed and ability to climb across walls, making them difficult to evade. Throwing Rocks at them stuns and knocks them off walls, slowing them down significantly. If grabbed by a White Lizard's tongue, getting close to them or throwing something at them causes them to let go. White Lizards, while fast, tend to give up easily and usually stop pursuing if they lose track of their target, instead opting to set up an ambush.
Abilities & Behavior
Wall Crawl
White Lizards possess the ability to walk on background walls. Unlike other wall-climbing Lizards, they are incapable of walking on ceilings.
Camouflage
When idle, White Lizards mimic the color of the background they are standing on, often rendering themselves near invisible save for their eyes and mouth. They stay motionless, waiting for prey to pass them by. Once they have spotted potential prey, White Lizards emit particle effects, often giving their location away. When their prey has wandered close enough, their camouflage fades away as they begin to give chase. This camouflage is not infallible, however; any damage to their body results in their coloration going haywire, losing the ability to camouflage themselves effectively for the cycle.
Tongue
When ambushing or pursuing prey, the White Lizard may employ their long tongue to try and snag it. Once their tongue has hit something, they remain immobile as they attempt to reel their prey in. If struck by a Rock or a Spear, they release whatever they are latched onto.
Walking on the wall
Idling and camouflaging
Tongue attack
Losing grip on the wall after being attacked
Camouflage breaking after being attacked
Taming
White Lizards have higher than average taming difficulty, typically requiring 2-4 feedings.
White Lizards can follow Slugcat through many regions due to their ability to wall-climb and can be advantageous to bring into Shaded Citadel from Industrial Complex as their full-body glow can illuminate the area around them to a certain degree. However, they are not particularly good at combat with other creatures due to their tendency to hang back and rely on their tongue rather than directly engaging.
A recommended place to tame White Lizards is the big vertical room with a pearl on the right side of Industrial Complex, near the gate to Shaded Citadel. Two White Lizards can be found in this room, and below the room are tunnels with Baby Centipedes, which can be killed easily by taking a single bite out of them for easy transport into the room above.
White Lizards, unlike most Lizards, have no color variation to their bodies. Instead, their black and white colors are determined by the current region's palette. White Lizards are relatively plain, and do not have a high chance to present any specific cosmetic features. They have five possible features: TailTuft, BumpHawk, ShortBodyScales, LongShoulderScales, and LongHeadScales. Out of these, White Lizards are most likely to have the TailTuft and BumpHawk features. A White Lizard's head and scales may flash black when it is injured, startled, or pursuing prey.
Ten White Lizards side by side, showcasing variations in color, cosmetic features, and scale types.
They are the only Lizard species present in the subregion The Leg.
They have a very low rivalry rating among members of their own species, beaten only by Cyan, Black and Yellow Lizards.
The White Lizard's tongue can cause some weird physics interactions; in particular, it can sometimes be used to slingshot Slugcat.
When a White Lizard latches onto an object below them with their tongue, due to gravity pulling the object down, they may become stuck and unable to release it until hit.
White Lizards' unique coloration is tied to their camouflage; when their camouflage is removed, they bear similar coloration to other Lizards, having black bodies and white heads.
White Lizards can be seen in very early gameplay footage from September 2012.[1]