[1] This species is capable of changing color, and so the same individual may appear light or dark at different times during the day.

[5] This species is widespread in coastal regions of the Indian and Pacific oceans, including the Maldives, Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Australia (Cocos Island), Western Samoa, Guam, the Society Islands, Pitcairn, and the Mascarene Islands.

It has been introduced widely in the Neotropics, including in Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Florida, The Bahamas, Guadeloupe,[6] Ecuador (including the Galapagos), Colombia and Chile, as well as to Hawai'i and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.

In the wild, they eat a varied diet of insects, spiders, amphipods, pill bugs, fruit, nectar, pollen, and even their own eggs.

[7] L. lugubris are occasionally kept as pets due to their simple care requirements and social nature.