[8] T. rugosa has a short, wide, stumpy tail that resembles its head and may serve the purpose of confusing predators.

The tail also contains fat reserves, which are drawn upon during brumation in winter, during which many lizards perform a behaviour similar to hibernation except they require water every day, but can go without food.

This skink is an omnivore; it eats snails and plants and spends much of its time browsing through vegetation for food.

[4] Four subspecies of Tiliqua rugosa are currently recognised:[7] The species is widely distributed in arid to semiarid regions of southern and western Australia.

The range extends from Broome, Western Australia, across the southernmost regions of the country to the coast, then north into Queensland.

[12] The habitat of the species includes shrub lands, eucalyptus forests, desert grasslands, and sandy dunes.

During the spring time and given an adequate source of food that season and normal mating behaviour, males can often overlap each other's ranges.

[15] Tiliqua rugosa has a heavily armoured body and can be found in various colours, ranging from dark brown to cream.

This is probably a defence mechanism to confuse predators although it also stores fat and has led to the common name of "two-headed skink".

Observation of damage to scales has provided evidence that unpaired males are more likely to display antagonistic behaviour towards each other.

While the red kangaroo is considered to be the primary host of Ornithodoros gurneyi, it has been observed that larval and nymph ticks can parasitise T. rugosa and successfully develop to maturity.

It is suggested that T. rugosa may play a role in dispersal of Ornithodoros gurneyi as individuals have a relatively large home range, within which there may be several sites where host species interact.

T. rugosa tends to gape open its mouth and display its blue tongue, which is often accompanied with intense hissing.

T. rugosa is a viviparous skink meaning that its young are born live rather than being hatched from eggs as with most other lizards.

[4] The male of a monogamous pair eats less while parenting, remaining alert and ready to give an alarm.

Their excellent sense of direction allows the male to follow or pursue the female repeatedly, even outside of mating season.

In polygamous setups, guarding multiple female ranges against other males proves to be difficult and waste time and resources.

Living in bush lands that are so prone to fire means skinks have to easily be able to detect smoke.

During studies, it was proven that T. rugosa engaged in more active behaviour such as pacing and tongue flicking in the presence of smoke.

This remarkable ability is due to visual cues from light polarisation and ferromagnetic detection, forming a sort of "celestial compass" that provides the lizard a sense of direction when coming back home.

However, this ability only persists until about 800 metres out of the home range, and further displacement distances means the skink is too far away to navigate.

They are a protected species in Australia and can only be exported lawfully under a federal permit, but their import into and trade between other countries is not commonly illegal.