Lizards Lizards
Sauria
Lizard Tracks
Natural History of
Lizards
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Lizards are cold-blooded reptiles. Since they cannot make their own body heat, they spend a lot of time out in the sun, staying warm. You will find them on fence posts, rocks, logs, pavement, fences, walls, and many more places. There are more than 3000 species of lizards, making them the largest group of reptiles. They have dry, scaly skin and clawed feet. Lizard tails are fragile and easily break off. This can be beneficial in that it allows the lizard to escape from predators. Some lizards use their tails to store fat reserves. |
| Most lizards eat insects. (They are insectivores.) Some are vegetarians and a few will eat small mammals and eggs. |
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They are found in tropical and sub-tropical habitats. Lany lizards can defend themselves by biting and there are two species that are venomous. The scaly skin helps protect against predators. The chameleon can change its color to match that of its environment. This allows it to camouflage itself and hide from predators. The largest lizard is the Komodo dragon. Since they are, for the most part, lightweight animals, their tracks can be difficult to see unless you have the right conditions of soil and light. Sometimes the tail will leave a drag mark in the trail. You will find little scratches that indicate where the feet were placed. The long toes may, on occasion, be visible in the trail. |
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| Alligator lizard | |
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| Alligator lizard | |
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| Fence lizard on a tree | |
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| This alligator lizard is infested with many ticks! | |
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| The scat left by a fence lizard on top of a log. | |
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| Fence lizard tracks in fine dusty soil. | |
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| Lizard tracks - unknown species | |
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| Lizard tracks - unknown species | |
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I found this skink underneath a rock during the winter. It must have been the skink's winter hideaway. I replaced his roof right away! |
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Lizard tracks crossing a dirt road |
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Lizard trail crossing a dirt road. Note drag mark of tail/body. |
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Lizard trail in fine dust. |
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A small western fence lizard sunning on a log. |
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Shasta alligator lizard neonate |
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Shasta alligator lizard neonate |
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| Skilton's Skink - a subspecies of the western skink. The juveniles have bright metallic blue tails. As they get older, the color fades. Tails detach easily and serve to distract predators while the lizard escapes. A detached tail will wiggle on its own, which can be enough to make a predator stop and take notice. Lizards can re-grow new tails. | |
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| Fence lizard tracks crossing dust. | |
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| Very small fence lizard tracks found on a dusty dirt road in summer. | |
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The lizard to the left was found in grass when I was mowing. I stopped the mower just in time to avoid the lizard. It let me catch it and take it far away from the area being mowed. |
| The lizard had ticks on it too. Ticks will often attach themselves to fence lizards. |
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| An alligator lizard found on a hot late summer day. |
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I was watering the grass and got some water on the leaves on the ground. This thirsty alligator lizard went right over and started drinking from the water on the leaves! |
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| It was a large alligator lizard and had ticks attached to it. |
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| I got a small cup and added more water to the leaf in front of the lizard. Surprisingly, it stayed put and allowed me to approach closely enough to pour more water onto the leaf. It then lapped it right up! |
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| I kept on adding more water as the lizard drank. It drank and drank until it was full. Then it walked away! |
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| A small lizard found in a puddle of water in spring. This lizard was hunting tadpoles! |
Personal Notes on
Lizards
As a kid, I thought it was fun to catch the "blue-belly" lizards that frequented wood piles near my house. We found that, if you turned the lizard over and rubbed its belly, it would go to sleep. I don't know why that is, but it's pretty challenging to get a lizard to go to sleep in your hands.
Find lizard posters, greeting cards, postage stamps and more in my new store.
| Visit Beartracker's
Nature Store online store at: www.dirt-time.com
Happy tracking!!
What else can you find in the nature store? Beartracker's T-shirts, sweatshirts, journals, book bags, toddler and infant apparel, mouse pads, posters, postcards, coffee mugs, travel mugs, clocks, Frisbees, bumper stickers, hats, stickers, and many more items. All with tracks or paw prints, or nature scenes. Custom products are available. If you don't see the track you want on the product you want, email me and I can probably create it. Proceeds from all sales go to pay the monthly fees for this web site. You can help support this site as well as get great tracking products! Thank you! |
| Find other tracking products: www.zazzle.com/tracker8459* |
| Also
visit these fine stores for more products of
interest:
NDN Pride shop - For Indian Pride items for all tribes. Custom items available on request. ASL Signs of Love - For anyone who uses or is learning ASL, American Sign Language. Custom name items and more are available here. Get Every Child Outdoors (Get E.C.O.) - My shop dedicated to nature and getting kids interested in nature and the outdoors. Sales from all stores give commissions to Beartracker's Animal Tracks Den, which helps keep this site online as a free service. We are celebrating ten years online this year! |
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If you wish to help keep this site
online, donations are accepted through PayPal. |
Got a lizard story? E-mail me and tell me about it.
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Copyright © 1997, 2008, 2018. Text, photos, and drawings by Kim A. Cabrera
Updated: March 25, 2018.
