Desert Lizards

Desert lizards are reptiles that have found clever ways to survive in some of the hottest, driest places on Earth. In the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico you can find dozens of kinds, from tiny night lizards to the venomous Gila monster.

How Lizards Survive the Desert Heat

Lizards are cold-blooded (ectothermic), which means their body temperature depends on their surroundings. They warm up by basking in the sun and cool down by moving into shade, burrows or rock cracks. If a lizard stays out in the midday sun for too long, it can overheat and die.

When the weather becomes extremely hot and dry, many desert lizards go into estivation, a resting state a bit like summer hibernation. They hide underground, stay still, and their breathing and heart rate slow down so they need very little food or water until conditions improve.

Desert Horned Lizard

The desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos) has a wide, flat, roundish body with a row of fringed scales along each side. Its back is tan, beige, gray or reddish, with darker wavy markings that match the soil it lives on. Two dark blotches on the neck are easy to spot, and the back is covered in small pointed scales.

Its head carries a crown of short spines, or “horns,” with wide bases. Young lizards have shorter, less noticeable horns. You can learn more about the whole group on our horned lizard page.

Diet

Ants are the main food of the desert horned lizard, especially harvester ants. It also eats beetles, crickets, grasshoppers and other small insects. A horned lizard often sits near an ant trail and snaps up ants one by one as they pass. To hide, it can wriggle its body to shuffle sand over its back so only its head shows.

Habitat and Range

This lizard lives in sandy and gravelly desert flats, scrubland and low hills, from southeastern Oregon and southern Idaho south through Nevada, Utah, western Arizona and southeastern California into northern Mexico. Scientists recognize two subspecies: the northern desert horned lizard (P. p. platyrhinos) in the northern part of the range and the southern desert horned lizard (P. p. calidiarum) in the hotter south.

Reproduction

Desert horned lizards mate in spring. In early summer the female lays a clutch of eggs in a shallow burrow, and the young hatch about two months later, usually in late summer. The hatchlings are tiny and well camouflaged from the start.

Behavior

Horned lizards are gentle and slow-moving. When threatened, they freeze, puff up their bodies with air to look bigger and harder to swallow, and may jab with their horns if picked up. Some relatives, like the Texas and regal horned lizards, can even squirt blood from their eyes, but the desert horned lizard rarely uses this trick.

Desert Night Lizard

The desert night lizard (Xantusia vigilis) is a small, secretive lizard of southern California, Baja California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and western Arizona. Including the tail, it is only about 3 to 5 inches long, and it is usually olive, gray or brown with dark speckles.

Despite its name, it is often active by day, but it stays hidden under fallen Joshua tree branches, yucca leaves and rocks. It eats termites, ants, spiders and other small arthropods. Unlike most lizards, it gives birth to live young, usually one to three babies in late summer or fall. Scientists have discovered that young night lizards often stay near their parents and siblings in small family groups, which is unusual for a reptile.

Other Amazing Desert Lizards

Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum)

The Gila monster is the largest native lizard in the United States and one of the very few venomous lizards in the world. Its bumpy skin is patterned in black with pink, orange or yellow. It moves slowly, spends most of its life underground, and eats eggs and baby animals. Its bite is painful, so it should always be left alone, and it is protected by law in many places.

Chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater)

The chuckwalla is a big, plant-eating lizard that feeds on flowers, leaves and fruit. It gets most of the water it needs from its food. When scared, it squeezes into a rock crack and gulps air to puff itself up so tightly that predators cannot pull it out. Breeding males can be brightly colored.

Desert Iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis)

The desert iguana is one of the most heat-loving lizards in North America. It stays active on scorching days when many other lizards have gone into hiding, and it can handle body temperatures well above 100 F. It mostly eats plants, especially the yellow flowers of creosote bushes.

Great Basin Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus bicinctores)

This handsome lizard has two black bands around its neck, a long tail and a large head with strong jaws. It hunts insects and smaller lizards and can sprint on its hind legs. Find out more on our collared lizard page.

Sonoran Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus nebrius)

A close cousin of the Great Basin collared lizard, this species lives in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and Mexico. Collared lizards vary in color from place to place, but the dark collar markings are always the clue to their identity.

Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magister)

As its name says, this lizard is covered in sharp, pointed scales. It is a fairly large, sturdy lizard that often perches on rocks, trees and woodpiles, and it eats insects, spiders and sometimes smaller lizards. It can give a firm bite if handled.

Long-nosed Leopard Lizard (Gambelia wislizenii)

Leopard lizards are spotted like a leopard, which helps them blend into sandy, gravelly ground. They are very fast hunters with strong jaws and eat insects and other lizards. They are not dangerous to people, but like most wild lizards they may bite if grabbed.

Side-blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana)

This small lizard is one of the most common in the desert. It is named for the dark blotch on each side of its body, just behind the front legs. The blotch can be faint, so look closely to see it.

Zebra-tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconoides)

The zebra-tailed lizard is one of the fastest lizards in North America. When it stops running, it often curls up its tail and wags it to show the black-and-white stripes underneath. Males also have blue and black patches on their sides.

Greater Earless Lizard (Cophosaurus texanus)

Most lizards have a visible ear opening on each side of the head, but the greater earless lizard does not. Scientists think this may help keep sand out when it dives under loose soil.

Western Banded Gecko (Coleonyx variegatus)

This small, soft-skinned gecko comes out only at night to hunt insects and spiders. Unlike many geckos, it has movable eyelids and can blink. If grabbed, it can drop its tail to escape.

Horned Lizards of the Sonoran Desert

Several kinds of horned lizards live in the Sonoran Desert, including the desert horned lizard and the larger regal horned lizard. People often call them “horny toads,” even though they are lizards, not toads. Their camouflage is so good that they are very hard to find and photograph.

Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)

Western fence lizards live in many habitats, from coastal scrub and woodlands to mountain slopes above 6,000 feet and the edges of high deserts. They are often seen on fences, tree trunks, rocks and woodpiles. Males have bright blue patches on their bellies, which is why they are sometimes called “blue-bellies.”

Here is a surprising fact: these lizards may help protect people from Lyme disease. A substance in their blood kills the Lyme disease bacteria inside ticks that feed on them, so in areas with many fence lizards, fewer ticks carry the disease.

Why Desert Lizards Are So Diverse

Lizards are among the most varied animals in the desert. They come in many sizes and colors, and each species has its own way of finding food, hiding from predators and dealing with heat. Some are shy and calm, others are bold and fast, but all of them are perfectly suited to life in a tough environment.

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