Desert Spiny Lizard

INTRODUCTION:

 

    On this page you will find a few different things. There are facts to learn, and activity to do, and an assessment to test how much you understand about this fascinating animal.
Hope you enjoy it!!



 
 



   I am a large, 5.6" stocky Lizard. I have large, pointed, keeled, overlapping scales. I am gray, tan, or brown, and in Arizona I have a yellow or orange head. Yellow and orange scales are scattered on the sides of my body. I range across the deserts of southwestern Arizona. I like to bask on the branches of trees, on rocks, or on other sunlit perches. I flee down into the inner tangles of pack rat nests, rock crevices, or burrow when I feel threatened. I have a strong jaw and will bite if I am captured. I hibernate during the cold months of winter and late fall. I eat a variety of insects including beetles, ants, and caterpillars, also spiders, centipedes, small lizards, and some plant material. I am often found in female-male pairs. With mating in spring and summer, the females will lay one to two clutches (clutch size ranges from 2 to 12 eggs) of eggs in spring and summer.  Hatch-lings could appear as early as late May, but usually begin to emerge in July. Who am I?
 











WHO AM I? Hey there! I bet you will never guess what I am? . . . Can you guess? That is correct I am a Lizard. Now the tricky question,  do you know what kind  of lizard I am? That's also correct I am the Desert Spiny Lizard. You are so smart to have guessed that! Way to go!

WHERE DO I LIVE? I like to live in the Sonoran Desertscrub, Great Basin Desertscrub, Semidesert Grassland, Interior Chaparral, and woodlands. I just love these places.
 
 


WHAT DO I EAT?  What do I eat? Well let me tell you my awesome diet. I like a variety of insects such as ants, beetles, caterpillars, spiders, and centipedes. I also eat smaller lizards and some plant material.

HOW DO I LOOK? How would you describe whaty I look like? Look at my picture what do you think? I am a stocky lizard with large pointed, keeled, overlapping scales. I have a variety of colors including brown, tan, or brown with yellow or orange scales. I am a pretty colorful lizard, for the most part.

 


HOW DO I REPRODUCE? The females lay one or two clutches of eggs in spring or summer. A clutch size ranges from 2-12 eggs. That is a whole lot of brothers and sisters all born at the same time!  

FUN FACT ABOUT ME? What is fun about me . . . let me think. I do like to hibernate during the cold months of winter and late fall. This is a long sleep during the cold months so I can just catch up on my sleep.  
 
 
ACTIVITY - Sonoran Desert Poster

Materials Needed

 

  • Paper
  • Crayons, Markers, and other art supplies
  • Internet access for pictures
  • scissors
  • Pens and Pencils
  • Glue (stick or bottle what ever you prefer)
  • Imagination




K-1st Grade: Its Poster Time!! Now that you have read about this mysterious animal, make a poster to show other people what you have learned. You poster should be 11” x 8.5”, draw pictures, ask an adult to help you print pictures from the Internet, you also need to include the animals name, and where they are found. Have fun and be creative, after all it is your poster!

2nd Grade: Its Poster Time!! Now that you have read about this mysterious animal, make a poster to show other people what you have learned. You poster should be 11” x 17” (or a piece of construction paper), you will also need to include three pictures you can draw them or  ask an adult to help you print pictures from the Internet. You also need to include three facts you learned about the animal on the poster. Have fun and be creative, after all it is your poster!

3rd Grade: Its Poster Time!! Now that you have read about this mysterious animal, make a poster to show other people what you have learned. You will also need to include five (5) pictures you can draw them or  ask an adult to help you print pictures from the Internet. You also need to have five (5) facts you learned about the animal on the poster. You poster should be as big or as small as you would like, remember you have to fit all your facts and pictures on it. Have fun and be creative, after all it is your poster!

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 


References

The Reptiles and Amphibians of Arizona
This is a good place to learn more about this animal and others on this site!
http://www.reptilesofaz.org/Lizards-Subpages/h-s-magister.html

Comments