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Region: Americas Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Family: Iguanidae Genus: Sauromalus Scientific Name: Sauromalus obesus
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Description:
A plump lizard, usually 25-30 cm long, may attain 45 cm .The scales on the back and sides are small and granular, those on the belly are the same size or only slightly smaller. These lizards are able to inflate themselves by taking air into the lungs and holding it there (often increasing their body size by 50%). When deflated, this skin hangs in loose folds on the neck and sides of the body
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Distribution:
Western United States from Utah and Arizona south to lower California and the northern borders of Mexico
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Habitat:
Arid regions, rock and lava regions in Western U.S.
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Food:
Favours yellow blossoms such as prickly pear and the creosote bush but will eat leaves, fruits, shoots and buds. Strictly a plant eater in the wild.
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Reproduction and Development:
Females lay 6-10 white soft-shelled eggs in summer, digging a 10 cm wide, horizontal hole in a sand bank to 38 cm deep, using the excavated sand to cover the eggs. Breeding takes place in spring and early summer, with the peak of mating probably in May. Males are fertile every year but females probably every other year. This could be because the harsh environment and scarcity of food (not much nutrition in flowers!) make it difficult for the female to build up the necessary body reserves for forming eggs. Very little is known of the actual mating of chuckwallas, it is thought that the ranges of the males and females overlap so that a female may possibly mate with several males and thus increase the chances of fertilizing the eggs. Eggs hatch after 90 days.
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Adaptations:
Active only in late March - early August when food is available. When the temperature rises, humidity drops and plants wither, chuckwallas aestivate (become dormant) below ground. They do not emerge during temporary improvement of conditions. Aestivation becomes hibernation as the vegetation remains parched all winter. They are active in the morning, basking in the sun temperatures 20-40 C . They are able to control body temperature to some extent while basking. When the sun becomes too hot, they will move to shade or if none is available, they will lie so that less body surface is exposed to the sun. Back skin colour lightens so that some of the suns rays are deflected. When threatened, they take refuge in rock crevices, wedging themselves in and inflating the body by taking air into their lungs so they are almost impossible to dislodge.
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Threats to Survival:
Man, chuckwallas are considered a delicacy by the native Indians who dislodge them by stabbing them with a sharp stick or piece of wire thus deflating their lungs.
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Status:
Common
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Zoo Diet:
Mixed vegetables.
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Animal Fact Sheet
The New Tundra Trek