Lizard weather - Blue-belly Lizard aka Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)
Lizard weather! This Blue-belly Lizard aka Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) was posed for just a moment on the exposed root of an oak tree. The lizard is shedding - you can see a flap of old skin behind its head. It did get into the mid-70s today - that's warm for the end of December, and lizards and butterflies both were out. I only see juvenile lizards in winter. I reckon it takes longer for the BIG critters to warm up than the small ones. It's simple geometry. A lizard that's twice as long has four times the surface area to collect sunlight but eight times the bulk to warm up. (Think of cubes.) I guess that's why cold-blooded lizards don't get too big. You can also see the "third eye" that these lizards have behind the lizard's real eyes - I'll make a note, see this photo for some info. (San Marcos Pass, 28 December 2017)
We're having lizard weather instead of rainy winter weather. We are having an unprecedented "winter drought" without our usual winter rains so far - we haven't had an inch of rain since last March. I'm worried - what if the rain . . . doesn't come??
Lizard weather - Blue-belly Lizard aka Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)
Lizard weather! This Blue-belly Lizard aka Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) was posed for just a moment on the exposed root of an oak tree. The lizard is shedding - you can see a flap of old skin behind its head. It did get into the mid-70s today - that's warm for the end of December, and lizards and butterflies both were out. I only see juvenile lizards in winter. I reckon it takes longer for the BIG critters to warm up than the small ones. It's simple geometry. A lizard that's twice as long has four times the surface area to collect sunlight but eight times the bulk to warm up. (Think of cubes.) I guess that's why cold-blooded lizards don't get too big. You can also see the "third eye" that these lizards have behind the lizard's real eyes - I'll make a note, see this photo for some info. (San Marcos Pass, 28 December 2017)
We're having lizard weather instead of rainy winter weather. We are having an unprecedented "winter drought" without our usual winter rains so far - we haven't had an inch of rain since last March. I'm worried - what if the rain . . . doesn't come??