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Sagebrush Lizard

(Sceloporus graciosus)

Identification: Upper side with small spiny scales, usually with a pale stripe along each side of back; scales on rear of thigh very small, some often pebbly and not keeled; no distinct blue patches on sides of throat (throat may be blue-mottled); total length up to about 15 cm (5.9 inches); snout-vent length usually less than 6.5 cm (2.6 inches).  

Mature female: Blue areas faint or absent (or pale yellowish-green when inactive under rocks); gravid females may develop red/orange color along sides (e.g., rusty spot in armpit).   

Colorado Distribution: Throughout most of eastern Colorado, at elevations of up to at least 8,500 feet in the southwest. Common.

Habitat: Piñon-juniper woodland, semidesert shrubland, shale hills with sparse grasses and low shrubs, oak-grass associations, mountain shrubland, and montane woodland (e.g., mountainous areas and canyons with ponderosa pine or Douglas-fir); at base of rocky ledges or on gently sloping exposures of bedrock, but more often on the ground on shrubby expanses of fine-grained soils. Often coexists with prairie/plateau lizards but is less inclined to perch on rocks. Ranges to higher elevations in montane woodland than do prairie/plateau lizards. Often perches on junipers and other plants, usually near the ground but sometimes at heights of up to several feet. Winter, night, and hot midday periods are spent under rocks or in rodent burrows (e.g., those of prairie dogs) or in similar underground or sheltered sites.    

Life History: Female produces 1-2 clutches of eggs, mainly in June-July. Hatchlings emerge from late July through September.